Saw a
demo on pipe with that and an older footprint wrench (perhaps as efficient as they are esoteric, or eclectic, or something).
What I gather otherwise is the magic wrench could work well on smaller pipe (being that it has two ends of different size ranges), and the footprint wrench comes in a small size also, whereas a review of the newer yet similar
RapidGrip wrench says it works better on 3/4" and up (well those are larger wrenches). Then all of these have other names, some of which are made too cheaply to work for long, even though they look about the same. Actually I found the least amount of feedback on the magic wrench, other than breif demos (except a cheaper brand was said not to be very rugged)... kind of strange if the original has been around a while, and this seems to be the only topic here about it too. I don't know, pipe wrenches have always been kind of clunky to check out at hardware stores (one time a clerk walked up and asked if he could "help me" look at the regular type I was fiddling with, and I asked if he could make it stay tight on a pipe while it's turning, "sure"... so then he handles it like a pro wrestler, giving it a fake headlock, but only messing up his own hair, I just said "wow"). Anyway, guess I'll try the footprint style for my first actual pipe wrench (perhaps it has been around too long to be as questionable, even though it wasn't around me, at least it appears the handle will help in keeping a pipe clamped). For that matter I don't see why the wrenches don't lock on like pipe vises and then ratchet (unless everyone would overtighten if they worked that well... who knows, I'd have to think some clamp better than others, if the same designs are staying around, and newer ones might only be faster to engage, not necessarily firmer).
Speaking of vises, there's vise grips too, not sure if those are as heavy duty, or to clamp some huge pair as tightly as an actual vise would require them to be machine powered. I'm not that worried about it, just wondering why the average pipe wrench is always having to be improved.
Well there you go, the 12R type vise grip for pipes (guess that would be a good compliment to the older plier type pipe wrench). Maybe not as heavy duty, but over 3" jaw opening here at about half the size of a standard pipe wrench opening as much.
