Anyone else like Channellocks?

[blazer1]

Someone on this forum told me I can't go wrong with the names...Channellock and Cresent for example.

 

[YZ Rider]

My Channel Locks have seen everything and are showing it. A few of them are really old.

 

[YZ Rider]

no coating , they rust

They only rust when you put them away wet One of my channel locks were made before they put blue handles on them and it has no rust.

 

[Borrego]

I am quickly becomming a Channel Lock fan..........I do prefer the older stamped logos over the newer laser etched logos on the handles, though. Probably close to a dozen pairs in the collection.......

 

[SpiderGearsMan]

it was the florida air

 

[gatewaysysop]

After one too many crimping failures with my Cman terminal crimpers, I went with these from Channellock. No issues whatsoever. Perfect crimps every time.

x2 on the Channellock crimpers. I bought a pair last year or so and have been using them for quite a while. Cannot believe how nice they are compared to everything else I've used.

I've even roped my dad into picking up a pair and he certainly didn't need yet another crimping tool. They're his new instant favorite as well, loves 'em.

Anyone that doesn't have these is missing out.

 

[earlthegoat2]

OK, so the few pictures here cleary show trace amounts of rust.

I see Snappys get trace amounts of rust too.

It is a non issue. If they set around not being used.....well then anything can happen.

 

[jblachly]

Funny you should post this.

I purchased a pair of 317's at a WalMart as a show of support for WalMart carrying American products. When I got home, I noticed that the pliers had a large gap at the tip when fully closed because the knife edge and/or anvil were not ground down properly.

I emailed [email protected] (or whatever address they had posted on their site) and never got a reply, so I returned them to WalMart yesterday. I won't be buying any more ChannelLocks.

 

[NUTTSGT]

My step-dad retired as an electrician from GE. He always used Channellocks. I never bought a set until recently, always depending on my Cman stuff. Trust me, there will be more blue in my tool box.

 

[SpiderGearsMan]

OK, so the few pictures here cleary show trace amounts of rust.

I see Snappys get trace amounts of rust too.

It is a non issue. If they set around not being used.....well then anything can happen.

my snappys are chrome plated , pretty hard to rust
also channelocks are riveted , snap on has a nut , to set tension

 

[Borrego]

Older steel handled Channel Locks have nuts and are not riveted.

 

[blue dog]

I have a few blue tools

 

[NUTTSGT]

I have a few blue tools

They match your floor !

 

[D9H 90V]

I love Channellock, USA made very fair price, I own more then my fair share of Channellock pliers, you cant beat them, plus the blue handles are very attractive

 

[Tatsuya]

I try to only buy chromed pliers and see lots and lots of rusted Channellock brand tools at estate sales.

I have a pair of 6" Channellock needlenose pliers my dad gave me when I was a kid for (saltwater) fishing. It looks like dog **** today but functionally it's still in great shape after I cleaned up the rust and put it in my box. The movement is smooth as silk with no play in the joint, it's easily one of my favorite and most meaningful tools. He also gave me a Taiwanese pair of PopularMechanics 8" needlenose pliers back then. I'd replace them with a US-made pair of Channellocks but they're a rock solid pair of pliers and I don't have the heart to neglect 'em.

In all honesty, the rust they develop over a long time does nothing to the function, what so ever. I don't care one bit.

Agreed.

 

[Walterchang]

3 posts. Got to love that. I love my channelocks. I must have upwards of 30 channelocks. I have never had an issue with them. My go to screwdriver is a Channelock 6-1. It always works for me, always!

 

[earlthegoat2]

my snappys are chrome plated , pretty hard to rust

YOUR Snappys do, not all Snappys produced are like this.

 

[treasureseeker]

Looking through the current Snap On line I can’t find any pliers that are chrome plated. After buying and selling estate sale tools I have grown to hate natural finish tools after having to de-rust them.

 

[Boiler]

For the price you can't beat them IMO. Think about what is comparable: kobolt, craftsman, please....

I agree I hate natural finish, but it seems pretty standard from what I've seen. Not only do they spot and sometimes rust, but they have very sharp edges.

Finally, the last few pairs I bought I had to search through the stock for ones that lined up right. They are starting to vary quite a bit. Needlenose with one thicker side and one thinner, etc.

I still buy them though, but I'm choosy in my selection.

 

[SoulDe]

Compared with other brands such as Stanley, Black & Decker, Irwin, etc, Channellock is very good product for its price and quality. If you look more professional tools you can choose Knipex, NWS, etc.. But in general, I love Channellock

 

[jblachly]

Geez. Giving up a little early, eh? Why didn't you just take them back to Wally World, tell them it's screwed up, and exchange it for one that works to your satisfaction? Just taking it back for a refund is lazy. I've never had a single bad product from them, and if you would have at least thrown them another email or a call, I bet you anything they would have sent you a new one, free of charge.

