Heard of "Wilde" snap ring pliers?

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67Dart273

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I "treated" myself to a new pair of snap ring pliers. These are for the external rings with the sharp end points. "Wilde" pliers cost me $22.00. They look great and solid, made in USA. And they have an indent that looks useful as well. I was searching for old Snap On/ KD, etc at the time I found these

WildeSnapRingPliers.jpg
 
I "treated" myself to a new pair of snap ring pliers. These are for the external rings with the sharp end points. "Wilde" pliers cost me $22.00. They look great and solid, made in USA. And they have an indent that looks useful as well. I was searching for old Snap On/ KD, etc at the time I found these

View attachment 1715990248
Mine look like that , mine are Snap On ! Ive had them 20 plus years ….. I really like mine ! I don’t remember what I paid for them , I’m sure more than 22.00 lol ! Snap on is probably not identical to those , but really close ! Those look as good as any , especially for 22.00 bucks !
 
I "treated" myself to a new pair of snap ring pliers. These are for the external rings with the sharp end points. "Wilde" pliers cost me $22.00. They look great and solid, made in USA. And they have an indent that looks useful as well. I was searching for old Snap On/ KD, etc at the time I found these

View attachment 1715990248

Varied types of those are what I used doing stick shift transmissions.
The snap rings on those are about 1/8 inch thick and sharp pointed on the ends where the pliers get ahold to spread them open.

7828C2A0-762E-4217-A55D-EF8DFAAD3E98.jpeg
 
I "treated" myself to a new pair of snap ring pliers. These are for the external rings with the sharp end points. "Wilde" pliers cost me $22.00. They look great and solid, made in USA. And they have an indent that looks useful as well. I was searching for old Snap On/ KD, etc at the time I found these

View attachment 1715990248
Some of the best. I sold them for 3 decades on my MAC Tool Truck. They are lock ring pliers not snap ring pliers. Snap rings have holes in them for the pins in the tool jaws.
 
I have a set that came off my (ahem) red and white tool truck that sold tools beginning with an “S”. But I also still have a set that I bought around 1968-69 to remove the lock rings that held the gears on a VW crankshaft. I think they were Craftsman, but might have been Proto. Great design with lots of applications. Good tools really do last a lifetime. Just look in my toolbox. I’ve got lots of stuff over 50 years old that I bought new. Cheapest things I ever bought. Put me through school, bought me a house, and lots of other stuff.
 
Some of the best. I sold them for 3 decades on my MAC Tool Truck. They are lock ring pliers not snap ring pliers. Snap rings have holes in them for the pins in the tool jaws.
Thanks I've never understood the difference. Glad to hear they are good. I've still got a pair of "I don't know what, KD?" somewhere.
 
Thanks for sharing. I'm, going to get some myself. My current ones are JUNK.
 
I bought a pair of those several months ago and have been very pleased. I’ll be looking for other variations Wilde offers to build up my collection.
 
An update. Recommend the Wilde pliers. I took most of the mainshaft of the NV4500 apart, and there is one particular snap ring that is just an absolute bear. Here is the different branded pair I bought a few years ago, a HUGE disappointment. Th return spring interferes with full opening, so you must strip it loose. As you can see the alternate pair actually has a wider grip spacing when closed, but when fully open, the Wild pair is substantially wider opening. I did not measure them, but there's about a 1/2" difference or so

The "unwanted" pair is labeled "Performance Tool" Yet another problem with the "Performance Tool" is that the knurling on the jaws is so coarse and ragged that the ring actually tends to slip off rather than be held by the pliers

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I tried disassembling a 727 with the snap ring pliers I used the last time I did one and failed miserably. I don't know how I got it done with those cheap things, but this one wasn't coming apart with them. I do have a good pair of lock ring pliers that I got from NAPA, but pins on the cheap tools wouldn't stay in the snap ring holes and didn't spread wide enough to get them.

I bought the best Harbor Freight offered this time, a huge improvement. Not as nice as those Wilde models, but still pretty good.

Precision Snap Ring Pliers, 8 Piece
 
The big issue i've found with ANY pliers of the type for the circle clips with pin holes is that the pliers jaws are not strong enough/ cheap material/ not tempered. They bend, break, fail, snap.
 
The big issue i've found with ANY pliers of the type for the circle clips with pin holes is that the pliers jaws are not strong enough/ cheap material/ not tempered. They bend, break, fail, snap.
How big of snap rings?
 
I mean just generally. As I'm not a pro mech, I admit sometimes I try and "make do" with the technically "wrong size."
 
I mean just generally. As I'm not a pro mech, I admit sometimes I try and "make do" with the technically "wrong size."
Cheap snap ring pliers and the wrong size will spank you every time. The exchangeable tip ones are usually poor as well. I got to where I wouldn't stock those on the truck.
 
My snap ring plier is channellock 907G. Its reversable for internal and external. They are about worn out today in the reversing switch. Never broke a tip though. It came with a crowd of different pins so I put a small magnet in the bottom of the package to keep them from falling out, getting lost. If my memory serves, the magnet came out of a GM/Saginaw steering pump reservoir.
 
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