Channellock quality slipping?

[Interceptor]

Has anyone else seen the quality of the USA made Channellock tools getting worse? I've been a big fan of their diagonal cutters for a long time, I have one that's got to be 20 years old, it has been used and abused in more ways than I care to admit, and it's still in great condition. I have more blue-handled tongue and groove pliers than I can count. Besides one that broke in half they are all in great shape after many years. I recently bought another diagonal cutter, a needle nose, and a linesmen's pliers. All three have been a complete disappointment. After two uses I noticed one of the tips of the diagonal cutters was broken off. The needle nose tips bent way too easily and one tip broke off. The teeth on the linesman pliers are all buggered up after just a few uses.

I make a serious effort to buy USA made tools when possible, but I don't think I will buy any more of their stuff if this is what I'm going to get. I did look into their warranty. It looks like all of the issues I have are considered "wear and tear as a result of faithful use" and are not covered.

 

[Druder]

I haven't bought anything from them recently but nothing on the shelf looks as good the stuff in my father's toolbox and reviews correlate with that opinion.

 

[Interceptor]

Yeah I forgot to mention the way they look. I got the new diagonals out of the package and took them right to the Scotchbrite EXL deburring wheel.

 

[ishiboo]

Has anyone else seen the quality of the USA made Channellock tools getting worse? I've been a big fan of their diagonal cutters for a long time, I have one that's got to be 20 years old, it has been used and abused in more ways than I care to admit, and it's still in great condition. I have more blue-handled tongue and groove pliers than I can count. Besides one that broke in half they are all in great shape after many years. I recently bought another diagonal cutter, a needle nose, and a linesmen's pliers. All three have been a complete disappointment. After two uses I noticed one of the tips of the diagonal cutters was broken off. The needle nose tips bent way too easily and one tip broke off. The teeth on the linesman pliers are all buggered up after just a few uses.

I make a serious effort to buy USA made tools when possible, but I don't think I will buy any more of their stuff if this is what I'm going to get. I did look into their warranty. It looks like all of the issues I have are considered "wear and tear as a result of faithful use" and are not covered.

Before you interpret their warranty, did you contact them? I would contact them with your concerns. Only after they fail to act in good faith would I write them off.

 

[Interceptor]

To be fair, no I have not contacted them. They have photo examples of reasons for warranty denials on their site. They make it pretty clear that my issues are not covered, except for possibly the broken-in-half pliers.

The real issue here is not the warranty, but the quality of the tools. A ****** tool with a warranty is still a ****** tool. If that's what I wanted I would shop HF.

 

[Parrothead]

You’re not the only one who noticed. I’m done with their groove joint pliers as I’ve moved on to Tekton (USA made by Wilde). Same with slip joint too. Very unimpressed compared to both USA and import tools overall. I think a lot of people would say the same if they were objective and could see past the USA label. Warranty isn’t good either.

 

[FJF]

I bought their 8" slip-joint pliers about a month back. Compared to my older pair, these have thinner metal and are lighter than their older 6.75" pliers. Noticeably. I was surprised.

 

[Jeremy77]

I was cutting some field fence a while back for my neighbors horses and was using a pair of CL 9.5” linesman’s pliers. After a bit I noticed that the cutting edges had chipped in several places. I walked over to my shop and got my NWS/Irwin linesmans and continued on with no issue. I cut probably 4x as many cuts as I had cut with the CL’s and never had a problem with the cutting edges. I know that this was an “inappropriate” use of these type pliers so I’m not really complaining.... just stating that the Irwin/NWS, from my experience, are more robust. And.. they’re far more comfortable to use. I still prefer CL tongue and groove pliers over other brands. I carry a 10” pair at work every day and put them through hell. Just like the feel and fit of them. I carried a pair of NWS/Klein Classic for a while but the joint broke on my while opening a steam valve. Again.... not the proper use for them yet I’ve never broken a CL pair doing the same thing.

 

[buffalobill]

I have a set of 10 inch end nippers, never been used. to pop their cherry, i had to cut a bunch of steel cable off the winch on my rzr. I made around a dozen cuts. By the time i was done, the joint was loose enough to where i had to take a strand at a time. I went and bought some klein hd cutters that night. Channellock is ok for the price, but there is definetly better out there...

