Dumont Tweezers

Specification

Technical parameters

Overview

Dumont tweezers are numbered rather than named, and the number tells you the tip profile and how stiff the body is. A No. 1 is fine and delicate for hairsprings; a No. 2 is the general-purpose shape most people start with; a No. 5 is finer still; higher numbers get progressively stronger and blunter for heavier work like mainsprings and case springs.

Material matters as much as shape. Brass tweezers mark less and are the correct choice for anything you do not want scratched — dials, hands, polished plates. Steel is harder wearing and holds a fine tip better. Anti-magnetic variants matter when you are working near a demagnetiser or handling parts that must stay demagnetised.

Tips are dressing, not a fixed feature. A tweezer that has been dropped has tips that no longer meet, and no amount of squeezing will fix it. Learning to dress tips properly — on a stone, maintaining the relief angle — is one of the first real skills in the craft.

What matters about it

• Numbering encodes tip fineness and body strength
• Brass for finished surfaces, steel for general work
• Anti-magnetic variants for magnetically sensitive work
• Tips are consumable and meant to be re-dressed
• The correct tweezer is chosen per part, not per job

Practical notes

• Use brass for dials and hands; steel will leave a mark you cannot remove.
• Never use tweezers to unscrew anything — you will round the slot and ruin the tips at the same time.
• Dress tips so they meet along a short flat, not at a single point; a point tears soft parts.
• Buy two of the model you use most. You will drop one.

Compatible with