This feature works well for the most part, but we often had to fiddle with the jaws in order to get them to lock in. If youre someone who wants total finesse and ease out of your tools (and youre willing to pay for it), we highly recommend the 10-inch Knipex Cobras with the comfort grips. 
This means you can put your energy into turning and not worry about gripping, almost like locking pliers (a.k.a. Heres what to get when youre ready to handle routine home problems. The square PVC fitting was a good indicator of jaw width (the fitting is about 2 inches). Because they focus on industrial users, Milwaukee has equipped this tool with an interesting pro-only pipe reaming feature at the end of the handles. Whether it's finding great products or discovering helpful advice, we'll help you get it right (the first time). These are meant for delicate surfaces that might dent under the pressure of the teeth, like a PVC fitting or a finished material like chrome. * Applies to all purchases made on If you are a resident of, or wish to acquire a franchise for a [Matco Tools distributorship] to be located in, one of these states or a country whose laws regulate the offer and sale of franchises, we will not offer you a franchise unless and until we have complied with applicable pre-sale registration and disclosure requirements in your jurisdiction. 
When the jaw is in the widest position, the top and bottom handles are basically touching one another, so if youre using them and something slips, your palm can easily be pinched and you could be looking at a massive blood blister. The ease of the system is centered around a button located at the connection point of the two handles. Wirecutter is the product recommendation service from The New York Times. Thin head fits in tight places, teeth bites hard and won't slip, push to adjust and locks in place. Slip-joint pliers are what most people think of when they hear the word pliers. I even locked the jaws onto a pipe that runs along my basement ceiling and lifted my 185 pounds up off the ground holding nothing but the top handle of the pliers. Because of these notches, V-jaws are capable of securely grabbing flat, hex, or round shapes. What set the Irwin apart most was its ease of adjustability.
Lyman has an image here where he displays how strong this lock is (the image shows the Knipex Cobras).
inch channellock griplock gl12 capacity tongue jaw plier groove utility *At the time of publishing, the price was $40. knipex pliers The lower jaw is spring-loaded to the closed position, so to make an adjustment, you need to pull it down, and when the jaws are around something, release the lower handle so it slides up and into place. Our runner-up DeWalt pliers were discontinued. And even though they tend to live in a toolbox, on one occasion, Ive even fetched them to crank open an incredibly stuck jar of honey. knipex us1
10-inch pliers have a grip area of about 5 inches, making them comfortable in most hands with gloves or without.
*At the time of publishing, the price was $16. stripper knipex For more controlled tests, I took them all out to the workshop and used them with a wide variety of nuts and bolts.
The self-locking mechanism was by far the best that we looked at. this design works for me not only do they feel good in your hand .I feel like they grip with far less pressure on the grip than others Ive used and that would be a big number . Doug Mahoney, Best basic tool kit (for the home), Wirecutter, Marc Lyman, Editor of HomeFixated.com, Interview, Carl Duguay, The GrooveLock 'press-n-slide' feature makes for super quick jaw adjustment, Canadian Woodworking, Thomas Gaige, Irwin Groovelock Pliers Review, ProToolReviews, Dan Maxey, Irwin Groovelock Pliers - Review, Tools in Action, Marc Lyman, Knipex Cobra vs. Irwin Groovelock Pliers - Channellock Killers?, HomeFixated. Welders, Shop Equipment and shipped items weighing more than The Milwaukee Quick Adjust Reaming Pliers have comfortable handles, a nice push-button action, and 22 size settings. knipex us1 pliers He also raises sheep and has a dairy cow that he milks every morning. At roughly $43 theyre not cheap, but they surpassed the others in basically every category. channellock pliers Since then, I moved to a circa 1773 home that requires a high level of hands-on upkeep. just a really good tool .I purchased a couple of sizes, This pair is the best pair of slip joint pliers I ever had.Puts my Channellock pliers to shame,easier to adjust than my Channelock pliers with the locking pin.Made by the best pliers maker in the world,Knipex. V-jaw - Adjustable pliers generally come in three designs; v-jaw, straight jaw, or smooth jaw. your Authorized Matco Tools distributor for warranty or return What this means in practical terms is that the adjustment can be made quickly and, if need be, at arms length. Because of the way the locking notches are designed, the lower jaw can be adjusted upwards (to narrow the clamping width) without having to press the button. 30-Day Risk FREE return for refund or replacement Offering all of this for a reasonable $13 currently, this pair is also unlikely to break your tool budget.
This pair has a jaw capacity of more than 2 inches, an easy push-button jaw-size adjustment, and very comfortable handles. Plus, once youre up above the $30 mark, we think it makes sense to bite the bullet and go for the full experience. See
The Klein Quick Adjust Klaw Pump Pliers which are made in Germany and share many characteristics with the Cobras, including the overall design of the head and handles. In practical terms, a better fit translates into a gripping force that is more evenly spread over the nut, resulting in a better grab and an easier turn. return the product for a refund. Theyre nice and wide and have a very slight texture to them that adds a considerable amount of stickiness. The upper handle swells a little at the top edge, creating a nice spot for a thumb to rest.
