channellock

[chipper]

I ve been upgrading my pliers recently and buying all channellocks i love the brand made in USA. and pretty affordable however i always hear people talk about the lifetime warranty but it doesn't say that anywhere on the packages that i can find is this an unwritten rule that everyone knows or what? Thanks for any light you can shed

 

[Kracin]

http://www.channellock.com/warranty.html


warrantied against any kind of defect, but not against breakage from use or wearing them out (but they could still warranty it if they feel like it apparently, so who knows).

out of the 50 some or more pairs of channellocks i've worn out, none have been defective or warranted some kind of warranty repair/replacement, but they definitely got used up like crazy

 

[RCStocker]

http://www.channellock.com/warranty.html


warrantied against any kind of defect, but not against breakage from use or wearing them out (but they could still warranty it if they feel like it apparently, so who knows).

out of the 50 some or more pairs of channellocks i've worn out, none have been defective or warranted some kind of warranty repair/replacement, but they definitely got used up like crazy

I have been using channellocks for 50 years and never worn one out. What in the world are you doing with them? I buy them used for $2 or $3 each except for the large 18 pr. I pay up to $7 for them. I must have 40 pair and I have never worn outone yet. They have had farm, construction and personal use an not one has worn out. You arn't old enough to have worn out 50 pair. i am 70 and I have never worn out a pires of any kind. I have over 300 pair of US made ones. All used and old. all work better than any new plires on the market. The ony thing I ware out is cheap Craftsamn screwdrivers. My Snappies never fail.

 

[Kracin]

I have been using channellocks for 50 years and never worn one out. What in the world are you doing with them? I buy them used for $2 or $3 each except for the large 18 pr. I pay up to $7 for them. I must have 40 pair and I have never worn outone yet. They have had farm, construction and personal use an not one has worn out. You arn't old enough to have worn out 50 pair. i am 70 and I have never worn out a pires of any kind. I have over 300 pair of US made ones. All used and old. all work better than any new plires on the market. The ony thing I ware out is cheap Craftsamn screwdrivers. My Snappies never fail.

when working as an industrial steel mechanic at a ductile iron pipe factory.

floors are so uneven, and your work can be so far apart from call to call, that the typical "carry" tools were a pair or two of channellocks, a wera screwdriver (doubles as a prybar, chisel, etc), flashlight, and 5/16 nut driver for hose clamps.


at any time you are clamping down and tightening black pipe with them, bolts, etc, anything to get something back up and running without having to walk a quarter of a mile to get a wrench or pipe wrench to carry it back with you up 5 flights of old worn out stairs. and all the floors are too uneven and destroyed to use tool carts.

so yes, i have worn out LOTS of pairs of channellocks. regardless of how old someone is, it doesn't mean anything as to their experiences, wish i woulda kept all those old pairs of channellocks i had in my box that were either bend up, stripped out teeth, broken handles, etc, you name it.

 

[ryanhelton2000]

They wont replace them but for the price you cant beat em Ive worn out a few from asking way to much of them and from just tons of use. I managed to get one pair replaced for a customer when I was the receiving manager at home depot but I never busted a set when I had weekly access to the vendor. IMO they feel great, grip better but have a shorter life span because of the action. Just stay away from the square griping jaws you shouldn't be trying to turn a bolt with them anyway and it takes away from what those type of pliers are meant to do.

 

[Kracin]

here, because i know there are so many people that know more than anyone who would ever come on this board, and no one could possibly have a different experience than someone who is old and has "done it all".

replacing pins and sideplates on a 20 ft hydraulic traverse cylinder for a casting machine.

couple of machines in view, extractors in the background.

getting ready to hoist the machine up in the air with the crane to get started on replacing the front wheels on shutdown last year.

the wheel to go on the west side. (east side has a lip, one side alignment)

up in the air with an ibeam underneath supporting wheel and bearings off





this is just one job during a shutdown period in one part of the plant. tools get worn out quick in this kind of work, all of that grayish black coating you see on everything is a fine metal dust mixed with oils and grease and helps to really destroy anything it gets into and doesnt get cleaned out of at the end of the day. the combination of these things getting on pipes, fittings, etc, with constant heating and cooling of parts, bolts, equipment, means a lot of work needing to be done all the time to keep up with things. downtime is lost money. one minute of downtime can mean 6000 dollars lost at the very least. so needless to say, they prefer you get things up in a short amount of time regardless of what you use to do it. and if that means using channellocks for 90% of the quick on the spot work, and throwing them out when they get too worn out to grip anymore, then its worth it to them to spend 15 for another set and discard the old ones.

 

[Mohawk Dave]

I've got lucky and had Lowes exchange them out for me. Not all Lowes will do it. Just be polite and tell them that since they are a distributor, they just need to RTV (Return To Vendor) it.

In fact, I just bought Channellock 360 Mig Pliers this week online. Man! Those are NICE! I won't ever buy another brand of mig pliers.

 

[d.mcfarland]

I agree with you Kracin, as soon as the tool has been worn to the point where it is inferior to a new one, it is time to replace. In your line of work you literally have no time to waste, so you need the tool to perform at it's finest. It's not the tools fault. They have a useable lifetime. You using them constantly are going to reach that point faster than others.

As a DIYer, even a well used pair will still get the job done, but my priority is obviously not on speed.

As others have said, the warranty is against manufacturer defects. Wear and abuse are not covered.

 

[Kracin]

I agree with you Kracin, as soon as the tool has been worn to the point where it is inferior to a new one, it is time to replace. In your line of work you literally have no time to waste, so you need the tool to perform at it's finest. It's not the tools fault. They have a useable lifetime. You using them constantly are going to reach that point faster than others.

As a DIYer, even a well used pair will still get the job done, but my priority is obviously not on speed.

As others have said, the warranty is against manufacturer defects. Wear and abuse are not covered.

i have personal pairs of channellocks that have lasted god knows how long.

different uses will yield different life expectancies, i agree that you could have a single pair for your entire life if you used them once in a while on a project or two here and there where they are needed. but that isn't always the situation

 

[Joe B.]

If you think about it, people that wear our pliers of any brand are actually getting a better deal. If you buy a set of Channellocks for $20 and you wear they out in 20 years, then you probably got your money's worth because you got everything possible out of the tool. If you just buy them and don't use them much, the economic value of the pliers is much less. So if you buy a set of Channellock and 20 years later you die with the pliers still having 75% of their life left, they you really paid four times as much for what you got.

So, unless you are a very heavy uses like some of the previous posters, the concern about lifetime warranties is probably overblown.

Edit: Kracin, start a new thread and post some more pics. I'd love to see more about what you do. I miss my days working around factories.

 

[Man of Many Vices]

I have been using channelocks for 50 years and never worn one out.... I must have 40 pair and I have never worn out one yet.

My wife has 40 pairs of shoes, and hasn't worn any out either.

 

[chipper]

Thanks for the info fellow gj's i always appreciate it

 

[mikebramel]

My wife has 40 pairs of shoes, and hasn't worn any out either.

that was good

 

[Steroblan]

I worked in a sugar mill for 23 years. Channel Lock(s) were the go to brand. Pumps everywhere and all needed packing adjusted or replaced. Everyone carriend a pair in their back pocket or tool pouch. They held up as makeshift pipe wrenches, hammers, pry bars, barrel bung openers, spacers for prybars, welders helpers etc. The sugar company was supportive enough of the brand to replace any damaged pair free.