****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
I chose this one from the reviews, and from the photos--it looked well made and solid. It is! It has the heft of solidity [not that "heft" is a valid criteria, but it satisfies my conceptions of "quality"]. More to the point, it squeezes down to a consistent stopping point, marked by a satisfying "click" [OK, still visceral]. The final outcome is a well crimped ferrule, with a uniform pattern. For smaller gauge wires in the 20 to 22 range, the indentations pressed into the ferrule [think tooth marks on a Ticonderoga pencil, if from a nervous robot--sorry, I don't know what they are called] are, perhaps, a little too deep. It leaves the ferruled end rather fragile, and prone to breaking once installed in a terminal block. But, maybe that's operator error, but in my defense, the instructions are sparse, and don't provide detail on the why's and how's of adjusting the crimping "pressure".From the instructions: "16-6 crimping pliers can self-adjust the crimping pressure according to different sizes of ferrules, crimp the ferrules into a tight 6-sided shape, suitable for 0.08-16mm² wire (US standard AWG28-5)"Then it briefly touches on adjusting the "pressure" [I thought it was self-adjusting -- Oh...wait...it only "can" self-adjust, but, apparently can't be relied on to do so in every situation?]:"If the insulated ferrules is[sic] not tightly crimped, please use a screwdriver to adjust the pressure adjustment ratchet."Nothing about what "+" or "-" means, so assuming that "-" means less pressure, I set it to the highest "-" and crimped a 20AWG ferrule onto 20 AWG stranded wire, Then I applied a small amount of lateral pressure to the ferruled wire end and it easily snapped. Then I moved the set screw to the highest "+" and did the same test, and no difference. This doesn't break the connection between the wire and the ferrule, it merely creates a point of high fatigue, such that the wire, if in a high vibration, or situation there even minimal flexing is possible will soon break away. And if that happens, then the connection WILL be severed. I.e. reduced strain relief!Another CON is the -C-Ring that holds the Pressure Adjustment cam to the tool. One invariably must rotate the c-ring independently of the cam, to keep it from interfering with the set screw. And for the higher '-' settings, this puts the c-ring in a less supportive position on the cam shaft. But, the self-adjustment feature seems to work, so it may not be necessary to ever more the set screw again. You probably can just set it to max "+" and leave it.Another possible CON is the grip. The anti-slip scoring is a bit abrasive. After only a few minutes use, I could feel the burn on the skin on my hand--the kind of burn that leads to blisters. So, in cases of high usage frequency, I suggest wearing a glove.I will be an infrequent user of this tool, and as such, for me, this tool is a great buy.