A 10-inch pair of adjustables can open up to easily two inches and, depending on what youre grabbing, more than three. I tested the strength of the teeth by clamping each pair of pliers down on the head of a galvanized joist hanger nail. Still, the GrooveLocks were better than most at this. If you need to take the blade off your mower or remove a radiator so you can paint behind it, youre going to be exerting a lot of hand strength on the pliers and theres no point in using the dipped style that is sure to leave a giant, sore, red line running through your palm.
On average, they have a jaw capacity of about 2 inches which means they can handle all of the plumbing connections under the kitchen sink as well as any standard 4-inch waste line clean-outs or large pipes.1. Klein specializes in electricians tools, so its not surprising that the jaw has a small notch for gripping a wire. The most useful all-around gripping tool to have in the home toolbox is a pair of adjustable pliers. MatcoTools.com excluding Toolboxes, Tool Carts, Diagnostics, But, even then there is a workaround. By every marker (other than price), the Cobras excel against the competition. To adjust jaw size, simply press the button and slide the handle up or down, increasing or decreasing the jaw opening. As for me, Ive been reviewing hand tools since 2007, relying on extensive knowledge gained from a decade-long career in construction. This is the best slip joint pliers I ever owned.
We feel that the added comfort of the padded handles justifies the added expense. The Cobras always held, even in places where the competition slipped. Even having worked in construction for ten years, written about tools for seven, and recently gutted and rebuilt my own house, I cant remember the last time I even picked up a pair of slip-joint pliers.
Privacy Policy The most important things to look for in a pair of adjustable pliers are a push-button adjustment, padded ergonomic handles, a 10-inch length, and a V-jaw design. It doesnt alter the functionality of the tool at all, and its likely that you wont even notice it unless you have experience with other thinner-nosed pliers.
If you are not 100% satisfied with your returnable items,
Its a two-handed operation and the jaws only have a parallel opening of about 1 inches (compared to most of the others at well more than 2 inches). We tested out the Milwaukee 8-Inch Quick-Adjust Reaming Pliers and found them inadequate for many around the house jobs). For this guide, we spoke with Marc Lyman, editor of HomeFixated.com, a website devoted to covering tools and the home improvement industry. Subscribe now for unlimited access. Of the pliers tested, the 10-inch Irwin GrooveLocks provided the best balance of functionality and price thanks to their easy push-button adjustment, very comfortable handles, 15 jaw adjustment sizes, and a handy self-locking feature that holds the bottom handle in place so you can focus on turning instead of gripping. This is potentially a huge bonus for a pro electrician or plumber, but its not going to mean a whole lot to the average homeowner. There were a number of other tools that we looked at but decided not to test. During that time, I worked as a carpenter, foreman, and finally a job supervisor for a high-end builder in the Boston area. Even if cost were no object, we would still choose them over all of the otherswith the exception of our upgrade, the Knipex Cobras, which typically go for around $45. This hinders the line of sight on small little nuts and bolts and makes it trickier to use in tight spots. knipex pliers knipex What makes adjustable pliers so unique is that the jaw opening can be adjusted, but the two jaws remain parallel. channellock plier griplock knipex In 2021, Channellock (finally) released their version of the push button adjustable pliers. In addition, the jaws are designed so that they self-lock onto a nut or bolt, letting you focus more on turning than on gripping. 20112022 Zoro Tools, Inc. All rights reserved We remain confident in our other picks. The Milwaukees were also the only pliers that did not have anti-pinch handles. With the handles so nicely formed to the natural curves of the hand, theyre far less tiring to use for extended periods of time. For something so universal, they actually offer very little when compared to much more versatile adjustable pliers. The DeWalt DWHT7046 Push-Lock Pliers were once a runner-up pick, but have since been discontinued. 10-inch length - The 10-inch length splits the difference between too big and bulky and too small and ineffective. These pliers have a far more precise adjustment mechanism than any of the other tested tools, the handles are more comfortable, and the small, sleek head can fit into the tightest of spots. Ive also found adjustable pliers to be a fantastic fill-in-the-cracks tool. The Knipex Cobra's self-locking feature is flawless and it has 25 different size options. The Wiha Adjustable Plier is a pricey one but only has eight jaw settings and if youre already closing in on the $40 mark, it makes sense to go with the Knipex Cobras. WIth this feature, they can grab anything from a nut or bolt, to a pipe or the end of a garden hose. The non-ergonomic Cobras are priced at about $10 less (around $33) and in all other aspects are identical. irwin knipex alligator
The older style of adjustment requires that the handles be opened to their maximum width, so if youre looking for a specific size (and you usually are), it can take a few tries before you find the right one because youre making your size selection with the jaws fully opened. This is a very nice tool, but the dipped handles and meager 11 jaw positions took it out of contention. I also strained the hinge point by clamping the tip of the upper jaw in a vice and twisting, pulling, and pushing on the other handle. After testing 15 wrenches over the past three years, weve determined that the Channellock 8WCB WideAzz 8-Inch Adjustable Wrench, with its comfortable handle and wide jaws, is still the best for all-around home use. For the past sevenyears, Ive used the Irwin Groovelocks and the Knipex Cobras quite a bit while wrapping up a renovation and moving to a new home. A 10-inch pair of traditional tongue and groove pliers might only have seven size settings, but the push button adjustment allows for at least twice that and, depending on the manufacturer, sometimes much more (the Knipex Cobra has 25 settings).