Superautobacs, which pliers do you prefer? How would you rate them and why?
I should mention that those pictures, with the exception of the attached images, are not mine! I was just merely trying to compile what's available in the market today.
I have the KTC (Japan), the newest Lobster (Japan), old Diamond-Caulk (US), and some cheapo (China) with a sloppy joint, horrible surface finish, with vinyl grips that slip out, and no anti-pinch feature.
The joints are flush on both KTC and Lobster, but the more important part is the slop-free joint they have.
I got the KTC in the shortest length for maneuverability, and easy operation.
The jaw profile on the Lobster is more versatile, as you can see, but the design is based on making compromises....it doesn't excel in any one thing....but unlike other models it does have the ability to effectively bite onto a screw head or a truss head fastener (which is the primary purpose of the Engineer one).
The Snap-on 47CF, with the "talon grip" (cross-hatched jaw), and a large flat surface area would excel at pulling tasks in any direction. The Channellock also has cross-hatched jaws as well. So, if pulling and twisting is your primary use, I'd consider one of those.
The grips on the Snap-on are bit bulky, but they are comfortable and provide a lot of grip.
You mentioned you work with twisting wires. Although they are not slip-joint pliers, from an ergonomics stand point, I think I'd rather use a pistol-grip type like these:
Wiha / NWS / Orbis / Gedore:
Matco (Orbis rebrand):
Gedore:
Snap-on:
probably the only slip-joint type of pistol-grip pliers I've ever seen:
412AEP (no longer made?)
612AEP (non-slip joint)
Probably these Snap-on's are too long in length?
"Kiwi Pliers" (Taiwan):
not slip-joint, but for light duty stuff:
Perhaps all the long ones aren't what you're looking for?
[edit] I almost forgot about these until I saw them in my box today.
IPS (Japan) long-reach, slip-joint pliers. They are good for light-duty tasks:
