Tip-Only pliers?

June 26, 2008 7:49 PM

Is there a name for, or type of, deep throated pliers (pincers?) that only meet at their tips? Got a source? Details within...

I'm currently using bent, needle-nose pliers and wish I had some that only touched at their tips, leaving a long, maybe 1/8-inch gap between the jaws when closed, so I could pinch things closed that aren't at the edge of sensitive materials without touching the materials. Loop-closing pliers, Gripper Pliers, and needle-nose vice grips would each probably do, but are either too clunky or don't have deep enough open jaws for my purposes.
Thanks!

posted by dpcoffin to home & garden (15 comments total)

Water Pump Pliers or Pipe grip pliers
posted by buggzzee23 at 8:07 PM on June 26 [1 favorite]

Clamp pliers might also fit your need.
posted by buggzzee23 at 8:13 PM on June 26

I grabbed my paper copy of the catalog from riogrande.com to look at their pages and pages of pliers. Perhaps the perfect-set (tm) prong closing-pliers, or the beading plers with #14 tool tip would work.

Alternatively, if you have pliers that would work except for being too wide on the end, you can solve that problem very quickly with a grinding wheel. Vice-grip also makes some pliers with up to a 10¨ or 12¨ jaw depth that have a gap of about 4¨ between the jaws.
posted by yohko at 8:14 PM on June 26

Way too big, especially in the handle (I should have said that I'm working on more of a jewelry/sewing than a house-building scale), but cool link anyway: these Glass Nibbling Pincers are getting closest so far (or look so from the picture); thanks! Still seeking something a bit longer-nosed, more needle-nosed, and maybe bent...
posted by dpcoffin at 8:22 PM on June 26

Oops! More answers. I meant that buggzzee23's pipe pliers were too big. Looking at jewelry pliers now...
posted by dpcoffin at 8:30 PM on June 26

Rosary pliers? What are you using them for?
posted by JujuB at 8:36 PM on June 26

Long nose tweezers with a small section of tubing over the tips to protect your item from marks.
posted by JujuB at 8:46 PM on June 26

"Caliper/calliper pliers" is the general term I've known for them, but they tend to be trade-specific as the size & design varies with the requirements of the job. I've seen them with jaw depths up to ~8" in pincer, needlenose, & bullnose styles.
posted by Pinback at 9:36 PM on June 26

Way too big, especially in the handle

What sort of sewing are you doing with these that it would matter how big the handle is?
If it´s something super-secret, just tell us that you need X throat length, Y maximum overall length, Z width at the tips, etc.

For sewing, people often use two bits of wood and a hammer, or just a hammer and an appropriate surface, or special snap closing devices to pinch things closed.
posted by yohko at 9:40 PM on June 26

What sort of sewing are you doing with these that it would matter how big the handle is?

The sort that I'd choose 4-in. tailor points for instead of 10-in. shears if I was looking for scissors.

Here're my current, plain old bent needle-nosers at work, inserting waistband hook&eye sets. Too much force is required for tweezers, narrow points are definitely a plus since the to-be-folded-over target is quite small, and the distance from edge to target is at least 1.5 inches, and doesn't want to be much crumpled up. They're working OK but I'd love to be able to tell my future readers (this is for a book) that the perfect tool exists, if it does.
posted by dpcoffin at 11:03 PM on June 26

It looks like the hook and eye is a bit thicker than the fabric, so I guess the idea is that you need the pliers to exert pressure on the hook and eye without squeezing fabric in the area near the hinge. While they don´t fit your stated requirement of having a gap when closed, it seems like parallel action pliers might work for your purpose.
posted by yohko at 11:46 PM on June 26

File down the interior surfaces so that only the tips touch. Or add material at the interior of the tips. Mechanics do stuff like this all the time - make/modify tools as needed. You can do it, or find someone else who'd like to.
posted by coffeefilter at 12:18 AM on June 27

OK, I think I've found 'em (needs to be a for-sale item if it's going to be reader tip).

But so far I can't find any source. Anybody know of a Eurotool dealer that'll special order a specific part#?
posted by dpcoffin at 1:07 AM on June 27

dpcoffin, that link asks for a password...

Eurotool suggest that you call 800-552-3131 to speak to a customer service representative or find a dealer near you. Perhaps they would know of someone you could order this from.
posted by yohko at 8:35 AM on June 27

Sorry; it's supposedly in the Public folder...?

Again

Yes, of course, I'll call them. Thanks for the number!

And thanks, all, for your suggestions.
posted by dpcoffin at 9:26 AM on June 27