Good value long reach pliers?

[wahoowad]

I was killing time in the Sears tool section while the old lady returned all the clothes I bought her for Christmas when I saw a nifty pair of double-jointed needle nose pliers. Maybe they were these Crescent X2 style?

Anybody seen them for sale lately at a good price? Looks like I missed out on a good Amazon sale a few weeks back. These look to be around 13"

 

[Kaane]

Get these.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/PROTO-BLACK...S-/120693444824?pt=Pliers&hash=item1c19e3d0d8

He has a curved version as well. USA made best deal by far.

 

[Kaane]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/PROTO-SET-O...420&rk=2&rkt=6&mehot=pp&sd=120693442759&rt=nc

$30 for both.

 

[mrjaw14]

I have those and love them. I got the red-handled long reach cutters as well.

 

[AceofSpad3s]

Do you need the x design or would just regular ones work? Harbor freight has 11inch pliers for $4, you can get them for $3 with a coupon.

 

[Tritonus]

I have those and love them. I got the red-handled long reach cutters as well.

This -^

Those X types, I have read here, do not give you a strong grip.

 

[wahoowad]

Do you need the x design or would just regular ones work?

I posted as I do not know if the X-design offers that much narrower of a tool? It seemed pretty darn narrow.

 

[AceofSpad3s]

I posted as I do not know if the X-design offers that much narrower of a tool? It seemed pretty darn narrow.

The jaws open wider because of the double x hinge. What would you be using them for?

 

[wahoowad]

The jaws open wider because of the double x hinge. What would you be using them for?

Getting ahold of something that no mere human should expect to be able to grab

 

[AceofSpad3s]

Getting ahold of something that no mere human should expect to be able to grab

Unless you are going to be in really really really tight spaces I think just plain old 11in pliers I mentioned from harbor freight should work fine plus they are $3 so you could get both straight and angled ones for less than a fast food combo.

 

[cheechi]

I have the crescent X design and a pair of Kliens that are not. For what they are, the X type are bulky.

The HF ones, not even worth recommending. Very soft steel. I broke the 'stops' on mine through regular use, and not very frequent use at that. Now they are able to open up way wider than intended, makes them floppy.

Kaane, thanks for the link to the set that's a pretty good price.

 

[AceofSpad3s]

I have the crescent X design and a pair of Kliens that are not. For what they are, the X type are bulky.

The HF ones, not even worth recommending. Very soft steel. I broke the 'stops' on mine through regular use, and not very frequent use at that. Now they are able to open up way wider than intended, makes them floppy.

Kaane, thanks for the link to the set that's a pretty good price.

If he is just using them to reach into tight places occasionally I doubt soft steel would be an issue. And if they do break on him he could just warranty them.

 

[cheechi]

you're incorrect. if the pliers are soft then you can't get a good grip on what you're going in for. Or if you do your higher grade fasteners are going to destroy the teeth on the pliers.

Just face it. The HF pliers are not a valuable recommendation.

 

[wild cowboy]

Those X types, I have read here, do not give you a strong grip.

I am gonna have to disagree, as I had an employee this fall pull a dead car across a parking lot with the X2 pliers grabbing the alternator bracket!

 

[d.mcfarland]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/PROTO-SET-O...420&rk=2&rkt=6&mehot=pp&sd=120693442759&rt=nc

$30 for both.

I have those and they are beautiful American steel.

I have the crescent X design and a pair of Kliens that are not. For what they are, the X type are bulky.

The HF ones, not even worth recommending. Very soft steel. I broke the 'stops' on mine through regular use, and not very frequent use at that. Now they are able to open up way wider than intended, makes them floppy.

Kaane, thanks for the link to the set that's a pretty good price.

The HF ones are soft and rust easily. If you plan on keeping or using them often, invest in better ones.

If he is just using them to reach into tight places occasionally I doubt soft steel would be an issue. And if they do break on him he could just warranty them.

If the OP needs them at that time, he doesn't want them to break. Just like the rest of us.

 

[wild cowboy]

Just face it. The HF pliers are not a valuable recommendation.

well that depends, if I were young broke starting out mechanic, I would rather have the HF long pliers than NO long pliers!

there are many situations where the length is is what is critical more so than great grip, like retrieving a fallen washer, o-ring, etc.

 

[Buster21]

Like others have said you can't beat these Proto's for $15.00 each. Made in USA and nice grips.