 

[xin]

Has anyone else seen the quality of the USA made Channellock tools getting worse? I've been a big fan of their diagonal cutters for a long time, I have one that's got to be 20 years old, it has been used and abused in more ways than I care to admit, and it's still in great condition. I have more blue-handled tongue and groove pliers than I can count. Besides one that broke in half they are all in great shape after many years. I recently bought another diagonal cutter, a needle nose, and a linesmen's pliers. All three have been a complete disappointment. After two uses I noticed one of the tips of the diagonal cutters was broken off. The needle nose tips bent way too easily and one tip broke off. The teeth on the linesman pliers are all buggered up after just a few uses.

I make a serious effort to buy USA made tools when possible, but I don't think I will buy any more of their stuff if this is what I'm going to get. I did look into their warranty. It looks like all of the issues I have are considered "wear and tear as a result of faithful use" and are not covered.

Sounds very suspicious here (I have not seen any quality differences myself). If you abuse a tool by using it for a pry-bar one would expect the end result to be epic fail.

This is not defect - it is abuse of tools and using them improperly.

 

[BDT/NWMN]

Some time back, they replaced the nut and bolt with a rivet on their slip joint pliers.. I bought a pile of these blue handled pliers for gifts and My own use. After using and comparing them with their older counterparts, I am disappointed. I will give Wilde and other USA brands a try before buying any more ChannelLock..

 

[Interceptor]

Sounds very suspicious here (I have not seen any quality differences myself). If you abuse a tool by using it for a pry-bar one would expect the end result to be epic fail.

This is not defect - it is abuse of tools and using them improperly.

Abuse or not, you missed the point. My Channellock tools from 20 years ago have been used (and sometimes abused) for 20 years and are still in good condition. My Channellock tools from 6 months ago have been treated no differently and are all badly worn and/or broken. The teeth on my linesman pliers are flattened out after a few uses. It's good to hear that you have not seen any quality differences, but the new tools do not meet my expectations so I will be buying a different brand next time.

 

[Yarpo]

How did you break the tips off a pair of needle nose pliers?

I have a few Channellock pliers bought a year ago, but I generally use some ****** Chinese pliers I bought from northern tool when I started out, and I've yet to break or damage either

 

[bob15]

To be fair, no I have not contacted them. They have photo examples of reasons for warranty denials on their site. They make it pretty clear that my issues are not covered, except for possibly the broken-in-half pliers.

The real issue here is not the warranty, but the quality of the tools. A ****** tool with a warranty is still a ****** tool. If that's what I wanted I would shop HF.

You could still contact them.....but if you abused them, your at fault. And if you are abusing them, how does that make it that Channellock quality is slipping? Because that take less abusing than a tool from "x" years ago?

So by your theory of thinking: if I double wrench a couple new Snappy wrenches and they break, this means that Snap On quality is slipping because the old Snappy wrenches could handle the double wrench torque better?

 

[Siding Pro]

I recently picked up some slip joint pliers and there are rough edges/burrs on it. While that doesn't necessarily affect performance it's just a sloppy job in my opinion.

 

[M6erfan]

You could still contact them.....but if you abused them, your at fault. And if you are abusing them, how does that make it that Channellock quality is slipping? Because that take less abusing than a tool from "x" years ago?

So by your theory of thinking: if I double wrench a couple new Snappy wrenches and they break, this means that Snap On quality is slipping because the old Snappy wrenches could handle the double wrench torque better?

I get your point, but wouldn't that mean new S-O is not as strong/durable as the old S-O, in your scenario?

 

[Lelandwelds]

You could still contact them.....but if you abused them, your at fault. And if you are abusing them, how does that make it that Channellock quality is slipping? Because that take less abusing than a tool from "x" years ago?

So by your theory of thinking: if I double wrench a couple new Snappy wrenches and they break, this means that Snap On quality is slipping because the old Snappy wrenches could handle the double wrench torque better?

That is not a "theory of thinking". If the newer tools do not hold up as well as the older tools, the changes have produced a tool of lower quality. So, yes, taking less abuse than an older model of the same tool is an example of " Channellock quality slipping".

 

[tonyprovo723]

You could still contact them.....but if you abused them, your at fault. And if you are abusing them, how does that make it that Channellock quality is slipping? Because that take less abusing than a tool from "x" years ago?

So by your theory of thinking: if I double wrench a couple new Snappy wrenches and they break, this means that Snap On quality is slipping because the old Snappy wrenches could handle the double wrench torque better?

I would support the OP. If they were built to a higher quality and survived the abuse then, and no longer take the similar beating, they have lowered the quality.

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk

 

[tonyprovo723]

I think the term is value engineering.

Let's build the tool as cheap as we can and still meet the requirements as we advertise. We complain about the Chinease tools for this very reason.

