moronmountain
Well-known member
Or should I look into other brands for looking pliers?
Visegrips any good?
- Thread starter moronmountain
- Start date
garfunkle24
Well-known member
Grip-on are a good alternative. Maybe do a search, as their is a ton of stuff on here regarding USA vs non-USA visegrips. The newer ones are imported.
arkangel06
Banned
Grip on nothings better 
vise grips are chinese ****!
vise grips are chinese ****!
OP
moronmountain
Well-known member
Grip on nothings better
vise grips are chinese ****!
Where's a good retailer, or online distibutor?
Epstein has some of the last remaining Vise Grips Made in USA
OP
moronmountain
Well-known member
garfunkle24
Well-known member
See my thread here: new toys thread for pictures of my Grip-ons and post #32 has a comparison of Grip-ons vs vicegrips.
arkangel06
Banned
They are **** compared to grip ons
KraftwerkMk1Jetta
Well-known member
The old Peterson made Vice Grips are the best. The Irwin made in the USA ones teeth aren't nearly as hard and wear resistant as the Petersons were. It's a shame another good tool company down the *******.
Well, the owner who sold out to the Chinese in Kansas got many death threats. Had to have police protection for a while.
Greed will getcha every time!
I am almost 100% sure they are, yes.
Underdog
Well-known member
I've got probably 30 pairs of Vise Grips, still buy them at the flea Mkt when I can for 2-4$ "like new" Peterson's. Hey they don't make them anymore so why not.
Mr.Nutcase
Well-known member
Nope........ china ****.....
PreferredMotorsLLC
Well-known member
- Joined
- Apr 23, 2010
- Messages
- 72
My Snapon guy has Visegrips that he says are NOS. They have "The Original" stamped on them, but no COO. Any idea if these are the real deal, or should I go with the "Grip-On" set?
the global ones will have a a roll pin in the relaese lever and an allen head on the adjustment knob. i consider those in the buy category even though i believe the adjustment screw was imported. the good old us made ones have the roll pin and no allen head in the adjusting screw. the new china junk has a rivet in the release lever and the allen head adjusting screw. those.......are junk leave them in the store. they sound like junk if you tap them together. they sound like cheap tin. i was told by an irwin rep that the riveted lever is definately only on the import ones.
Michael Bryce Winnick
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jan 25, 2010
- Messages
- 112
I got a set of 5 USA made visegrips from Harry J. Epsein. I will not touch the Taiwanese garbage or the "global component" P.R. garbage. The USA ones are the last of the best. I have never had a pair of visgrips fail or pinch me. I have never used a GripOn tool. Apparently nobody has a bad thing to say about them so by the exacting standards of this site, it must be a great tool. Admitted.
The Visegrips going overseas story should drive home the point that as a country we better start to take care of our own. The international community would not piss in our ears if our brain was on fire.
Buy American.
The Visegrips going overseas story should drive home the point that as a country we better start to take care of our own. The international community would not piss in our ears if our brain was on fire.
Buy American.
I like the Grip-On ones with the groove in the jaws that lets you hold fasteners or whatever right in the center. Great when you're grinding.
A) The plant was in DeWitt, Nebraska . . . not Kansas
B) The owner is Newell Rubbermaid, not an individual. I'm sure someone got death threats, but shareholders (not individuals) have "owned" that company for awhile now.
C) It wasn't "sold" to a Chinese company, production was moved overseas. The brand is still owned by NWL, just produced overseas.
I'm all for bashing on companies that move american manufacturing jobs overseas, especially when it's my former employeer . . . but let's at least get the facts straight.
thanks for the info. i was questioning those statements but did not have the time to go fact finding. is my info on the differances between us, global and imported models correct? i would think you would be a more accurate source.
RbrtAWhyt
Well-known member
Your snap on guy figures if you believe it about their new ratchets you'll believe it about his NOS vice grips...
Last edited:
arkangel06
Banned
No coo= made in china
If they dont say MADE IN THE USA then they are not made there!
Can't offer any assistance there. I didn't work for Irwin directly, but another one of the companies under the Newell umbrella, so I don't have that much product-specific knowledge.
to bad. i have been offering up that info for a long time. i am about 99% sure on it's accuracy but we can all be wrong. i was hoping for validation or somone to have the last word. until someone contradicts me i will keep using those descriptions.
you can still find "made in usa" vise grips, but you have to search for them. the petersons will be hard pressed unless you find them at a local flea market or garage sale. home depot, sears, and one other local place has the usa mixed in with the global usa and china ****. they're usually pushed to the back when they get new stock in. these are actually stamped with "made in the usa" on the handle.
atari
Well-known member
I was just at Granger today an looked through what they had. They had a bunch of global and some china. I asked the guy behind the counter if the china ones were cheaper than the global units, He just gave me a blank stare.
I'm still seeing a lot of the Made in USA models in places I've been into. A lot of times new stock isn't rotated and the older models keep getting pushed to the back of the line. Take a look all the way in the back next time your in your favorite store.
Eric
Eric
shamrock12
Well-known member
I was at Home Depot yesterday browsing through the tools department and remembered about the Vise Grips. So I went over and dug deep into the back and found a few 100% USA made pliers (one 10R & two 6SP), probably a dozen of USA with global componets, and the rest are china ****. Didn't find any USA made 11Rs that I need to complete my set.
theamcaddict
Well-known member
sawatch
Well-known member
Most of my vice grips are Petersens, but I also have a couple of Protos. Anybody know when they they were last made?
shamrock12
Well-known member
Truly USA made pliers has "MADE IN U.S.A." stamped on the handle where release lever is.
Those made with global components won't have that stamped.
read post #19. they can be visually identified in an instant if you know what to look for.
Scooterfish
Well-known member
The Peterson name on them went away in the mid 80s (I think
)
When in a store a quick feel for the allen set screw in the screw clamp will tell you it`s an import. You can find the NOS made in USA ones in lower volume hardware stores etc.
)When in a store a quick feel for the allen set screw in the screw clamp will tell you it`s an import. You can find the NOS made in USA ones in lower volume hardware stores etc.
The Peterson name on them went away in the mid 80s (I think
When in a store a quick feel for the allen set screw in the screw clamp will tell you it`s an import. You can find the NOS made in USA ones in lower volume hardware stores etc.
the set screw is not the tell all. it is the roll pin. i have us made and global vice grips. quality difference is negligeable if any. if i recall, only the adjusting screw and or spring were global. the majority of it was still us made. the **** ones are the ones with the riveted release lever rather than the roll pin. again, read post 19.
Last edited:
Bruce Lancaster
Well-known member
- Joined
- Apr 3, 2006
- Messages
- 1,642
The truly real older ones with Petersen logo don't actually say "Made in USA" on the tool, though of course they were. Presumably packaging would have carried that. The one I have here in my office has the company logo with Petersen and DeWitt on it and a USPat number, which could have been legally applied to an entirely furrin wrench, so it is good to know about the roll pin/rivet tell.
Lots of mine are the pre-1957 or so that don't have a release lever and still carry a reference to a 1942 patent...
Lots of mine are the pre-1957 or so that don't have a release lever and still carry a reference to a 1942 patent...