Knipex TwinGrip

[gfd_703]

Yesterday I encountered an electrical enclosure cover that is held on with 8 #10 Phillips round head screws. All the screws were very rusty and difficult to remove with one being impossible. This one was rusted to the point of not having any of the Phillips part left. I went to the truck with intention of getting a drill and drilling this screw out but I remembered I had bought the TwinGrips a few months back and even though I have used them for other tasks this would be the first real world test of them for what they are designed to do. To my amazement they grabbed the tiny bit of rusty screw and I was able to easily back it out without any effort at all. I own an excessive number of pliers and none would have come close to accomplishing this task, not ViseGrips, not Knipex Cobras, not anything in my arsenal. I love it when a tool lives up to its hype and the TwinGrips lived up to and surpassed theirs.

 

[dnschmidt]

That's what's called innovation and that's what's wrong with Channellock and from my personal point of view TOPTUL. The damn Krauts keep coming up with cool ****. Whether it be Festool and their track saws, superior vacuum extraction and Domino machine or Knipex and the Pliers Wrench they always have something newer, better and more useful in the bag. Knipex's hose clamp pliers kill everybody else's as well.

 

[hkd76]

TwinGrips are my favorite pliers.

 

[matthew]

Yes, that is innovation. But it is also discipline. Lots of businesses have good ideas, rush them to market, and figure they’ll tweak them as they go. Which is why sometimes “the second mouse gets the cheese.”

There’s not a lot of companies that work through the details well enough to be the leader in both innovation and quality. And for there to not be much opportunity for marginal improvement. It’s impressive.

 

[webscrounger]

I have them also and they work great. Other companies do have pliers of various size/configurations engineered for just that type of screw extraction. Engineer and Vamplier, to name a couple, make several models.

 

[Steve_P]

I have Twin Grips and like them, and they do work great; but it's basically a copy and slight improvement of the Engineer screw pliers that are very popular here. So, IMO there wasn't that much innovation in the Twin Grip vs what's currently available. They basically combined the Engineer "Japanese style" screw plier with a typical "US style" slip joint plier.

In about ten years, Channellock may begin working on their version...

 

[Madjik Man]

I bought them last year sometime. They're becoming my go to. I also splurged big on Amazon Japan before they stopped shipping most things to the US and stocked up on Engineer pliers. But I do really like the Knipex twin grip.

Currently $35 with free (prime) delivery: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B097C98LCT/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[matthew]

it's basically a copy and slight improvement of the Engineer screw pliers

That’s a fair perspective. And I don’t (yet) own twingrips. And I may go for Engineer instead. And at least my comment on innovation might have been talking more about Cobras and plier wrenches. But I do also believe sometimes innovation is about putting the pieces together. I’d say twingrips look like a hybrid of Cobra, Engineer, and slip joints.

 

[Kuma601]

Darn you for mentioning these!

Came across this comparison with Vampliers and Proto :

 

[Meursault74]

That’s a fair perspective. And I don’t (yet) own twingrips. And I may go for Engineer instead. And at least my comment on innovation might have been talking more about Cobras and plier wrenches. But I do also believe sometimes innovation is about putting the pieces together. I’d say twingrips look like a hybrid of Cobra, Engineer, and slip joints.

I saw the Knipex here as an introduction to this type of tool, but I went with the Engineer pliers for screw removal instead. It was based on price and that I won't be using them to make a living. I've used them twice to remove a buggered-up screw. They worked fine. If I had to remove buggered up screws quite often, I likely would have gone with the Knipex twin grips.

 

[assassin10000]

For medium to large screws (or bolts) go with the knipex twingrip.

For smaller stuff (2.5-6mm iirc) get the small vampliers/engineer ones with the black handle).


I have both.

 

[F-22]

Engineer and Vamplier, to name a couple, make several models.

Those are actually the same, Vamplier is just a different name for the US market.

Overall, I think the Japanese are the most innovative in tools. Don't get me wrong, they make the most classic style hand tools too, like the wood handle Vessel (especially the split handle type). But then Vessel has another 60 pages of all kinds of screwdrivers from eco handles to wood composites to various soft handle type (megadora, gel...) to even different acetate hard handles and non-acetate hard handles etc... And on top of that loads of shank and tip options as well. And same with the Koken classic socketry tools, huge catalogues full of various tools, but then they also have the innovative Zeal line. Or the Lobster monkey wrench which also tries to implement some improvements. And so on, Engineer stuff is also a good example. Or even KTC, how their 21 century tools are thinner and smarter...

 

[Odd-job]

Might need to try these Twin grips despite having a full set of Engineers. Its always nice to have options when encountering rusty hardware or after shearing a bolt off.

The Japanese tool companies culturally really seems to specialize. Vessel probably has 5+ engineers thinking about screwdrivers all day long which leads them to making really good screwdrivers. Its probably the same reason Knipex is good and innovative at making pliers.

 

[Ford Farmer]

I’ve had a few sizes of the Engineer pliers for quite a few years. I’ve used them a fair bit, mostly removing stripped stainless fasteners. I’m a Knipex fan so I asked for and received a set of Twin Grips for Christmas. So far the only thing I clearly like better is the handle. The slip joint may come in handy at some point as well.