Not very good for gripping thin objects as the jaws are not parallel, so objects rotate about a point. They don't have the Hakko mark anywhere, so I don't know if they're real. For the price, a locking mechanism to keep them closed for storage would be a reasonable expectation. I'm glad I only bought one to test the brand and not several at once. On the plus side, the handles feel comfortable and the jaws hardly move from side to side.