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Japanese spring bar tool

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cheddar
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Japanese spring bar tool

Post by cheddar »

Got this off eBay for about $10 and it arrived today. Haven’t used it yet, but am looking forward to it, because I’ve been using a sharpening stone and fine grit sandpaper to modify some freebie SBTs to approximate this shape before I even knew this existed — flat back with just a bit of a curve. My homemade ones have shown promise, but they’re all too short because those freebies are like 2 inches long, so have high hopes for this one.

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Re: Japanese spring bar tool

Post by watchpalooza »

Looks promising...you’ll have to let us know how it compares.
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Re: Japanese spring bar tool

Post by pdsf »

Yes, thanks for sharing [mention]cheddar[/mention]!
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Re: Japanese spring bar tool

Post by MoT »

I like that it has replaceable tips.

Can you share the link to the listing you bought from?
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Re: Japanese spring bar tool

Post by cheddar »

ManOnTime wrote:I like that it has replaceable tips.

Can you share the link to the listing you bought from?
Of course! https://www.ebay.com/itm/400917617942
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Re: Japanese spring bar tool

Post by pdsf »

[mention]cheddar[/mention], have you had a chance to "play" with it? :)
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Re: Japanese spring bar tool

Post by cheddar »

pdsf wrote:[mention]cheddar[/mention], have you had a chance to "play" with it? :)
Been super busy past few weeks, but finally got a chance to try it out. It works well for me — one thing is that the prongs are narrower than you might expect, so the spring bar doesn’t slide all the way “into” the prongs — you more use the tips to catch the shoulder. It’s definitely a precision tool, which works well with my approach to springbars. Speaking of which, everyone else probably already knew this, but I’ve found that it works much better for me to work on the “near” side of the spring bar, using my right thumb against the tool to “push” the spring bar out, while using my left hand to stabilize/put pressure on the strap, rather than to work on the “far” side of the spring bar, “pulling” the tool toward me to remove the spring bar. Get much better leverage/control as I remove/place the springbar, and as I’m looking directly down, I can better see to line up the bar to the holes, etc.
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Re: Japanese spring bar tool

Post by pdsf »

cheddar wrote: Sat Oct 17, 2020 12:39 pm
pdsf wrote:@cheddar, have you had a chance to "play" with it? :)
Been super busy past few weeks, but finally got a chance to try it out. It works well for me — one thing is that the prongs are narrower than you might expect, so the spring bar doesn’t slide all the way “into” the prongs — you more use the tips to catch the shoulder. It’s definitely a precision tool, which works well with my approach to springbars. Speaking of which, everyone else probably already knew this, but I’ve found that it works much better for me to work on the “near” side of the spring bar, using my right thumb against the tool to “push” the spring bar out, while using my left hand to stabilize/put pressure on the strap, rather than to work on the “far” side of the spring bar, “pulling” the tool toward me to remove the spring bar. Get much better leverage/control as I remove/place the springbar, and as I’m looking directly down, I can better see to line up the bar to the holes, etc.
Thanks! I think I usually push down the spring bar vs pull it up, but I am not an expert at all (part of the reason I always use 1-piece straps haha!).
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Re: Japanese spring bar tool

Post by cheddar »

pdsf wrote:
cheddar wrote: Sat Oct 17, 2020 12:39 pm
pdsf wrote:@cheddar, have you had a chance to "play" with it? :)
Been super busy past few weeks, but finally got a chance to try it out. It works well for me — one thing is that the prongs are narrower than you might expect, so the spring bar doesn’t slide all the way “into” the prongs — you more use the tips to catch the shoulder. It’s definitely a precision tool, which works well with my approach to springbars. Speaking of which, everyone else probably already knew this, but I’ve found that it works much better for me to work on the “near” side of the spring bar, using my right thumb against the tool to “push” the spring bar out, while using my left hand to stabilize/put pressure on the strap, rather than to work on the “far” side of the spring bar, “pulling” the tool toward me to remove the spring bar. Get much better leverage/control as I remove/place the springbar, and as I’m looking directly down, I can better see to line up the bar to the holes, etc.
Thanks! I think I usually push down the spring bar vs pull it up, but I am not an expert at all (part of the reason I always use 1-piece straps haha!).
I should clarify that I still “pull” the springbar out in the sense of removing it toward the rear of the lugs (if I “pushed” it toward the front it would be scratch city and a good chance of dinging the front of the lugs. My left hand is providing the upward pressure on the strap to keep the springbar from slipping out the front. Here’s a photo to help show:

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Left finger is stabilizing things with pressure on the top lug while my left thumb (red arrow) is helping keep things steady and then will lift the springbar/strap out once I’ve got the springbar clear of the hole. Meanwhile, I slip the tool between the strap and lug and use my right thumb (blue arrow) to “push” the springbar out of the hole and keep it pushed into the strap as my left thumb is lifting everything out to prevent the bar from springing back and marring the inside of the lug as it comes out.

When I first started, I worked on the top lug rather than the bottom lug from this position, but I’ve found this provides me with more control and lessens the chances of a slipped spring bar marring the lug. Of course, practice has helped, too. [emoji16]
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Re: Japanese spring bar tool

Post by pdsf »

^ Thanks, [mention]cheddar[/mention]! What you shared is very helpful. Makes sense to me. I just had to change some straps. I always underestimate how much force is needed (or I just get weaker over time...prolly both).
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Re: Japanese spring bar tool

Post by DogOnTime »

Do you figure the tip is hardened? Looks like a much more robust version of the wide-flanged tips on the longer springbar tools... which I never used due to their short prongs. This seems much more intuitive.
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Re: Japanese spring bar tool

Post by cheddar »

DogOnTime wrote:Do you figure the tip is hardened? Looks like a much more robust version of the wide-flanged tips on the longer springbar tools... which I never used due to their short prongs. This seems much more intuitive.
Not sure how to tell for sure if it’s hardened, but the listing says it is, and all the descriptions of this and similar tools I’ve seen say they are, too.
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Re: Japanese spring bar tool

Post by cheddar »

Quick follow-up — I changed several additional strap this weekend, and this will definitely be my go-to tool now, at least for leather straps. The small size of the prongs, combined with the flat shape, makes it mush easier to compress the springbar without damaging the leather. Also improves visibility to seat the bar end into the lug hole, reducing the chances of dragging the bar across the lug and scratching it. Think I was able to seat the strap on my BB36 in about 5 seconds, which is by far the quickest I’ve been able to do so.
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