Knipex pliers corrosion resistance

[alan camby]

What is everyone's thoughts on the different coatings on these pliers. I just got the 12" pliers tonight and the steel almost looks like a plain steel finish. They came in a bag inside the box with a coating of oil on the steel. Do I need to keep these in my humidity controlled shop or will they be fine in the barn on a workbench?

Many years ago craftsman had a 2 piece 7" and 10" set of private label knipex pliers. These seem to have a painted finish that has held up well.

The chrome ones I assume are very reliable in a non conditioned shop. I have had these plier wrenches for quite some time with no issue.

The 12" pliers are my first pair with this plain finish.

Thanks

 

[rkevins]

we use the pliers like the far right in the picture daily at work for maintenance, plumbing and everything else from plain water to sewer water, cleaned them many times a day with bleach wipes during the height of COVID (at one time we had close to the highest number of COVID beds in the state) never have a problem with rust, I have had mine almost 9 years and they were used when I got them.

 

[American Locomotive]

The chrome ones are fine. The black oxide ones will be prone to light surface rust if you leave them wet where the black oxide rubs off from use.

 

[rlitman]

Those silver color pliers wrenches are nickel, not chrome. The newer ones are chrome.

 

[Pexto]

The coating on the black ones is not black oxide, according to Knipex it's a zinc-phosphate coating (https://www.knipex.com/en-us/knowledge/pliers-knowledge/how-pair-pliers-made). So it should be more rust-resistant than oxide.

I have some Knipex pliers with plating and some with coating and haven't noticed any corrosion issues with either - but frankly I don't live in a very corrosive environment.

 

[Mandres]

I have the pliers wrench with the silver finish, and the cobras with the black phosphate. They've both been excellent, much better than most of my other imported hand tools. I'm in the humid gulf coast and corrosion is always an issue. The knipex have held up great

 

[sparky 1971]

I have several pair with the finish on the right. Never kept in climate control, used daily, in and out from cold to warm all winter, high humidity in the summer. and dropped in water a few times I've never noticed anything.

 

[rustbucket5]

no corrosion or surface rust on mine, and ive gotten them wet a few times. i have pliers with both coatings

 

[walrus]

a little rust won't hurt them. Just keep polishing thm and they will be fine.

 

[Steve_P]

The finish on the RH is "atramentized"; IIRC, it's basically a zinc phosphate coating and then has a clear coat applied. It holds up excellently, as noted. My complaint about this on Knipex is that they machine some surfaces after the coating. Why? Then it's just bare metal under the clear. NWS also uses this finish and they don't do machining after coating, which I prefer

 

[Joe Piro]

Question.... Why are all Knipex VDE electrically insulated pliers in the German catalog also chrome plated?
I thought I would ask here and avoid opening another thread. Feel free to re-direct me if appropriate.
I am upgrading most of my pliers and side cutters. I have chosen a couple of Japanese items, but mostly decided on Knipex (after a lot of reading GJ posts and elsewhere). However I occasionally work on hot 120 volt circuits so I decided to order the VDE insulated grips wherever possible. In the German catalog, every item number that has VDE rated grips is also chrome plated.
I read in a few places to avoid chrome because chips would find their way into wrong places on circuit boards and cause short circuits. This is not an issue in a 15 amp receptacle or a light switch, but it still prompts me to ask the question: Why don't they offer in Germany, VDE rated grips with the "black atrementized" product finishes?
This may differ in the American market, and this is really another question: Are the German catalog numbers the same as the American catalog numbers? In the German numbers when the second two digits end in 6, it is a chrome plated and also VDE tested (such as high leverage combination pliers 02 06 225)
I think I saw on Zoro a VDE rated item for the US market that ended in 8 (Linesman plier 03 08 160).
So #1, Why are VDE pliers chrome plated in Germany and
#2, are the US and German catalogs different?
Thanks for your experience and insight.

 

[Dave455]

I find that the single biggest factor affecting corrosion resistance is the quality of the steel.

