Aviation snips/compound snips: what are the decent brands?

[Gerula]

Just went trough a pair of Chinese snips in no time, so I figured it was the time to ask the pros what to buy
Looking for something that would last for years when used now and then for those occasional project, so not those "1 mile of steel per month" 200 quid a piece snipers but still decent stuff.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

 

[winchman]

Wiss or Gilbow
https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8...hvtargid=kwd-547405329&ref=pd_sl_8x9mrc6avl_b

Gilbow are £30-40 but often at car boots used

 

[arther dailey]

I agree, had a good pair of wss untill some .......... decided he wanted a five finger discount,Grrrrr.

 

[Shox Dr]

I dont think its worth spending lots on snips these days, once wiss were the dogs doodads, and I do have some, but they are no better than Stanley now. So I treat them as semi disposable and at 5-7quid pop not the end of the world.

I do have Gilbows, they were my Grandfathers, so they dont get used these days

 

[ajlelectronics]

I agree, had a good pair of wss untill some .......... decided he wanted a five finger discount,Grrrrr.

I had to think about that for a moment. I got quite the wrong end of the stick initially!

 

[optima21]

I got stanley offset aviation snips as the handles cut clear the sheet metal being cut. they are definately better than some of the unbranded ones Ive tried previously and I do prefer them to gilbows too.... but I only play with metal as a hobby

 

[brightspark]

aviation snips are for thin metal gilbow for meaty cuts

 

[Parm]

I dont think its worth spending lots on snips these days, once wiss were the dogs doodads, and I do have some, but they are no better than Stanley now. So I treat them as semi disposable and at 5-7quid pop not the end of the world.

I do have Gilbows, they were my Grandfathers, so they dont get used these days

Ive got several pairs of giblows, also my grandads. Being a hobiest they get used when ever required which isn't much.

Ive also got about 10 pairs of assorted Wiss snips. Good client of mine in the aerospace sector uses them. They are treated as a disposable tool these days. No good to them but perfectly good for home hobby use

 

[hotrodder]

I think Midwest are the only decent brand (at sensible prices) left... Wiss are now cast but still similar £ to forged Midwest examples, Klenk are eye wateringly spendy IIRC and hard to find, Prosnip (same company as Vice-Grip) used to be my favorite but then whatever mega corporation that owns Irwin closed the factory in Nebraska and cheapnesed them

Have any of the Gilbow fans looked at new examples? Also cheapnese tat these days from what i've seen

 

[galooph]

Another Midwest fan here. I actually found it cheaper to buy them from the US (via ebay), but that was back when the pound was quite a bit stronger against the dollar.

 

[indy4x]

I have a set of Blue Point that are now 20years old, they had daily use for their first 10 years then got a desk job so now only hobby use but they are still in good working order. If the current ones are the same quality then would defo recommend them

 

[ian f]

midwest

 

[brightspark]

by the sounds of it the brand names

View attachment 94249 midwest

all very well but what thickness

 

[Shox Dr]

by the sounds of it the brand names
all very well but what thickness

I think their name might give you a clue.
Tin isn't very thick... and the main reason why I've killed all mine barr the Gilbows;and thats because I look after them
Cutting SS with them never helps

 

[ian f]

the midwests are rated at 1.2 mm mild steel. i do have some teng snips that are rated for stainless as well which i bought ages ago but don't like them for mild

 

[Paul G]

I have three pairs of Irwin.
One pair have quite short blades and are especially good for notching corners out in stainless.

 

[hotrodder]

Pretty much all aviation snips are rated at 18swg (1.2mm) mild steel and 22swg stainless. Decent ones will cut thicker, i've cut a fair amount of 20swg (0.9mm) stainless with regular* Midwest snips and they seem happy enough with it as well as occasionally abusing them on thicker mild steel

* they do a special hardness version for a steady diet of stainless/inconels/Ti which aren't much more £ as well as 'bulldog' types which have shorter blades for cutting/notching thicker material and also a version with 3" length of cut for upto 20swg mild steel

All of them are for acurately trimming stuff rather than hacking away at thicker material like a neanderthal

 

[brightspark]

Pretty much all aviation snips are rated at 18swg (1.2mm) mild steel and 22swg stainless. Decent ones will cut thicker, i've cut a fair amount of 20swg (0.9mm) stainless with regular* Midwest snips and they seem happy enough with it as well as occasionally abusing them on thicker mild steel


All of them are for acurately trimming stuff rather than hacking away at thicker material like a neanderthal

and thats why u use gilbow shears if u want anything thicker to cut . use the correct tool for the job

 

[Gerula]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. How about the continental Europe brands? Anyone familiar with them? Stanley seems to be all China these days but surely there must be some tool manufacturers left on this side of the pond?

 

[hotrodder]

Stanley Black & Decker have bought most of the usual suspects... Facom snips look pretty similar to Stanley but are a LOT more expensive, doubt Britool do snips(?) but they were owned by Facom so got bought too. Sykes Pickavant are independant again but, price aside, their snips look suspiciously identical to Irwin for example

versus http://sykes-pickavant.com/images/product/2154_1743_x.jpg

Similar deal with some of their panel beating tools which are the same as (the better value) Kennedy stuff these days. Much smaller range from Kennedy though

Gedore and Stawhille are two other names that come to mind, compound snips from the former look suspiciously like facom/stanley and while Stawhille look kinda unique at ~ £80 for ONE pair of snips i doubt many people buy them when something like Midwest start at around £13 + VAT in the UK and can cleanly cut slivers down to less than sheet thickness without folding the edge. IMO the only way to improve them would be if midwest offered serration free versions too but it's not exactly difficult to polish them out partly/completely. Still not as good as the origional made in Beatrice Pro-Snips though