Cresent Pliers and rust

[jsharpphoto]

I was killing time in a Sears store today, and saw a pliers display. They had the extra long double X style cresent pliers in an interactive display. This is what I saw.



I am floored by the amount of surface rust on them. Shouldn't I be? I'd expect tools like these to get a little rusty after years of use in a home shop. But these are indoors, in air conditioning, seeing no real action other than a little grip fondling.

Am I overreacting?

 

[rusty65]

It's from people with acidic hands touching the tool. I read something from practical machinist that said the member's coworker drank Pepsi constantly and would make a piece of metal rust in an hour.


Sent directly from the Snap On Kool Aid factory.

 

[jsharpphoto]

i must not have acidic hands. even my cheapest chinese pliers don't look like that. I know crescent/Apex pliers aren't the best, but I didn't think they were THAT bad.

 

[wild cowboy]

I am floored by the amount of surface rust on them. Shouldn't I be? I'd expect tools like these to get a little rusty after years of use in a home shop. But these are indoors, in air conditioning, seeing no real action other than a little grip fondling.

Am I overreacting?

No, you are NOT overreacting - no hand tool should ever rust, unless it is left outside for days on end. Manufacturers need to coat their tools better against oxidation. And some do!

I return any tool that rusts excessively, even if it is 20 years old, as long as it was not abused, left outside, etc.

On a side note, I still bought the double X pliers, even given Crescent's shaky recent reputation, after a tech working for me pulled a car across a parking lot using the double X pliers gripping only an alternator bracket - strong enough to pull a car passes my toughness test! - but if they rust much more than your photo, they will get swapped for a new pair!

 

[jsharpphoto]

good to know, thanks!

i really like the double-x, but for me, it's kind of a novelty, since i only work on motorcycles. I rarely even get to use my universals or extensions on my ratchet.

 

[geojag]

Could be galvanic corrosion. That little bolt in the bottom of the display could be connecting then electrically with the entire shelving system.

 

[bob15]

Constant handling of something like the pliers CAN LEAD TO RUST. Even blued surfaces of a firearm can rust do to the acid in people's hands. Add a little humidity and it will be faster and worse. It is possible the stores AC failed. Or they could be a returned pair of pliers that went back out on the floor. They could have also had the protective oil film removed, even by a store shelf cleaner spray used in Sears, add a bit of humidity and you have rust.

The same can be said for rotary diesel injector pumps. Have an oil-free head or rotor and touch it with a clean dry hand and your fingerprints will be rust etched into the parts, rendering it junk.

Take a bit of fine oil and a paper towel and the rust will wipe right off.....not the end of the world.

 

[RMHoward]

No, I don't think a new tool should rust like that. On a side note, there is a reason almost everything in Harbor Freight is rusty. Cheap Chinese metal and manufacturing techniques combined with very little coating. America's demand for the cheapest products have come back to bite us. This is a very small example. End of rant.

 

[JUNK-MAN]

I saw the same thing at Tractor supply the other day, only the pliers I saw were for sale not a display item they were covered with surface rust. I don't know what people are thinking trying to sell tools that look like that for full price, at least put them in a discount bin or something.

 

[ss454]

over the past year I have got a number of new cl pliers and they all rusted in the tool box, but none of my 20 yr old craftsman are rusty.

 

[bob15]

I have year old Snappy pliers that have a bit of rust on them after using them in a snow storm, should return them??? Or keep using them like I have for the past year?



I think I can live with a tad of surface rust....it wipes off easy enough....I'll leave the rusty tool returns to our resident NASA engineer.

 

[Big Bad Jon]

Even my snap on pliers rust. I don't drink soda, must be the pot+ of coffee I drink every day

 

[Brownsfan]

over the past year I have got a number of new cl pliers and they all rusted in the tool box, but none of my 20 yr old craftsman are rusty.

That's weird. My Channellock pliers have held up the best against rust. Even better than Snap on in the same drawer in the same environment. My Klein seem to be the best while the Knipex have fared the worse. Nothing like in the pic though. Any of it just wipes off with some wd40. My tool box is in my un heated garage.

 

[amp281]

The new stuff is complete ****.

 

[rusty65]

I have a pair of Klein needle noise pliers rust in my tool box sitting in my basement and yes I do have a dehumidifier and non of my other tools ever rust. I think it's just the luck of the draw.


Sent directly from the Snap On Kool Aid factory.

 

[d.mcfarland]

Best for me were major name brands while the HF long reach pliers literally began to rust inside my house.

 

[Lx460]

I just can't help but to think of all the sleazy, non hand washing after taking a big dump, slobs played with those pliers before you did. Yuck!

 

[Bobioz1]

I have a set of two of those double x cresent pliers that I got free with purchase. They are rusting inside my toolbox. Not the kind of rust that wipes off either.

 

[nicksnothereman]

I was killing time in a Sears store today, and saw a pliers display. They had the extra long double X style cresent pliers in an interactive display. This is what I saw.



I am floored by the amount of surface rust on them. Shouldn't I be? I'd expect tools like these to get a little rusty after years of use in a home shop. But these are indoors, in air conditioning, seeing no real action other than a little grip fondling.

Am I overreacting?

Carbon steel (or high carbon content)? Low end tools are like this. Actually crescent drivers (and craftsman low end) are like this which is why you oil them.

Moisture in the air I suppose.

 

[dadsEH]

For years I had a mate that needed to wear thin rubber gloves when he was doing panel work. You could come in some mornings and see fingerprints all over his bare panelwork.
Now those pliers rusting on the shelf in the shop....walk away!

 

[coleman10]

I was killing time in a Sears store today, and saw a pliers display. They had the extra long double X style cresent pliers in an interactive display. This is what I saw.



I am floored by the amount of surface rust on them. Shouldn't I be? I'd expect tools like these to get a little rusty after years of use in a home shop. But these are indoors, in air conditioning, seeing no real action other than a little grip fondling.

Am I overreacting?

I was in Sears today and saw the same thing! Not great advertising having a rusted pair out on display. Was sure it must have been a return.

 

[pozidriv]

Carbon steel (or high carbon content)? Low end tools are like this. Actually crescent drivers (and craftsman low end) are like this which is why you oil them.

Moisture in the air I suppose.

Doesn't high carbon steel rust differently, more greyish, textured rust?
Anyway, not a big deal, but not the greatest form of advertising either..

 

[Dave455]

Back in my inexperienced youth, I'd probably have gone on about manufacturers not packing stuff properly (which they don't) or folks touching bare metal and causing problems, but having played with this stuff for a few years I've come to realise that the biggest factor that affects corrosion is the grade of the steel!

Some years back I was working with pressed steel components. The stuff used to rust in the couple of days between pressing and finishing. We switched steel grades for a different reason, and actually saved money as we didn't need to de rust it before finishing!

I see the same thing in the shop. We have some cheaper CK pliers around. Good enough tools, but the things are forever rusting! Conversely, I have some old British and U.S. made pliers that don't have any surface finish, or even dip coated handles, kept in the same environment, and they never rust!

All that rust may be natures way of telling you that the steel they've used isn't what it was...!

 

[rsieracki]

i was in sears a few months ago (i like to stop in to use the ******* as thats where theve dumped the craftsman brand anyways) and i saw a brand new rediculously priced craftsman table saw top covered in more rust and **** than an average garage sale tool or craigslist item... i circled thru and saw a drill press and a few other large power tools with surface rust the same way. 5 feet away was some snake oil 'rust protector' display....ahh the irony