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[davethorik]

I recently picked up some slip joint pliers and there are rough edges/burrs on it. While that doesn't necessarily affect performance it's just a sloppy job in my opinion.

Channellock isn't the only one guilty of this, I've purchased brand new Klein and Knipex that have sharp edges. A dremel and 1/8 shank carbide burr makes quick work of it.

 

[bob15]

I get your point, but wouldn't that mean new S-O is not as strong/durable as the old S-O, in your scenario?

Or maybe I leaned on it a bit more and gave it more torque because I thought newer is better....when in fact the old and new are the same; only the load I put on them increased from the old wrenches

That is not a "theory of thinking". If the newer tools do not hold up as well as the older tools, the changes have produced a tool of lower quality. So, yes, taking less abuse than an older model of the same tool is an example of " Channellock quality slipping".

I would support the OP. If they were built to a higher quality and survived the abuse then, and no longer take the similar beating, they have lowered the quality.

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk

They could be the same strength (old vs new pliers) steel-wise/heat-treat, etc, but if the OP increased his force/abuse because he thought newer is stronger & better when in fact they are the same, then yes, they will fail; and no, QC is not slipping.

 

[Tallpilot]

Value engineering is definitely a phenomenon to be concerned about. I agree about Channelock and only like their current production needlenose. Slip and groove joints are better from Tekton. I have Knipex dykes and Lineman's.

I am currently building a set of the new Snap On reversible ratcheting wrenches. I hope there is not too much value engineering involved in their design.

 

[shawndp]

Not really - we have a couple of 460's at work - mine are from a few years ago - maybe 5 to 6 years and the other are a few months old. Both feel and work the same - except mine has gone green on the grips.

 

[jl4c]

They could be the same strength (old vs new pliers) steel-wise/heat-treat, etc, but if the OP increased his force/abuse because he thought newer is stronger & better when in fact they are the same, then yes, they will fail; and no, QC is not slipping.

You're making an awful big leap here Bob; pure speculation. I think I trust a man who has been using his channellocks for 20+ years to see a performance difference between the old and new one.

OP, yes, the quality of Channellocks has been slipping. My Home Depot purchased Channellocks from even as many as 10-15 years ago are not as good as those I inherited from my father.

 

[ganymede]

Yea, I've mentioned it before.
In the last several yrs I've bought needle nose and slip joint pliers. The needle nbent at the tips and the slip joints had cutting edges that burred over with light use.
I have an older smaller pair that I use with no issues.
None of my older CL pliers have issues.

 

[bob15]

You're making an awful big leap here Bob; pure speculation. I think I trust a man who has been using his channellocks for 20+ years to see a performance difference between the old and new one.

No, it wasn't a leap to think he didn't over abuse them. How do you break a pair of pliers in half by not abusing them? Sorry, but that is abuse, and he already admitted that most of his failures are abuse when matching to the pictures on CL's website.

 

[Interceptor]

OK, let me make one thing clear here. I am not claiming Channellock owes me anything, or that they are at fault for anything other than perhaps lowering their standards. I admitted in my very first post that I abused my tools. Of course it's my own fault if I use a pliers as a hammer and it breaks. The post was not meant to assign blame, it was simply meant to be a discussion about the current vs past quality of the tools. If the consensus is that the quality is not what it used to be then I will look at other brands, even if it means paying more or buying foreign. If a tool doesn't meet my needs for any reason, it is of no value to me. If the reason is that it cannot handle the abuse I give it, that is still a valid reason. It is not the manufacturer's fault, it simply means that they do not offer the level of quality that I want.

The broken needle nose was clearly my fault. I don't remember what I was doing when I broke the tip but I assure you it was not a proper use of the tool. This happened only after I had seen heavy wear from what I would call normal light use, so I didn't place much value in the tool and began treating it as a throw-away. I noticed the chipped jaw on the diagonals on the third time I picked it up to use it, I have no idea what caused it. The linesman's have barely been used and are already showing wear on the gripping parts that I would expect from a dollar store Chinese tool.

 

[Stadger]

To answer your original question- no.

 

[Brownsfan]

If quality is slipping. Could be attributed to them being in every big box store. Meeting a certain price point especially for Wal-Mart can be challenging for any manufacturer. Cut backs have to be made somewhere. If not shipping production oversees then maybe quality suffers. I don't know. If more and more of these threads pop up where there is smoke there is fire. I have not bought a new channellock tool in a year or two and didn't have any issues. I always thought CL did a great job of producing a quality product made in USA at a affordable price.

 

[Interceptor]

he already admitted that most of his failures are abuse when matching to the pictures on CL's website.