I have some “CK” (British importer of predominantly German tools) combination pliers. They are German made, but obviously of cheaper steel to keep costs down, and they rust at the slightest. Knipex pliers, same plain steel finish, in the same drawer, are unmarked!

I have some very old pliers and adjustables, and I find that in some cases the unplated ones have lasted longer. Any damage can be stoned out and any corrosion removed, which you can’t with chrome.

Just wipe down your plain finished tools with an oily rag after use, and they will last be fine!

 

[Dave455]

Question.... Why are all Knipex VDE electrically insulated pliers in the German catalog also chrome plated?
I thought I would ask here and avoid opening another thread. Feel free to re-direct me if appropriate.
I am upgrading most of my pliers and side cutters. I have chosen a couple of Japanese items, but mostly decided on Knipex (after a lot of reading GJ posts and elsewhere). However I occasionally work on hot 120 volt circuits so I decided to order the VDE insulated grips wherever possible. In the German catalog, every item number that has VDE rated grips is also chrome plated.
I read in a few places to avoid chrome because chips would find their way into wrong places on circuit boards and cause short circuits. This is not an issue in a 15 amp receptacle or a light switch, but it still prompts me to ask the question: Why don't they offer in Germany, VDE rated grips with the "black atrementized" product finishes?
This may differ in the American market, and this is really another question: Are the German catalog numbers the same as the American catalog numbers? In the German numbers when the second two digits end in 6, it is a chrome plated and also VDE tested (such as high leverage combination pliers 02 06 225)
I think I saw on Zoro a VDE rated item for the US market that ended in 8 (Linesman plier 03 08 160).
So #1, Why are VDE pliers chrome plated in Germany and
#2, are the US and German catalogs different?
Thanks for your experience and insight.

I think Knipex have tried to streamline the number of options in recent years.

As well as the Insulated grip, Knipex offer the very similar “multi component” grip, in both chrome and unplated versions, and then the dipped handles in unplated. All shown below but no good to you I realise.

Until recently they offered the dipped handles on plated tools, and all plated tools with no grips (my favourites) but most of these options have been dropped.

Part of the reason for limited insulated options may be that they are manufacturing for primarily european markets, and in 240 volt world, nobody but a real specialist is working “live line”, and that world comes with it’s own tools!

 

[Steve_P]

I don't know the answer, but I believe that most/all of NWS VDE pliers are also all chrome plated. I think Knipex makes a VDE cobra plier with the atramentized finish, but that's probably not going to get used much in electrical boxes. But I wonder if there is actually an answer that doesn't have to do with marketing, or number of items in the catalog; like something about it being helpful in the testing procedure for the VDE certification.
As said, Knipex seems to be thinning down the options in the last few years and had dropped chrome plating on a lot of the standard pliers that they used to have it available on.

 

[Joe Piro]

Thanks Dave455 and Steve_P for your quick replies in the New Year.

Just wipe down your plain finished tools with an oily rag after use, and they will last be fine!

Right ! I have several pair (one combination/linesman plier, one needle nose and a round nose) that I inherited from my father, They are at least 80 years old, great steel, and hardly ever a trace of rust, but always put away dry. There must have been just enough WD40, oil, and grease around even on a clean workbench to protect them.

in some cases the unplated ones have lasted longer. Any damage can be stoned out and any corrosion removed, which you can’t with chrome.

And I would buy unplated if I could get the VDE insulated tested grips, but that's the problem.

I wonder if there is actually an answer that doesn't have to do with marketing, or number of items in the catalog; like something about it being helpful in the testing procedure for the VDE certification.

