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Comment by throwup238 | Hacker News Reader

Site is experiencing the hug of death so I can’t read it, but I just use these from the Japanese company Engineer Tools: https://www.engineertools-jp.com/pa092021

Edit: hah yep they get an honorable mention. Definitely get the PA-20 or 21s, not the 09. They’re not perfect but they don’t cost an arm and a leg.

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Those are the bare minimum in my opinion, and ok for your toolbag. But the 2 Chinese models on the bottom of the page with proper dies (be sure to get the right dies for your connectors) are so much better. If you zoom in to the images, you'll see they have a little step in the die. They also ratchet and hold in position. You squeeze them a few clicks, then you are left with a perfect cavity that holds your connector in place, leaving you with a hand free to insert the wire. Then ratchet the rest of the way closed, and they automatically release. They are spring loaded in a way that they have consistent force, they can't be over-squeezed. For $10-20 each, they are a great middle ground between the most basic hand tools (which also cost a similar price) and the official tools.

The Molex 63811-1000 is better in my experience. Terminals tend to stick in the Engineer jaws, and they have too short a barrel for most Dupont and automotive-type terminals.

If you ARE working with short-barrel stuff like most JST types, the Iwiss 2820M is so much better than the Engineer it's not even funny. I hate to say it because they're the knockoff, but they've perfected it.

These two tools do 99% of my open-barrel crimping anymore.

While Engineer tools are very well made, the PA 09, 20 and 21 are not suited for dupont style connectors. Those required circular crimping.

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