I saw not too long ago that Acme Tools is carrying Knipex and their prices seemed -from memory, not sure- to be roughly similar to Amazon. Maybe check them? I had good luck with them before with Makita tools, they were beating other prices.
IIRC, I bought all of mine from Amazon because those were the cheapest I found at the time.
I would not buy that HF one. The price is too close to the real thing (from memory), and it's likely all about the steel quality and machining tolerances. The former is hard to tell. If it were $10...
just saw that some company (Klein maybe, I don't recall) put out a clone of the Pliers Wrench but with a flippable serrated moving jaw so it can serve as more of pipe pliers unlike the original. I imagine the patents on the Pliers Wrench must have just expired.
added: yup, here it is...
no, I don't have one of those. They do look intended for metal rods, bolts, etc, though, not so much electrical wires. They have quite a few other types that look better suited for the latter, I think. But if it works well for you, great. Always good to try new things.
I was wrong, Knipex claims that that little 2 notches cable shears will cut 51/64" (about 0.8") of stranded copper. That is a lot bigger than 00 AWG (unless they meant with the insulation). I ended up choosing that one because the front notch is great for insulation stripping and the rear one...
I have a Knipex side cutter, it works fine, but is rated for specific hardness and thickness, like so many mms of piano wire, although I imagine that has more to do with damaging the cutting edge than cutting ability. Also have some electric wire cutters (the 2 notches type) for copper -up to...
glad it worked for you. Bit curious though: I do not recall ever seeing a flathead bolt with Allen key that also has outside hex faces that one could set the Plier Wrench on. Is that what you had? Or did you mean something like holding the Allen key with the Knipex?
Found it! Having just posted that, I went looking in less obvious places. Thanks, mudders! And, no, it was not under another tool, it was on top of a pile of oil containers, kinda outta sight, above eye level. No idea why I would even put it there.
Learned something today: Don't just drop...
still have not found my new baby Pliers Wrench. Dang.... And it's not like a bunch of people have access to my shop cuz of course that would explain that, being so cute and all. So must be that they are so small they fell behind some junk. Sheesh.... If so, I'll never find them again...
well, I'll be... Just found out that Harbor Freight is now selling a complete clone of the 10" Knipex Pliers Wrench... What do they call it? The Pliers Wrench...
Oh, and according to them it's "Designed in the USA" apparently... Well at least it seems like it's made in Taiwan and not in...
well dang it, this little guy is either too cute or too small cuz I can't find it any more. Either it grew legs or fell someplace in my bursting garage/storage area never to be seen again... Bummer.
^ if those are you getting ready for Christmas, your friends and family are very lucky indeed! If that is you getting ready to have fun in the shop, you are a fortunate man yourself!
likely unneeded, but just so there is no confusion guys: the Cobras will work on hex bolts and nuts or square parts, but I believe the Pliers Wrench are way better for those. OTOH, the Pliers Wrench will be completely worthless on round pipes but the Cobras shine there. Just be prepared for...
yup. I have a bigger Cobra that I have used fairly hard. The teeth are still just as new, very sharp, they seem extremely hard. Unlike some of my older Crescent etc slip wrench-like tools. The Cobra will put a mark on pipes but it won't slip.
(Have to add, that the pic in KLF's thread...
well, from my experience, here is a difference: Your normal wrench, whether open-ended or not has to have some clearance in order to fit the bolt or nut. Usually, it's quite a bit actually, especially with cheaper ones IME. So when you tighten with it, you end up putting all the stress on the...
The Pliers Wrenches have flat smooth parallel moving jaws. I was not talking about the Cobras if that's what you meant, although they are great too, just not as brilliant.