Um hmmm... I was wondering about that too. Perhaps some more data may still come in on this question/thread.
It appears that the US market may have some non-chrome models with VDE grips, but that's why I wondered about US versus German catalog numbers. My German numbers just don't come up in a USA search and I couldn't find a thorough US catalog. Well.... OK... I thought I did:
The attached photos a page from a Knipex catalog and is the code to interpret the catalog numbers and its from the KC Tools website...and is supposed to be the 2021 US catalog. All the numbers agree with the German catalog numbers.
However it only goes up to 7, and it includes nothing about O8 catalog numbers that I see on American websites. Maybe Zoro is sourcing NOS or something.
However I am still confused. Any more insight out there?

 

[Dave455]

Thanks Dave455 and Steve_P for your quick replies in the New Year.

Right ! I have several pair (one combination/linesman plier, one needle nose and a round nose) that I inherited from my father, They are at least 80 years old, great steel, and hardly ever a trace of rust, but always put away dry. There must have been just enough WD40, oil, and grease around even on a clean workbench to protect them.

And I would buy unplated if I could get the VDE insulated tested grips, but that's the problem.

Um hmmm... I was wondering about that too. Perhaps some more date may still come in on this question/thread.
It appears that the US market may have some non-chrome models with VDE grips, but that's why I wondered about US versus German catalog numbers. My German numbers just don't come up in a USA search and I couldn't find a thorough US catalog. Well.... OK... I thought I did:
The attached photos a page from a Knipex catalog and is the code to interpret the catalog numbers and its from the KC Tools website...and is supposed to be the 2021 US catalog. All the numbers agree with the German catalog numbers.
However it only goes up to 7, and it includes nothing about O8 catalog numbers that I see on American websites. Maybe Zoro is sourcing NOS or something.
However I am still confused. Any more insight out there?

Are there any other makers that offer what you are looking for? I know Facom do, and Bahco, and Wiha (chrome and unplated available). All shown below.

Plenty of other makers to choose from. Not sure if VBW or NWS offer them, but then there are all the Japanese makers - Tsunoda, Fujiya, Victor, Merry…

Edit. - and of course ITL, here in the U.K, offer them. They are specialists in tools for live line working.

 

[Joe Piro]

Dave455 ...Thanks again. I appreciate your providing those alternatives.
For what its worth I have answered my own question. (Dad always told me if I mucked around long enough I'd figure it out).
So the below photo is from a paper Knipex catalog dated 2019 that KC Tools sent me with my first order from them. The photo is the page from the 2019 Knipex catalog that corresponds to the above similar page from the 2021 Catalog.
In 2019 they did include a category ending in 8 for the handles and it was "atrementized with insulated grips,", but only ASTM, not VDE.
So maybe Zoro and others are selling NOS (such as Linesman plier 03 08 160) which is no doubt as good as knew but NLA.
I wonder if VDE testing has a requirement about plating that ASTM does not have??? I guess it would require some heavy duty reading to figure that out and not the best use of our gift of 2022 time to live and work and enjoy our tools.
Happy New Year !!!

 

[Bessy]

All of my cobras are the same finish as the 300 mm ones on the right, and a few of them have shown just a little bit of surface rust on the machined faces of the jaws. I've been meaning to give them a cleanup and spray them down with wd40 and possibly some rust check.

 

[Jim_No_Garage]

I find that the single biggest factor affecting corrosion resistance is the quality of the steel.

Just wipe down your plain finished tools with an oily rag after use, and they will last be fine!

I realized this yesterday as I was taking down the outdoor Christmas lights. I found that I had left a pair of M Klein and Son's lineman's pliers sitting on top of the retaining wall for the very rainy month of December. There was a tiny bit of surface rust on the handles but a quick wire brushing and the rust was gone. For laughs I looked at the datecode - LEE - 3rd Quarter of '44 if I'm interpreting that correctly.

I don't own any Knipex but I'd like to think a quality steel will be fine with minor care and cleaning.

Cheers

Jim

 

[Paul_The_Builder]

I have a bunch of Knipex in my work truck. They get some surface rust on them, mostly on the machined surfaces near the jaws, they fare better than chinese pliers, but they're not rust proof by any means. A little WD-40 cleans the rust off, no big deal.