SE Watch Case Back Opener - HN7

I bought mine when I saw one being used by a profession cell phone repair shop. In certain situations it is the ideal "Spudger". One of those tools that you'll reach for more than you think on your bench. DURABLE as hell! I BROKE the point off one. See pic. BUT what it took to do that was bending in back and forth prying probably SEVENTY times, no kidding! I was impressed. (I bought 2 more to replace it) Its made of 440 steel and it holds a substantially sharp edge too. I hone mine on a diamond whetstone. Slices paper. sharp enough to cut you good. GREAT for EMO'S ;-) You COULD take the sharp edge down some by sanding if you wanted, making it less like a micro katana. IN MY OPINION, this is a excellent quality tool who's uses you will find go well beyond just opening watch backs. If it were sitting on your bench, and no-one told you what it is for, how many uses would YOU find for it? Me? Here's a few: fingernail cleaner, label adhesive remover. De-burr aluminum, Prybar for plastic plugs on aluminum square tube, removing plastic housings from electronic devices, Oh, and I did pry a watch back apart with it too. ;-)

I tried different tools to open the back of some old watches to replace the battery myself without much luck. I saw this type of knife reading some articles on the internet. So I purchased this 4Pk and they really work great. When you hold them you know what a good product you have. Each knife is inside of a sleeve but a second clear sleeve covers the blade; very nice. I did practice taking the back off of some old watches before trying on a nicer watch. I had to look for the lip around the back of the watch using a magnifying glass to place the blade. If you don't have much strength in your hands you can use just the very tip of the blade like I did. The back of the watch came off easily. The number on each battery was easy to replace. With a little W-D 40 on a Q tip applied around the case it snapped back in place. You will save yourself some time and money when you replace the battery yourself and this product will help.

This is a pretty good little utility blade. Great for those small jobs for which you don't want to risk your good pocket knife: prying, chiseling, punching holes. And for those complaining that it's too thick or not sharp enough: it has to be thick to withstand prying, and every knife gets dull and has to be sharpened. I've taken away one star because the handle could be heftier, with softened edges, to be more comfortable. Still great for the price.

I've tried using small screwdrivers and sharpened putty knives to open watches and my watch backs have the scratches to prove it. This is a simple small knife with the blade beveled so that it's sharp enough to get between the watch back and the case but not so sharp and thin that the blade gets damaged. The knife is a good size and the handle is thick and sturdy and fits well in your hand. It felt like I had a lot of control and I wasn't worried about it slipping and scratching the watch. The shape of the blade seem well suited for use on very small to normal sized watches. At less than $5 it's worth the price. While it's labeled as a tool for watches I can see me using this to pry open other items that can withstand the use of a metal tool.

I thought this handy little gadget would word getting the back off my wife's Bulova watch when I tried everything else! The Lip on the back of the watch has a less than a Hair clearance to get any tool under to remove the back so I can change the battery, but failed. Not the manufacture's fault that this tool did not work, it the watch manufacture's fault. It has the company name engraved on the back of the watch where my wife worked as a 10 year gift working there. Not sure if Bulova does this on purpose so you can't remove the back? Not taking it to a jeweler either and pay a zillion $$ to do it. So I guess the watch will just sit although my wife is upset. UPDATE: Used an old steak knife with jagged edges , back popped right off. Also wanted to note on this item...blade was too thick for the back of my watch. But tool may be useful for other things.

It's 440 stainless steel, which is a good quality and sturdy steel commonly used to make good quality stainless knives. It's not exotic are super-hard compared to some newer formulations, but is a great choice and nice to see in an economical tool like this. And just like any knife, you can and should plan to maintain the blade if you want it to perform well. It will dull with use and may not arrive with the optimal profile for watches you have, so get a sharpening stone and sharpen it or re-profile it to work best for you. That said, the handle/scales riveted to the side of the full stainless steel tang blade are a little crude and appear to be rough stamped from a softer metal, most likely aluminum. If you have a metal file or even a fingernail file, you can soften the edges of the handle and remove any burrs to bring it up to the quality of the blade itself. On the positive side, they are firmly riveted to the blade. I like this opener and think it's was a good deal for the $5 and change I spent on it.

5-6-2013. Tool arrived and looks well crafted, although I have not used it yet. I was opening my watch backs (snap-in variety) with a Swiss army know can-opener blade. This appears that it will do the job well. The "SE Knife, Watch Case Opener 4 1/2in (4 Pk)" description is a bit confusing. I didn't expect four products, only one based on price, but the "4 pk" would lead one to think it was four items. After I use it a time or two I may re-evaluate this assessment. 3.2.2014. I wish that I had purchased the SE - Knife - Watch Case Opener, 4.5in., 4 Pk. This one only had a single knife. A later purchase from a differ vendor had four knives. All the same item. They work fine and open my Timex watch back easily. Be sure to place the honed edge against the back cover and curved side against the case. Otherwise it slips out and doesn't open.

I purchased this knife to open the back of a ladies Timex watch, but it failed to do so. However, I think that it might work on other watches, so I have not given up hope and I will keep on trying. Two other points, first the good then the bad. The good - The advertisement for the knife does not mention what it is made of and I feared that it might be relatively soft cold rolled steel. However, the knife was marked as 440 steel, which I assume is 440 stainless steel. If so, the knife should be corrosion resistant and strong enough to prevent being easily bent, and in fact has been so far unaffected by my exertions in trying to open the back of my wife's watch. The exact properties depend on a lot of things, including the heat treatment, but the critical point is that it did not bend in spite of the fact that I was only able to get only the slightest bit the edge of the knife between the back and the rest of the case. If the knife were to have bent I would have expected this to do it, so I am satisfied with the material used for the construction of this product. Now the bad - the picture showing the knife shows four knives, so I expected four, perhaps of differencing thickness. I only got one. I am not complaining because the description mentions knife, not knives, so it can be argued that I got what I ordered. However, showing four is misleading. I guess they were referring to the colors of the handles, but you do not get a choice of color and nothing about this is even mentioned. In my opinion, showing four knives was deliberate and done to be misleading - caveat emptor.

Funciona muy bien para abrir relojes de tapa. Antes había usado mi navaja de bolsillo, pero la operación es peligrosa e inestable. En cambio, con este abridor, las posibilidades de lesionarte se reducen sustancialmente. Sugiero utilizarlo con un soporte para reloj, es más seguro y facilita la operación. En cuanto a la calidad, el metal utilizado es apropiado para la herramienta y se siente durable. En lo general, estoy contento con el producto y supera por mucho mi anterior solución.

This product looked just the job, but it didn't work for me. I still had to take the watch to a professional to open it.

Non l'ho acquistato come aprifondello ma nel mio laboratorio ne avevo uno uguale di circa 40 anni fa, quasi uguale; questo lo affiancherà e mi sembra di pari qualità, per ora soddisfatto

Easy to use, blade is thin and perfect for what I use it for, opening bezels around gems.

Worked well. For someone new to opening a watch, like myself, do have to be patient and slowly work your way in with the knife. Eventually it will open as we see in the repair shop.