Crescent Pliers

[Dave455]

Well, I was at a tool dealers today, and seeing a selection of Crescent tools on display thought I'd buy myself a large pair of Tongue and Groove / water pump pliers.

Well the bad news was that they were all costly, the biggest being £45, but what the hell! The best is never cheap, and I've got Crescent end cutters of my Grandfathers still in use!

But.. the quality of these was NOTHING LIKE the older tools I have. I know nothing stays the same, but I've got Crescent pliers of maybe 10 years ago that are nearly as good as the older ones, so what goes on? Flipping the pack over I see the dreaded "Made in China"!

ARE THEY NUTS? Do any of their management really believe I'm going to pay US Tool prices (which are about double British tool prices in the U.K.) for Chinese Pliers!

What I actually did was move to the next rack and buy the Knipex equivalent! Well designed, nicely made, nicely finished and cheaper as well!

I'm sure none of this is news to you guys in the U.S. but perhaps you'll join me in thanking the management of Crescent for giving the ever reliable German tool industry a well deserved boost!

 

[jjjrmx5]

Well, I was at a tool dealers today, and seeing a selection of Crescent tools on display thought I'd buy myself a large pair of Tongue and Groove / water pump pliers.

Well the bad news was that they were all costly, the biggest being £45, but what the hell! The best is never cheap, and I've got Crescent end cutters of my Grandfathers still in use!

But.. the quality of these was NOTHING LIKE the older tools I have. I know nothing stays the same, but I've got Crescent pliers of maybe 10 years ago that are nearly as good as the older ones, so what goes on? Flipping the pack over I see the dreaded "Made in China"!

ARE THEY NUTS? Do any of their management really believe I'm going to pay US Tool prices (which are about double British tool prices in the U.K.) for Chinese Pliers!

What I actually did was move to the next rack and buy the Knipex equivalent! Well designed, nicely made, nicely finished and cheaper as well!

I'm sure none of this is news to you guys in the U.S. but perhaps you'll join me in thanking the management of Crescent for giving the ever reliable German tool industry a well deserved boost!

Not news to me sadly.

I have a bunch of older Crescent hand tools from my broher-in-law's now deceased father that were bought back in the 50's and 60's that are stellar. All uSA made.

I do and have come across a lot smaller electronics and electrician style Crescent tools from that same era up to the 80's or so from flea markets or estate sales that I pick up for a reasonable price and again all stamped Made in USA.


I assume 1990's or 2000+ was the slow slide into offshoring production and I wouldn't touch a new pair unless given to me for free.
I have a few Crescent adjustables that I have acquired over teh years for cheap or free with no problems, but if shelling out $70 USD on pliers, that gets you into Knipex, Snap-On and ChannelLock territory for me.

 

[Brownsfan]

That's almost snap on territory. I have a couple snap on pliers that are around $45. I was just at a industrial tool supply place today that had some crescent pliers. And they were more expensive than channellock and USA Williams. Are these things supposed to be that good that a set of diagonal cutters are $40 and up? They had red and blue grips that felt like the same material as craftsman pliers.

 

[basspro]

Older Crescent is decent, but certainly not the best, I prefer Channellock and Craftsman USA more, pretty much cover all my Industrial needs. The newer Crescent stuff I have used recently has been pretty poor quality.

 

[bcradio]

The recent Crecent pliers I have seen and bought were Taiwan made and actually of pretty good quality. They are my go-to pliers over my Knipex now.

 

[basspro]

Huh, thats reassuring to know. On a side note, I was in Fleet Farm the other day and seen Crescent brand adjustables in various sizes, all were made in USA, and looked a little different than the old USA adjustables.

 

[CWP1616L]

I don't buy Crescent brand tools anymore; not after Danaher took over Cooper Tools and started offshoring everything.

 

[jakemac]

It's even worse than you all were thinking. The OP was talking about the price in English £'s, not US $. So we're talking somewhere around $70 US for one pair of slip-joint pliers. Definitely not even close to being worth it. That's truck brand prices for walmart quality tools.

 

[zkling]

I'm curious as to what pliers you are talking about.
"The biggest" A quick google search looks like crescent makes up to a 20" T&G plier and looks like they sell for ~$60 USD over here.

Do you have much of a channellock market over in England? How about Lowes, they have some good sales going on now.

 

[devoncoolman]

Sounds like a rip off to me. Lol. Knipex are 20x the pliers. Same with snap-on, channel lock.

 

[RCStocker]

All Cresent tools are now made in China. Sorry about that. The US made ones were tops and used ones bring a good price.

 

[justin1795]

my work buys cresent tools for the production people they are what i would call stanley grade.

 

[jjjrmx5]

All Cresent tools are now made in China. Sorry about that. The US made ones were tops and used ones bring a good price.

The Crescent adjustable wrenches are still made in the USA AFAIK.

Likely to meet purchasing standardes for military and gov't contract purchases.

The small pliers, cutters and screw drivers all now Asian sourced though.

 

[jeffmoss26]

I have not seen a NEW USA Made Crescent adjustable in a few years.

All made in China, new lame logo.

 

[absolutelybillsmood]

Epstein's still has a decent selection of old USA Crescent

 

[Brownsfan]

It took me a few months to complete my set USA made crescent adjustable wrenches. They can still be found on the back of the peg hook.

 

[USA Tool Supply]

Sadly, Crescent went down the road to China like ViseGrip now has. Hard to find USA stuff. My hat is off to Channellock, Wright, Armstrong, SK and Mayhew ( punches & chisels ) among others who are keeping Americans working.
At some point we gotta do something.

 

[cburnscrx]

I have not seen a NEW USA Made Crescent adjustable in a few years.

All made in China, new lame logo.

My local Lowes has about 8 pair on the hook USA made as of about 3 weeks ago.

 

[jeffmoss26]

I bought the last US made Crescent wrench on the shelf at HD last year. Returned it the next day...it was awful. Sloppy jaws, loose, etc.

 

[cburnscrx]

I bought the last US made Crescent wrench on the shelf at HD last year. Returned it the next day...it was awful. Sloppy jaws, loose, etc.

They're fine for what I am using them for, but the Craftsman adjustables are WAY better.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Their quality went out the window some years back, I am a Channellock fan now!

 

[Csp203]

The adjustable wrenches made in China have a big C on the bottom of the package. I assume it is for the brand crescent, but I treat it as a visual sign made in China.

 

[Juddy]

You can buy Australian made Cresent Linesman pliers still here in Aus.

 

[toolmaven]

I think Cooper's Xcelite brand - many items identical to Crescent is still USA. But, I might just be seeing old stock. Xcelite was favored in the electronics industries, not so much by mechanics. Their smaller pliers are (were?) top notch. Now, you can pay an honest $200+ for small electronics wire cutters by Erem (Swiss) or Lindstrom (Sweden) but you are getting hand-fitted & honed carbide jaws at that price.