I’ve really started enjoying Japanese tools, and I picked up two more: Tsunoda PLC-200GUS 8-inch thin slip joint pliers, made in Japan, and a Vessel QB-22K2GV Ball Grip Quick Catcher. The pliers are for one specific job, holding thin lock nuts on recessed industrial sensors. The Quick Catcher replaces bit holders that walked off at work.

Disclosure: I bought both of these with my own money. Nobody sent them to me, and nobody pays me for my opinions. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

Why I Bought Thin Pliers for One Job

Recessed sensor nuts

If you work in automation or industrial maintenance, you’ve got sensors like this all over the place. A threaded body, a couple of little bitty nuts, and you set it so it sits out just right and whatever you’re sensing is real close. Then you double lock those nuts against the bracket so nothing moves.

Most of the time that’s no big deal. Sometimes the engineers design something that works really well and leaves you room. Other times they don’t care how it goes in as long as it works. We’ve got a couple of machines like that.

On those, the sensor is so far back and recessed that you can’t get a full-size wrench in there. Not even a little box-end, which is pretty slim, gets down to hold that nut while you tighten the other one. That’s the whole reason these pliers came home with me.

Soft threads don’t forgive

You don’t want to hit those threads with anything. I believe the sensor body is stainless, but it’s not what I’d call hard stainless. You can breathe on it and throw the threads off track.

Once that happens, you can never get the set nuts to lock up and keep the sensor from jiggling back, and then your whole machine’s out. So whatever I use down in there has to hold the nut without chewing on the threads.

Tsunoda PLC-200GUS First Impressions

These are from Tsunoda, out of Japan (tsunoda-japan.com). It’s my first time trying the brand. I’d seen a couple of the guys on the tool video channels talking about Tsunoda, and since I had a specific use in mind, I figured I’d take a look.

The package calls them 200 mm ultra-thin hold pliers, straight type. That’s about 8 inches, made in Japan.

The thin head

Thin is the point. In the video you can see how slim the head is next to that little sensor nut, and that’s what I’m counting on to slip in between the bracket and the sensing piece.

Tsunoda’s spec sheet puts the gripping tip at about 2 mm thick and the head at 9 mm at its thickest. Those are the maker’s numbers, not mine.

Three positions and a wide opening

They’ve got three positions. It’s pretty much a regular slip joint plier, just thinner. There’s a little offset on one side so the jaws line up.

They open up pretty wide too, which is really what I was looking at. I was half expecting a push-button adjuster. It’s not. You slip the joint over like an old-style set.

Per Tsunoda, the jaws are curved so the gripping faces stay parallel even when they’re opened wide, and they list a pipe capacity of up to about 32 mm. They also say the extra adjustment position cuts the handle spread by about half when you’re gripping something.

Handles and finish

There’s no dip on the handles. It’s a black coating over regular old-style metal. Tsunoda lists the finish as a cationic electrodeposition coating, which is an electrocoat paint.

What Tsunoda lists for specs

These come from the maker’s spec sheet, not from my testing:

• Overall length: 200 mm (about 8 inches)
• Weight: 231 g
• Material: carbon steel for machine structural use
• Hardness: 49 to 53 HRC
• Jaw adjustment: 3 positions
• Cutting capacity: 2.6 mm soft iron wire
• Made in Japan

How I plan to use them

Here’s the plan. Get these in between the bracket and the sensing piece and hold the recessed nut. Adjust the sensor out where you want it, then run the other nut down with a regular open-end wrench and tighten that back piece once it’s set like you like it.

Usually only one of the nuts is buried where it’s hard to get to, so the wrench handles the other one. The pliers just have to hold.

They lock up pretty good on the edges of the nut. I wouldn’t put a lot of power on them, though, because you can certainly round something over.

I haven’t tried them on the job yet. I know it’s kind of dumb to buy a tool for one job, but if it works for me, everybody else can learn from it and move on along.

