TLDR: Overall, I think these are a great buy. They're expensive for a pair of pliers, and they're not perfect, so I don't think it's quite at 5 stars. That being said, if you ignore price, they are the best compact needle-nose, I've ever used. They'll get you out of a pinch, and I don't regret buying them. Just know that they aren't perfect. They have their faults. They're good, great even, but not perfect.
Continue if you care to hear me ramble for what is probably too long.
I purchased this pair of pliers as a sort of "everyday carry". I own the 125mm pliers wrench and cobras, but I wanted something that I could use on finer things, so I purchased this pair of needle nose pliers. They're probably my most used pair of pliers at this point. If there's a problem, they're my go-to, until I have to break out a real toolkit. (Below you can see the tools I carry around as someone who does maintenance for an arborist company(images 4 & 5: I have these pliers, the aforementioned 125mm cobra/pliers wrench combo, a basic flashlight, a Victorinox Handyman, a simple carbide tool sharpener, and a Milwaukee Fastback, I find that this setup (with a multi-bit screwdriver) can handle anything I see myself doing on a regular basis.)
I don't think that these pliers make a ton of sense as something you keep in your main or even a situational tool bag, as I know some trades people carry those small pouches. Personally, I would opt for the 185mm for that purpose (bear in mind, I haven't actually used that model, but I imagine they're the same thing but bigger). Don't get me wrong, the 145mm pliers are well made, and can handle rough jobs, but I always prefer to have something overbuilt rather than too small, unless I have to carry it on my person 100% of the time
In terms of the reason I gave this only 4 stars and not 5, it really comes down to the simple fact that 5 stars mean that the product is perfect, and I don't think that's the case. There are two problems:
The most obvious thing is that the teeth aren't perfectly aligned. One side, looks just right (image 1), but the other looks like it's teeth on teeth (image 2). Check my images if you want to know what I mean. However, other than that, they're great. Besides, if you're in the business of using your tools, rather than looking at them, it shouldn't bother you at all (I personally do both, perhaps one more than I should).
The only other complaint I have about them is that the "Convex Contour" doesn't work quite as well as advertised (image 3). It does work, but it doesn't feel that much more secure than other needle noses I've tried. From a physics perspective 3 points of contact sounds much better than 2 points, but we don't live in a perfect world, and their application seems to fall a bit flat, no pun intended.
Perhaps a more precision grinding could solve both of these issues, but Knipex seems to be producing some of the best grinds already. I don't imagine they're a lot of headroom in terms of quality, given the complex balance of price, material, and durability. Still at 30+ bucks, I would expect at least a little bit better.
