$15 Knipex Cobra clones

[kctyphoon]

Finally broke down and bought some 10" Cobras to see if they're worthy of replacing my Alligators. I had no idea just how many Knipex clones had hit Amazon. At $15 compared to the $26 for Knipex, $35 for NWS - these were tempting. Available in different sizes but the 10" are only $15.. anyone try one of these?

ABN | Adjustment Water Pump Pliers – 10” Inch Slip Joint Pliers Plumbing Pliers Adjustable Waterpump Pliers https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MWD2467/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[Mohawk Dave]

I assume these are the same ones I bought at Tractor Supply.

I have the real ones as well, but bought the knock offs for what I call "Dirty work"...demo, nasty, torchin stuff, etc. The knock offs are definitely softer teeth, but not soft by any means. Well worth the price to me. I'd buy again, put it that way. And I don't buy cheap(er) stuff lightly.

 

[joe_padavano]

I assume these are the same ones I bought at Tractor Supply.

X2. I think I paid $15 for a pair (8" and 10") at TSC. I also have a Milwaukee clone. I use them a lot. The slider mechanism and pushbutton are not as smooth as on the Knipex, but they work well enough.

 

[ChrisLS8]

Check other companies such as VBW, Schmidtz, Orbis etc. I got some VBW rebrands for the same price

 

[TangoFoxTrot]

I'd just pay $11 more dollars for the actual Knipex. I'm not a tool snob, but I just think that's a small premium for a great tool you'll probably have for life.

 

[bushmechanic]

I'd just pay $11 more dollars for the actual Knipex. I'm not a tool snob, but I just think that's a small premium for a great tool you'll probably have for life.

It also keeps them high quality. Running to the Chinese option is what ruins product quality. You're only going to buy them once, so wait until you can buy them right.

 

[Professional Tool User]

As someone who uses tools to make a living, I'll cough up the money for certain styles of Knipex pliers such as the Cobras. The knock offs like the Milwaukee ones don't have the same groovy handle shape and look a bit cruder. The rebranded Knipex Cobras I bought under the Craftsman name for home use were marginally more expensive when they were on sale. $15-$20 is not cheap enough if it's a knock off. A Made in China or Taiwan knockoff of a tool has to be at 1/3 or less of the price of a made in USA or Germany tool to make it worth my while. It's about time the consumer demanded more savings be passed on from those who outsource.

 

[seber]

I went to the local tool store today and compared the Knipex to Irwin. I came away with the irwin. Both tools use box joints and both work easily. The Irwin has less slop. The Knipex has narrower jaws. Reviews say the Knipex lose the button in short order but still work fine. Overall pros and cons are not significant so it came down to price. No contest on that point.

 

[Wamsutta]

I guarantee you I'd fine something goofy with them. No substitute for the real thing.

 

[Naltastrife]

Most of the knockoffs have bigger heads, softer teeth, and/or crappier adjusters. I reach for my cobras hourly as a steering/suspension and alignment tech. Ive had channellock, irwins, etc. They all wear out quickly, the teeth on my knipex after cleaning the grease off still look new after much use.

Go Knipex and be assured you've got quality you can count on anytime you ask it to do a job.

 

[Wamsutta]

I'm pretty sure the Sears Craftsman were knockoffs. The were sloppy and cheesy.

 

[ChrisLS8]

The Craftsman's were rebranded Knipex. The pair I had stamped Made in Germany

 

[Professional Tool User]

I'm pretty sure the Sears Craftsman were knockoffs. The were sloppy and cheesy.

If so, why do mine say Made in Germany on them?

 

[Professional Tool User]

I went to the local tool store today and compared the Knipex to Irwin. I came away with the irwin. Both tools use box joints and both work easily. The Irwin has less slop. The Knipex has narrower jaws. Reviews say the Knipex lose the button in short order but still work fine. Overall pros and cons are not significant so it came down to price. No contest on that point.

I have both. The Irwin ones are bulky, the adjustment mechanism very coarse, and the teeth are soft. Just about everything under the Irwin brand name is garbage. The slim jaws really do make a difference as it applies force on a much smaller surface area. The Cobras are good enough to double up as a pipe wrench when needed.

 

[Wamsutta]

If so, why do mine say Made in Germany on them?

That's part of the knockoff!

 

[anndel]

I just have the original Knipex I bought a couple of years ago. There were knockoffs back then as well but I passed on them.

 

[kctyphoon]

Never seen anyone point out how the pliers design is reversed on the cobra’s vs the alligators. The alligators allow much more movement in the jaws... not saying its a plus or a minus.. most people just say the one has a push button, and the other doesnt - but the actual design on the pliers are completely reversed. It limits how far you can open the cobra’s jaws.

 

[Rabid Badger]

I'm pretty sure the Sears Craftsman were knockoffs. The were sloppy and cheesy.

Nope.

 

[General Geoff]

I'm pretty sure the Sears Craftsman were knockoffs. The were sloppy and cheesy.

No sir, they were real Knipex pliers rebranded as Craftsman.

 

[kctyphoon]

Alligators vs Cobra's. See how the design is basically reversed. The handle with "dual sides" is lower jaw side on one, and the top jaw side on the other.

Max jaw opening at first position. Nothing inhibits the alligator models. It's similar in every position.

New vs used teeth after a few years of abuse. The old are little worn down, not as sharp, but no pieces are missing.

Good pic of how worn down the teeth have gotten. Didnt even notice till I got the new ones.