No sir, I did not say that. I said that my failures fit their classifications for denial of warranty. Two of them fit their description of normal "wear and tear from faithful use". Yes after being used faithfully two times. Again, I'm not looking for compensation or laying blame. I'll take full responsibility for the failures if it makes you happy. Now can we talk about the tools?

 

[Lelandwelds]

Yeah I forgot to mention the way they look. I got the new diagonals out of the package and took them right to the Scotchbrite EXL deburring wheel.

I recently picked up some slip joint pliers and there are rough edges/burrs on it. While that doesn't necessarily affect performance it's just a sloppy job in my opinion.

I am OK with a little fine tuning. If I buy a new bolt gun, I expect to operate the bolt and safety a few hundred times before it is butter smooth. I don't depend on a self loader until 500 rounds go down range. A lockback isn't a one hander until opened and closed a bunch, cleaned, and lubed. Standard operation stuff.

Having parts dull, chip, or bend is not the same.

 

[McFarmer]

My recent purchases surprised me with the reduced metal thickness. Thinner is fine if the strength is there, they haven't given me problems yet.

 

[PFSard]

Has anyone else seen the quality of the USA made Channellock tools getting worse?......

I make a serious effort to buy USA made tools when possible, but I don't think I will buy any more of their stuff if this is what I'm going to get. I did look into their warranty. It looks like all of the issues I have are considered "wear and tear as a result of faithful use" and are not covered.

I haven't bought any new Channellock tools for decades plus. If any, just spares bought at yard sales. So I can't give an opinion on quality degradation. Only new pair is a pair of dykes someone trashed after a big dig in the cutters (looks like the person cut a live wire).

Given the competitiveness of the hand tool market, I wouldn't be surprised at efforts to make tools for less money.

I would express my concerns to the manufacturer. Include a reference to this thread. It sounds like you are not to scam for warranty replacement, so it should be perceived as a comment. I'd be interested in their response.

 

[65k10]

The one thing I've noticed is inconsistent tip width with their long nose pliers. One tip will be the expected thickness, but the other tip will be thin to the point that I'd be concerned about strength. I've warrantied one plier for it and another I just shortened both tips to a thicker point. Some of my other Channellock long nose pliers have been fine, but the lack of consistency annoys me.

 

[ishiboo]

To be fair, no I have not contacted them. They have photo examples of reasons for warranty denials on their site. They make it pretty clear that my issues are not covered, except for possibly the broken-in-half pliers.

The real issue here is not the warranty, but the quality of the tools. A ****** tool with a warranty is still a ****** tool. If that's what I wanted I would shop HF.

I'm not sure it is that clear.

It says "faithful use - worn". Using it two times and it's failed does not mean it has worn out, it means there is a material defect that should be covered under the warranty.

Either way, they need to know the tools are under-performing, especially from a valued customer of 20+ years.

 

[ishiboo]

I'm slightly curious how cost cutting has affected these models they've made for years. It's unlikely they redesigned the forging dies/etc. as there is very little room to save $$ there other than clearly using less steel. They are still forged in basically the same process. So that really leaves using a cheaper grade of steel, no? It doesn't seem to be a smart value proposition... someone uses channel locks for 20 years buys new ones and they last 2 uses before they're underperforming? Seems like a pretty good way to guarantee you won't be in business or will be rebranding Chinese **** in a few years.

Not arguing with anyone, just really curious how and why they exactly cut costs. These aren't exactly complex products with a lot of hidden parts or that many different ways to make them.

 

[MaverickDMD]

Channel Lock is ChiCom ****. The steel is soft junk and the laser printing is hurried. Channel Lock no longer seems American in quality regardless of the COO claims and laser imprinting on the tools. It is glossy, rough ill-fitted junk soon to be announced to be offshore officially but the quality speaks for itself. Adios.

 

[xin]

My recent purchases surprised me with the reduced metal thickness. Thinner is fine if the strength is there, they haven't given me problems yet.

This is another fallacy people think just because metal thickness (appears to be stronger) than a thinner wrench/pliers ect.. Does not mean it is stronger with weight.

If needle nose tip is broken generally that is from abuse. Most people don't use them for pry-bars.

 

[Ji m]

I love channellock channellock pliers (slip joint),
they also make a lot of other very good pliers,
but their linesmans were never at the top of my list (sorry).

I recently bought a pair of their basic 2-position slip joints and found that they were still very good,
and made in the USA.

 

[American Locomotive]

I have a brand new set of Channellock groove pliers at work and they seem fine to me.