ENGINEERPA-21 Engineer Precision Crimping Pliers, Crimping Tool, Open Barrel, Long Barrel Terminal

If you are a Hobbyist, buy these. Skip the cheaper ones you can find. These were so good, that I ended up buying a size up, and an extra pair so I always have one in reach. These are a must have whenever I work on my 3d printers, Electronics etc.Pros- High quality and durable- Versatile and compatible with various connector types (JST, Molex, etc)- Precise and consistent crimping results- Comfortable handle / Feel Good to Use- Easy to use- High level of controlCons:- Expensive compared to others- You might need some practice before you master them (due to them being completely manual)- Doesn't work with barrel connectors (IE Spade, etc) that you commonly find at local hardware storesAdditional Details:2 versions of these pliers exist, Taiwan and Japanese made. I've had both in my hands but of different sizes. The Japanese ones are subjectively better, but I wouldn't return the Taiwanese ones. The only major difference is that the Japanese ones have the crimped connectors slide out easier. There are some minor visual differences as well.I mostly view these as a hobbyist tool, if I were using these everyday 9 to 5, I think I might get something else. They are very much a "do it once, do it right, take some more time to do it" type of tool instead of churning out millions of connectors. Though I'm unaware of anything better, these are just so dang good.

Used these to crimp SXH-001T-P0.6 connectors (22–28 AWG) for a 6S FPV battery. Worked well.

I used to think crimping was a waste of time and money, especially since companies like Molex charge $Texas for "proper" crimpers. As a result I would normally solder terminals onto the ends of my wires, and sort of bend what was left with some needle-nose pliers to make it fit into the connector body. Then I did a couple projects where I spec'd PicoBlade connectors. These things are pretty diabolical and soldering them basically rendered them useless because they are so small, and the solder basically wicked everywhere you don't want it. Finally desperate enough, I decided to try the PA-09.It's well-built. Solid, no play in the joint, and does not shift or deform at all while you are doing the crimp. The grip is also solid. I would probably not want to do 100+ crimps in one sitting with this thing, but I can't imagine wanting to do that with any crimper. The docs are brief but effective. You want the sides of the connector to be parallel when you place it into the tool. If it's not, you picked the wrong size, and you will get bad results. I think I managed to destroy one PicoBlade terminal and after that I was producing perfectly serviceable crimps. I've gone on to crimp other terminals as well and it's unlikely I will go back to soldering them.One thing I would mention, and feel silly for not realizing at first. Normally you have to make two crimps to put a terminal on the end of a wire. One for the actual conductor, and another which crimps into the insulation as kind of a strain relief. I made the mistake of trying to use a larger size for the insulation crimp. They are the same size. It makes sense when you think about it, but of course I did not think about it.

I've never crimped my own connections before so this whole world is new to me. I started out with one of those heavy ratcheting models that worked, but felt really clumsy to use with smaller wire gauges. I really wasn't having a lot of success with them.As I was looking around at tutorials on how to use them better, I stumbled on the ENGINEER version of the crimper. I already had their solder sucker and loved that so I figured I'd give these a shot and I am so glad that I did.They're lighter, easier to manipulate and visibility on what's happening is much better. On some Dupont connectors that I'm working with I generally have to crimp three times. I crimp the insulation first, then make two more for the wire crimp. I don't know if that's the "right" way to do it, but it's working reasonably well. That said, the ratcheting models are cool because they can do the crimp in one step, that's definitely got some value if you're doing these in significant volumes, but for me, I'm doing these maybe half-a-dozen at a time so I can take my sweet time.I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the little crimp connection plier on the front. This allows you to square them up really easily before inserting them in the crimper. This makes things so much easier and isn't something I had on the ratcheting pliers so I had to use two tools. I now use this feature every time.The jaws themselves are very nicely shaped and line up precisely. I can't tell if it's Wire EDM or just extremely precise machining, but they're really nice.Last, and I don't know how many people care bout this, but the locking mechanism for keeping the crimper closed in storage can be easily manipulated by your thumb while it's in hand. That's a really nice touch.