 

[TangoFoxTrot]

Alligators vs Cobra's. See how the design is basically reversed. The handle with "dual sides" is lower jaw side on one, and the top jaw side on the other.

Having both, I greatly prefer the Cobra design with the button to the Alligator. The Alligator just always feels awkward to me to adjust.

They're both high quality though.

 

[AngryBeaver]

those knock offs look identical to the ones at TSC.

don't waste your money.

 

[tearapin]

New cloner in the game.... I bought the 10's to check the out. For $18 with coupon I just had to try them. https://www.harborfreight.com/search?q=doyle fast adjust

 

[McFarmer]

I don’t encourage this type of thing with my money.

 

[Parrothead]

The Craftsman's were rebranded Knipex. The pair I had stamped Made in Germany

If so, why do mine say Made in Germany on them?

That's part of the knockoff!

Nope.

They’re just rebranded Knipex. While Craftsman liked to rip off designs and make their own version (see Bionic Wrench), they’re not copying the design and remaking them in their home country of Germany.

Now, Craftsman did make a knockoff of the mini-bolt cutters.

 

[lardy1]

I'm following this because I'm going to buy some. With no more price differential than I'm seeing, Knipex will get the nod.

 

[bwringer]

FWIW, Menard's keeps a lot of Knipex on the shelf if you're in a state with Menard's. They also have some very nice Orbis stuff over in electrical tools.

Comparing in person with the lesser stuff nearby is an eye-opener.

 

[kngelv]

Get the real thing. I’m tired of Chinese trademark violations and forced technology transfers as a cost of doing business.

James

 

[Avenging Bankroll]

nothing

 

[measuredtwice]

I paid only $5 more for a genuine Knipex and it was shipped to my door the next day. Shipping from Harbor Freight would cost $7 making the Harbor Freight more expensive than what I paid for Knipex. And it would take Harbor Freight weeks or months to ship.

 

[Git]

I paid $16.92 for the real deal a couple of years ago when they were on sale at Amazon

Go over to Slick Deals, set up an alert for 'Knipex' or whatever your looking for and get an email notice

Example deals recently for Knipex recently

 

[Avenging Bankroll]

nothing

 

[M635_Guy]

The real thing is the Groovelock's by Irwin. The Knipex lack the quick adjusting feature unless you buy the QuickSet version and usually have soft teeth or jaws. Can easily get the Groovelock's swapped out at stores if I need the warranty.

The Knipex Cobra is not soft in any way. The Real Tools video and this one I saw while researching my purchase showed Irwin to have pretty soft teeth...

 

[Avenging Bankroll]

nothing

 

[M635_Guy]

I've watched many videos including that one. It also shows wear and damage/flattening to the teeth (comments pointed this out in that video). The Cobra teeth are soft and will flatten. I've confirmed it multiple times (on multiple pliers) gripping anything that is harder than soft metal (brass/copper etc). Channellock's, Bahco's and others didn't have this issue.

Did you watch that video? He makes a point to say some of the black finish wore off but that the teeth are undamaged. And the Irwins definitely had issues in both videos. Any teeth will flatten if subjected to very hard material or abuse, but from everything I found the Knipex was overwhelmingly described as doing very well in the face of hard-but-typical use (which is what both of those videos show, and others I watched but won't take time to look up). My experience is the same so far - I've used both pairs I own a fair bit and they're both in completely fine shape.

Describing the Cobras as soft is definitely incorrect, at least relative to the Irwins. The Irwins cost less, so it's not fair to compare them 100% to the Knipex. (I was actually trying to justify buying the Irwins when I was doing all that research btw)

I'd always thought of Bahco as an adjustable/Crescent-style maker, and only found their water pump pliers just now. The reviews on Amazon are pretty good (4.4 on 28 reviews), but not better than the Cobras (4.9 for the trad. style with 3,739 reviews and 4.8 for the comfort style with 376). I'm sure Bahco is fine, but if the Cobras were soft, they'd suffer in the reviews. I tend to take reviews on Amazon with a grain of salt in a couple ways, but directionally there aren't any warning flags for Knipex there either.

As for the Doyle, I'll wait to hear some real-world reviews on it. Frankly, the premium for the Knipex doesn't point me to Harbor Freight - for less than ten bucks more I'm getting a completely proven high-quality tool.

 

[Avenging Bankroll]

nothing

 

[M635_Guy]

Whatever dude - you're going on comments vs. the guy physically looking at it (in both cases, and of course several others I saw). And for sure the Irwins took far more damage than the Knipex.

You've got a beef or a loyalty and that's fine, but...

 

[qqzj]

Glad there is still some common sense left here. The Irwin pliers work very well. Most people will be happy with them and they do last very long time. I don't have Doyle from harbor freight. But they have great reviews too. I do collect a set of Craftsman made by knipex. They are the 1st generation, not as polish as the new one. But I expect them to keep value better. potentially appreciate a lot in the future. I got the pair for $10, roughly. miss the crazy deals from Sears.

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[Avenging Bankroll]

nothing

 

[Rabid Badger]

This is the first time I've heard someone claim that Knipex jaws are soft. I know a shitload of tradesmen that won't use anything else, though. I also know that my 6 pairs of Knipex pliers are in excellent condition after years of use while anything made by Irwin was banished from my toolbox around 2005.

Even if the Irwins weren't made of brie, anyone trying to use those clunky things after using Cobras would throw them in the garbage before the day was out. The head on the 10" Irwins is about the size of the 12" Cobras and the laughably wide jaws are going to cut your gripping force by about 50%.l