Vessel QB-22K2GV Ball Grip Quick Catcher

The sticky-fingers story

This one’s on account of stuff walking away at work. I’ve told you those stories before. I had a Klein bit holder set with the carabiner, and somebody walked off with three of my bit holders, bits and all, and left one.

I don’t think it’s the design. Somebody’s got sticky fingers. I hate to be the accusing type, but who takes three bits off the thing and leaves the whole clip? I don’t understand it. Anyway, I got the Vessel to replace some of those holders.

The setup and the carabiner

It’s a bit holder with Vessel’s ball grip shape, so if you like their Ball Grip screwdrivers, it’ll feel familiar. It comes with its own Vessel-branded carabiner, so maybe we’ll keep that.

From Vessel’s listing: the QB-22K2GV is a two-piece set in green and violet. The body is lightweight reinforced plastic with a cushion grip, the sleeve is anodized aluminum, it takes 1/4-inch (6.35 mm) hex bits, and they rate it for hanging tools up to 500 g.

Using it as a little stubby

Vessel shows it like it’s a little screwdriver. Unclip it from the carabiner, flip it over, and the ball grip turns into a little stubby. Now you’ve got an EDC screwdriver you can carry with you if you need one.

Vessel rates it as a screwdriver for small screws, M4 and smaller, and says not to force it. So keep it to small screws and light work.

The straight-slot bit and the quick-release question

I tried flipping in the straight-slot bit, and it doesn’t stay in very well. I may need a different bit. The Klein bit slid out too.

Then I got one to lock, and I realized I’d been slipping it out by accident. Hanging from the carabiner, if you pull on the bit, it stays in. Hold it by the ball and pull, and the bit comes right out, kind of like a quick release.

That’s weird to me. Anybody know if that’s the way it’s supposed to be? As long as it stays on the carabiner and grips the bit, I guess we’re okay. And if you’re using it as a mini screwdriver, you’re pushing on the bit anyway, so it won’t matter.

Vessel’s own precautions say to push the bit all the way into the chuck and make sure it won’t come off before use, and they warn that bumps while you’re carrying it can make the sleeve ride up and let a bit come out. So some of this may be how it’s built. We’ll have to look into it and see if it’s going to work for me.

I’m also going to run the back of the package through a translator and see if it gives any more insight.

How They Fit My Bag

A couple weeks ago I showed you how I’ve been riding bit holders on the outside of my bag to see if anything gets lost. That’s where the Quick Catcher was supposed to go, in place of the Klein holders that walked off.

Now I’m a little concerned it may not be what I wanted, since the bits let go when you pull from the side. Hanging, they stayed put, so we’ll check and see.

What I’ll Test Next

For the Tsunodas, I’ll get them down on that simple sensor and see if they’ll hold the buried nut while I tighten the other one, without marking up the threads.

For the Vessel, I want to see whether the bits stay put riding on the bag, and try a different straight-slot bit.

We’ll test them out as usual, and I’ll get back to you.

Who Should and Shouldn’t Buy These

If you’re a tech with sensor nuts a box-end can’t reach, the Tsunodas are worth a look. Just know I haven’t proven them on the job yet.

If you need to put real torque on a nut, I’d pass. They lock up pretty good on the edges, but you can round something over.

The Quick Catcher makes sense if you want a bit holder on a carabiner that doubles as a little stubby. If you need bits that stay in no matter how you grab the holder, watch the pull-from-the-side part of the video first.

FAQ

Will the bits fall out if I hang them?

Hanging from the carabiner, they stayed in when I pulled on the bit. Held by the ball, they slid right out.

Can these reach recessed sensor nuts?

That’s why I bought them. The head is thin and they open wide, but I haven’t tried them on the sensor job yet.

Do the handles have a dip?

No. It’s a black coating on plain old-style metal handles.

Where to Buy

Tsunoda PLC-200GUS Thin Slip Joint Pliers

Vessel QB-22K2GV Ball Grip Quick Catcher