 

[AceofSpad3s]

you're incorrect. if the pliers are soft then you can't get a good grip on what you're going in for. Or if you do your higher grade fasteners are going to destroy the teeth on the pliers.

Just face it. The HF pliers are not a valuable recommendation.

Ok, I assumed he was going to use them for light use since he said he needed them to pick up things that fell into small area's. I use them for light use like that fall in-between the seats of my car and behind my workbench and under the stove and they work fine, but I don't turn fastener with them. If he is going to use them more heavily then sure spring for the proto ones.

 

[joebachor]

Apex tool group makes these for both Gearwrench and Crescent. I wrench for a living and have found my X2 set to be helpful quite a few times but but I never see them on sale or cheap. don't buy the harbor freight pliers whatever you do.

 

[Lx460]

I use the Crescent ones to reach into the fuel tank on lawn service equipment (line trimmers, blowers, etc.) to grab the fuel filters. Works great.

 

[gsea]

Thanks for the link to that proto set. I snagged a pair. The cutters were too much $$$ for a such a seldom used tool though.

 

[T45]

Can't beat proto at $15 each. That being said, many times these things are used as pickup tools, for somthing non-ferrous. For that kind of purpose you don't need the best, you just need good enough. But that proto deal says have the best of bothworlds.

 

[bczygan]

If he is just using them to reach into tight places occasionally I doubt soft steel would be an issue. And if they do break on him he could just warranty them.

Well gee,
If you're going to rah rah for an HF item, you should at least show a picture and link to it:

http://www.harborfreight.com/11-inch-long-reach-needlenose-pliers-with-straight-jaws-39540.html

And:

http://www.harborfreight.com/16-inch-long-reach-pliers-set-38598.html

And:
http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result/index/?Submit=Go&q=long+reach+pliers

 

[cheechi]

Left to right the Blackhawk linked earlier (thanks again for that, they just arrived)
then HF, Klein & Crescent double X.


For the most part they open the same width. More about the HF one below.


With normal use, you can break the 'stops' on the HF pair and they do open much wider. If you are going to do this you have to grind off the uneven parts on the pivot as they will catch (probably they will catch you) and they don't break even.


These next two photos are the Blackhawk (the nicest pliers) and the HF (the least good)



And the four relevant needle nose piled on top of each other to get a relative idea of how wide they need at full open.


The nice thing about the double X is nearly the whole range of the jaws opening, they are wider than the joints so they will fit if the head will, opened of course. They do obstruct your view more than using the other kinds.

A significant note: granted these kind of pliers don't get used all that often and some of them are fairly new (the Blackhawk just arrived, the Crescent I haven't owned very long and not sure if I have used them more than 3-4x) but the joints on the Klein are the smoothest among all these, and nearly among all my pliers. I can pick them up by one handle and they open their full width from gravity. None of the others will do that.

 

[Jarhead0408]

I am gonna have to disagree, as I had an employee this fall pull a dead car across a parking lot with the X2 pliers grabbing the alternator bracket!

Why didn't he just push it from behind?

 

[yjWrangler]

Why didn't he just push it from behind?

Those pliers are pointy, could leave a mark pushing a car with them.

 

[HaroRider]

I have the HF ones, they are ok but they don't see that much use..

 

[Ign]

Apex tool group makes these for both Gearwrench and Crescent. I wrench for a living and have found my X2 set to be helpful quite a few times but but I never see them on sale or cheap. don't buy the harbor freight pliers whatever you do.

Amazon had a "coupon" on the Crescent double X's back around November.

TSC had a copy of the Double X (probably identical, it's all China) pre-holidays. If still around they'll be discounted.

 

[yjWrangler]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/PROTO-SET-O...420&rk=2&rkt=6&mehot=pp&sd=120693442759&rt=nc

$30 for both.

Can't decide if I should buy these, already have long reach pliers

 

[Mastermind]

I have the crescent, hf, and blue point, and the super long Matco set. I wrench for a living. Have not had a problem with any of them other than rust on the crescents from a wet paint booth floor overnight. The blue points replaced the hf except the 90 degree ones I have yet to find. Hf ones went home and are still fine.

 

[Jarhead0408]

Those pliers are pointy, could leave a mark pushing a car with them.

Hahaha.....smartass!

 

[warweapon762]

I have a set of Husky pliers that show up seasonally. They are much better than the hf ones. You can usually pick the set up for $5 after Christmas when they are getting rid of seasonal items.