Spring loaded pliers / cutters

[bantam5s]

I have too many pairs of pliers and cutters to keep track of, and I haven't found a single pair that I wouldn't remove the spring from if I could.
Aside from locking pliers and reversable snap ring pliers where the springs are necessary,I really just hate spring loaded pliers.

I'm okay with tweezers though , I just don't have the same issue with tweezers for some reason.

[RonsPlc]

I do a lot of arduino work and when dealing with the tiny wires and pins used, the micro cutters and needle nose pliers i choose all have the springs.

When I'm dealing with automotive and household wiring, I choose to use non spring loaded cutting/gripping tools.

That having been said, it depends on the application.

[mobilehomer]

I don't care one way or the other, just as long as the jaws are good.

[nervoustrigger]

Pretty much all of my larger pliers and cutters and wire strippers have no spring.  A few exceptions like tin snips and snap ring pliers.

Pretty much all of my smaller pliers and cutters and wire strippers have spring-loaded handles.

I've never really thought about why this is the de facto arrangement but it seems to work nicely.

[anti-squirrel]

Most of my non-electrical tools do not have springs.  Exceptions being several pairs of small pliers I use in automotive applications, as well as some "spreader" pliers and snap-ring/retainer pliers that open (push apart) when you squeeze the handles.  I'm very ambidextrous with tools and use just about everything one-handed so my other hand is free (sorta like chop-sticks).  I do not remove the springs- I buy what I need or I come up with another plan that bypasses modifying a tool when possible.

The vast majority of my pliers are higher end (Matco, Snap-On, mil-spec stuff like ES Tools, Proto) along with Klein and similar.  I do have some "sacrificial" pliers that get "customized" for specific applications, though.  The main place I see value in spring-loaded pliers is when the job specifically calls for using minimal tension for grasping or when precision is required using a deft touch.  An example would be working at the component level on PCBs (such as an Arduino or one of the many RasPi products, moving jumpers on a PC motherboard for over/underclocking or running a modified BIOS, or working on similar items).  With the joint damage to my fingers, the little needlenose spring-loaded dealies are much easier for pulling automotive fuses quickly, too.  One of my metal-working pliers (seaming pliers) is spring-loaded and they're the cat's meow for steel-stud framing.

My wife is always amazed my hand shakes if I'm holding a cup of water but if I hold needlenose pliers or a knife (like a scalpel), I have surgical precision with no shaking.


Through it all, I try to match the pliers to the job.  I have pliers ranging from tiny one used on circuit boards to the ginormous Channel-Lock slip-joints one can use to grab a politician's overinflated-0ego-filled head and squish it flat.