KD hose pliers

[shamrock12]

I'm looking into ordering some KD hose pliers such as for pinch-off, hose clamp, and push-off. I noticed some of their pliers part numbers has changed slightly as they are adding "D" next to the original number. For instance, the original 3976 pliers are now re-identified as 3976D.

http://www.gearwrench.com/pliers/specialty

Do any of you know what the "D" represent and what change(s) did they make from the original version? Hopefully they're still made in the USA.

 

[ihateminimumwage]

Most if not all of the KD pliers have been relabeled Gearwrench or are now sold through Matco (at inflated rates). I ordered a set of KD 145s, and they showed up Gearwrench. As far as I know, they are all made in Taiwan now as well.

 

[Fedwrench]

KD has been absorbed by Gearwrench. KD no longer exists aside from being a part number prefix in an online vendor. The D stands for doomed. Unless you get NOS, the new stuff is imported.

 

[Danglerb]

Pinch off pliers I looked a bit and settled I think on Craftsman for easy replacement. Lisle was the original source on the push off pliers, which are great, but maybe these are better.

My own choice for a lot of specialty pliers was Mountain, or older used USA brands.