Watch whom you call lazy. I work 6 days a week x 14 hours / day and don't have time for foolishness. My wife returned them and I did not want to make her have to screen the replacement pair. Everyone seems positive on CL, and I am sure that my experience is an aberration, but in the future I will stick with brands with which I haven't had bad experiences.

 

[powertrip]

Do they make replacement grips? The blue handle/grips on a few pairs of mine are starting to crack and rip. If I replaced the grips they would look like new again. Anyone have any experience with this?

 

[Jim C.]

Geez. Giving up a little early, eh? Why didn't you just take them back to Wally World, tell them it's screwed up, and exchange it for one that works to your satisfaction? Just taking it back for a refund is lazy. I've never had a single bad product from them, and if you would have at least thrown them another email or a call, I bet you anything they would have sent you a new one, free of charge.

Channellock probably makes thousands of tools every day. One or two defective ones might slip past the quality control department every now and then. I'm still a Channellock fan.

Jim C.

 

[Zrexxer]

Do they make replacement grips? The blue handle/grips on a few pairs of mine are starting to crack and rip. If I replaced the grips they would look like new again. Anyone have any experience with this?

Channellock has said repeatedly - for whatever reason, I'm just repeating what they've said - that they do not supply replacement grips and that they will not recoat plier handles for you.

They're dipped to begin with rather than slip-ons, and I suspect the logistics of people sending their stuff in to be recoated is just too difficult.

 

[Jim C.]

For the price you can't beat them IMO.....Finally, the last few pairs I bought I had to search through the stock for ones that lined up right. They are starting to vary quite a bit. Needlenose with one thicker side and one thinner, etc.

I still buy them though, but I'm choosy in my selection.

Funny you should say that about the needle nose pliers. I mentioned in my original post that I was thinking about buying a pair of Channellocks. I too have noticed that several pairs of Channellock needle nose pliers that I've seen at Lowes and Home Depot have the same issues, particularly that one side is thicker than the other. I've also noticed on a few Channellock needle nose pliers that the tips are not ground flat/square. All the other Channellock tools that I've recently purchased have been absolutely fine!! For some reason, however, I'm having a little trouble finding a pair of Channellock needle nose pliers that I'm happy with. Consequently, I haven't bought a pair yet.

I also agree with you about being "choosy." I'm not only choosy about needle nose pliers, but really about every tool I buy. It's not uncommon for me to look at several of the same tool and then pick the one the seems to be the best of those on the hook/shelf. So far, I've had very good luck with all the Channellocks, except the needle nose pliers. I'll keep looking around, or maybe I'll just keep my old Craftsman pair.

Jim C.

 

[Coach James]

I use that plastidip stuff to put handles on some of my pliers that came without them and a couple pair that had covers wear out. Works very easy and has held up well.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0006SL0VO/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Coach

 

[laz]

I saw a guy use the Channellock 748 for dealing with drum brake springs, and I was in love:

I bought myself a pair, and since then I've been picking others up here and there.

 

[back2class]

I think they are decent stuff for sure. I own many. Kind of hard to imagine how they compete when you go to walmart and see the exact same Stanley chinese unit for $4 and the Channellock is $18. To most tool users (casual users) the choice is obvious.
That said they are good tools and much better than the Stanley if you plan to use them hevily. I like the needlenose, cutters, linesmans and such.
What I do not like are the classic Chennelock slipjoint/waterpump pliers. I own about 10 pairs and before I got my Knipex versions saw no reason to stop using them. Took a few time to get used to using the Knipex, but a much better tool!!! I have not picked up a single channelock slip joint since. What got me to try them was someone mentioning here they did not squish your finger between the handles when they slipped. Started using the knipex after that and was a tiny bit akward for about 30 seconds, but A HUGE imrovement. I often read here how great they and figured "yeah right". Figured it was just folks here just trying to justify buying the fancy versions of channelocks for twice the price. I am not a tool snob, I like my Stanley professional rathets better than the snap-on's I've owned. But the Knipex make the Channellocks look like crude clunky fingerbiters, and they are compaired to the Knipex.

 

[greybeard]

A few weeks ago I posted in a thread concerning "binge" tool buying. During the last couple months, I've been on a Channellock kick that I think has subsided for the moment. For years, prior to my recent "BHB" (Blue Handled Binge), I owned only two Channellock tools, the #442 (far left) and the #415 (second from left). Then, this past Spring, I actually needed the #911 cable cutters (third from right) and bought them. For some reason, shortly after that, I went on a small BHB and added the #422 (third from left), the #410 (fourth from left), the #369 (fourth from right), the #357 (second from right) and the #337 (far right). I'm still feeling compelled to buy a pair of needle nose pliers too.

