Pliers & Diagonal Cutters - Klein vs. Channellock

[kctyphoon]

If you're putting together a pliers set for home, this is what I decided on.. eBay is a good place to find some models not sold in stores. That where I found the cheapest prices for some.
Another lesser known American brand you can look at is Wilde Tools. Many items you see on shelves are actually rebranded from Wilde, like the USA craftsman pry bars, and Channellock retaining ring pliers. I bought 3 Wilde pliers to keep on the motorcycle. While I havent used them, they seem very nice. Had I heard of them earlier, I might have made my home set from Wilde. They make a ton of stuff, and you can buy direct from their website, hd online, or eBay. I kinda like that their a different brand with some unique things.

 

[toolenthusiast]

Re: Pliers & Diagonal Cutters - Klein vs. Channellock

I recently had to put together a tool kit for some of my technicians to complete a specific project. The project required cutting a small hardened stainless strap. I tested every cutter I could get my hands on. Cost wasn't an issue. Labor savings quickly offset the cost of a good set of cutters. The Irwins were the clear winner. They even out performed the knipex mini bolt cutters. I bought 400 of them and distributed. I've not heard of a single complaint or failure. I'm a fan of Klein and own a lot of their tools, but they didn't hold up to the irwins. One pair of Klein cutters I tested failed on the first cut.

Here are a few of the ones tested.




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What happens to all the rejected brands that you tried?

 

[cheechi]

I am a big fan of the 'fat' handles, Klein Journeyman series, the new Channellock red/blue ones, Knipex makes the hardest of the 3 but they are still comfortable also. I have plenty of pliers that don't have the fat handles, and out of those I like the Knipex and Klein about equal.

whenever I need to buy a pair of pliers for something I start with Knipex, see if they make it, and since nobody local sells them anymore I put the link on my phone and go to HD where I can compare it to CL and Klein, and if I'm near Sears see if the Craftsman version of the Knipex will be good enough. Some Ideal pliers are not bad either if I'm near a Lowe's I will stop in and look at it.

I don't have access to SO on discount, so this works for me. Most of the time I end up getting the Knipex but have had some pleasant surprises from CL.

 

[mikebaker1129]

Out of your 2 choices,I would pick Klein over Channellock.
You can get a pair of wire pro by Klein dykes at Cripe for$8.
The dykes look the same as
Klein to me except they are missing the name and have black handles.

 

[HanShotFirst]

So took a look at the Irwin diagonal cutters today. Most were made in China, but the top of the line was made in Germany. The German cutters looked very nice, but if given the choice of buying Germany or US, I'll take US. So I ended up buying some small diagonals from Channellock.

 

[speed bump]

I would buy the 8" blue handled Klein's over just about everything for 2 reasons. The handle shape is awesome for working them with outstretched fingers and they​ have just the right amount of bend for getting in close. They might not be the highest performing pliers if you care about cutting piano wire or cheapest but they are pretty well thought out from a user perspective. Also Channel locks used to only go up to a 7" **** and my Knipex 10" dykes don't really add leverage except when I can get my hand wrapped around them.

 

[cheechi]

So took a look at the Irwin diagonal cutters ...the top of the line was made in Germany. The German cutters looked very nice

those are rebranded NWS. Very nice pliers.

 

[HanShotFirst]

those are rebranded NWS. Very nice pliers.

Yes the Irwins were the NWS and they were very nice. They didn't have any of the smaller cutters that I was looking for. Regardless, I was looking to buy American so the very nice German diagonals were out.

 

[kctyphoon]

Without going crazy, if American is non-negotiable, your "easy" choices are Klein, Channellock, Wilde Tool. If you want the best of those, that would be Klein. If price and size is a factor, Wilde doesn't make cutters larger than 7". 8" is usually the preferred size for most. That leaves the Channellock E338, unless you wanna pony up for the Klein.

 

[Tennessee Cattleman]

Klein linesman pliers are the best linesman pliers I have ever used. Heavy duty for hard use.

 

[HanShotFirst]

Without going crazy, if American is non-negotiable, your "easy" choices are Klein, Channellock, Wilde Tool. If you want the best of those, that would be Klein. If price and size is a factor, Wilde doesn't make cutters larger than 7". 8" is usually the preferred size for most. That leaves the Channellock E338, unless you wanna pony up for the Klein.

HD was out of the smaller Klein diagonals; that was the deciding factor to buy the Channellock.

 

[kctyphoon]

HD was out of the smaller Klein diagonals; that was the deciding factor to buy the Channellock.

The new E388's are pretty nice. I was actually just using mine.. did you get the 7" or 8" channellock? They are kinda different these days. The old 388 were nice too, and opened a lot wider than the new models.

 

[HanShotFirst]

I bought the 7" cutters. I have a decent supply of the larger ones, 8" & 9".