My old set of modeler's small nose pliers, which I loved, finally seized up. I thought I had got a bit of CA inside, but debonder failed to loosen them up. Maybe hinge pin finally corroded or something- anyway, needed a new set. Stuff in catalogs looked expensive for a buy without careful examination, local hardware store had nothing worthwhile. There is a Harbor Freight in town, took a drive down there day before yesterday, got two pairs of nice pliers. One is the classic 4-1/2 inch small nose, the other is extended "beak" smallnose. I looked them over carefully, holding up to light. They close evenly, action is smooth.
Best thing- the small nose was three bucks, the extended beak set was four bucks! If you have a harbor freight around, take a look. Don't know where these are made, quality could vary a lot of unit to unit so bring good glasses to inspect them, but at least some in the lot are pretty good!