I'm not sure why I bought all of these..... I certainly did not need any of them beyond buying the #911. The last five tools were purely impulse, binge, purchases!!! It's definitely a sickness. Anyway, I've included a photo for you Channellock fans, that clearly proves my recent insanity!!

Jim C.

I love Channel-Lock tools. I call the sickness TAS (Tool, Acquisition, Syndrome) as apposed to what musicians get which is GAS or (Gear, Acquisition, Syndrome) I've had both and there is no cure LOL

 

[usdemt]

If I remember right, someone was explaining how NWS maybe? also has the different thicker side and thinner side by design. I didnt completely understand it but he said they were made that way.

 

[Stuey]

Count me in as a fan too. =)

I sent back a tool to Channellock once after contacting them, and the replacement arrived promptly. <3 their customer service.

 

[Jim C.]

If I remember right, someone was explaining how NWS maybe? also has the different thicker side and thinner side by design. I didnt completely understand it but he said they were made that way.

I'd like to hear the explanation behind that design. Maybe there's something to it, because just about every pair of Channellock needle nose pliers that I've seen since I've been on my "binge" have been like this. That's really the reason that I haven't bought a pair yet. When I started my binge, the needle nose type were at the top of my list. I just never bought a pair because the sides don't appear to be even. Having seen so many pairs like that, it makes me think that maybe they really are designed that way. Still, I can't imagine why.

Jim C.

 

[dwm]

Assuming this is what we're talking about, I'm confused as to why it's so hard to look on the ChannelLock web site to see that one side of the long nose cutter is the anvil and the other side is the cutting edge. An explanatory picture is 2 clicks from the home page, for chrissakes ('Pliers', then 'Long Nose').

 

[jayoldschool]

Channellocks are the best oil filter wrenches money can buy!

 

[jeffmoss26]

I've used Channellock pliers forever...my uncle is a plumber and taught me at a young age what the right pliers to use are
My pliers drawer is 95% Channellock and Klein, both made in the USA!

 

[Jim C.]

Assuming this is what we're talking about, I'm confused as to why it's so hard to look on the ChannelLock web site to see that one side of the long nose cutter is the anvil and the other side is the cutting edge. An explanatory picture is 2 clicks from the home page, for chrissakes ('Pliers', then 'Long Nose').

Easy there Big Guy!! I see what you're talking about, and I get the whole cutter and anvil thing. I think what Boiler and I are talking about are the actual plier arms themselves. Obviously we're not talking about the blue grip side of the tool, but rather the "business" end. Those business end "arms," for some reason, are not the same thickness as they rise from the cutter/anvil portion of the tool up toward the tip. Basically there seems to be a lack of uniformity in the arm thicknesses, as if one side was ground a little more than the other, on the outside of the arm. From those that I've seen, some are worse than others. That leads me to think that they are ground freehand and then just "eyeballed" for uniformity.

I've also noticed that the very tip of the needle nose pliers is not always square/flat. They're either high or low going side to side or back to front, and no two are really the same. Again, that leads me to think that the tips are ground freehand, because most are noticeably not square or flat.

Jim C.

 

[dwm]

Ah. I think the pliers are indeed hand ground. I think that's true for Wilde too.

I've not noticed a difference in arm thickness, but to be honest if a set of pliers works for me for years on end (ChannelLocks and Craftsman Pro in my main box are quite old), I don't fuss over exacting outer dimensions. What matters to me is that the jaws are aligned. All of my ChannelLock are fine in that department.

Unrelated experience... a couple of weeks ago I was in Harbor Freight and wanted to grab a pair of long-reach needlenose pliers (the Pittsburgh Pro) for a job where I expected to trash them. I went through about 30 pairs of them in the bin and couldn't find any where the jaws lined up well enough to be able to grab thin sheet metal with the tip. Left the store with no pliers. Oddly enough, I think their long-reach hose pliers have better tip alignment than any of the needlenose I saw that day.

 

[Jim C.]

Ah. I think the pliers are indeed hand ground. I think that's true for Wilde too.

I've not noticed a difference in arm thickness, but to be honest if a set of pliers works for me for years on end (ChannelLocks and Craftsman Pro in my main box are quite old), I don't fuss over exacting outer dimensions. What matters to me is that the jaws are aligned. All of my ChannelLock are fine in that department.

Mabye I'm being too picky!! I will say that even though the arm thicknesses aren't uniform, the jaws themselves have been perfectly aligned on every pair of Channellock needle nose pliers that I examined. Overall, I'm still a Channellock fan.

Jim C.

 

[Doxhog]

Can't go wrong with Channel Locks. I can't tell you how many I have but I have some in every tool box I own.

 

[Quint]

Meadville (PA) is not far from where I live and work, so I usually opt for the Blue Handle to support a local company. Plus they hold up great.

I'm just a weekend warrior, but These things are solid!