Malco Eagle Grip pliers
- Thread starter Kscardsfan
- Start date
reader2580
Well-known member
I was going to buy a pair when I was at Harry Epstein in May 2021, but they had just sold out.
KnurledNut
Well-known member
Kudos to Malco for trying.
I have used Malco products for many years.
Their entire line is pricey, but high quality.
IMO, their snips are the best out there.
While I would have no issue paying the current price of $40 for their Max2000 offsets, I have no interest in paying $50 for locking pliers.
The variety of Petersens I own were picked up used, rarely paying more than $5. Even now, I often see them and pass them by because I just dont need more, unless its a unique model.
Brand recognition in America is HUGE.
People know the Vise-grip name.
But how many average joes could tell you they were originally made in Dewitt?
If Malco could have used the original name (which obviously they couldnt), the outcome probably would have been different (however small) even with the premium cost.
I personally didnt like the Eagle Grip logo or name.
While its disappointing, im not surprised much by this news.
By stepping into this venture, maybe Malco opened the door of opportunity for someone else to pursue.
I have used Malco products for many years.
Their entire line is pricey, but high quality.
IMO, their snips are the best out there.
While I would have no issue paying the current price of $40 for their Max2000 offsets, I have no interest in paying $50 for locking pliers.
The variety of Petersens I own were picked up used, rarely paying more than $5. Even now, I often see them and pass them by because I just dont need more, unless its a unique model.
Brand recognition in America is HUGE.
People know the Vise-grip name.
But how many average joes could tell you they were originally made in Dewitt?
If Malco could have used the original name (which obviously they couldnt), the outcome probably would have been different (however small) even with the premium cost.
I personally didnt like the Eagle Grip logo or name.
While its disappointing, im not surprised much by this news.
By stepping into this venture, maybe Malco opened the door of opportunity for someone else to pursue.
vssjim
ALLIANCE MEMBER
i have six sets and really think they are worth every penny, i have a few Facom set from the eighties that were made in France and all the rest are US Vise Grips but still think the Malco's are the best over all
Indexmill
Well-known member
very sad. 100% predictable. Very sad.
I would wonder not how many people on GJ bought them, but rather how many people not on GJ…
Manufacturing economics is an interesting thing to study. They are enormously sensitive to process selection, volume, and batch quantity. I have no idea what their incremental unit cost is, but I think it is pretty clear volume is what has been missing. I’ll bet that even with inflation adjustment, unit costs were well over double what DeWitt made Vise Grips were. The magic formula from the original Petersen’s was to sell for a modest premium in high volume, which meant they could compete with low cost competitors that didn’t have the volume. But that also only worked because they were the originator and everybody else had to start out with way less volume.
I have a few sets of GripOns. I think I’ve paid $25 or less for most of them. So something in that range is possible. And GripOn has been smart and offers a really wide range. The epoxy coating has its advantages. Two of mine were actually rebranded, painted blue and black, sold by Channellock. I wouldn’t mind seeing Channellock reenter the market, but not sure they’d hit the right part of the cost vs. volume curve.
Manufacturing economics is an interesting thing to study. They are enormously sensitive to process selection, volume, and batch quantity. I have no idea what their incremental unit cost is, but I think it is pretty clear volume is what has been missing. I’ll bet that even with inflation adjustment, unit costs were well over double what DeWitt made Vise Grips were. The magic formula from the original Petersen’s was to sell for a modest premium in high volume, which meant they could compete with low cost competitors that didn’t have the volume. But that also only worked because they were the originator and everybody else had to start out with way less volume.
I have a few sets of GripOns. I think I’ve paid $25 or less for most of them. So something in that range is possible. And GripOn has been smart and offers a really wide range. The epoxy coating has its advantages. Two of mine were actually rebranded, painted blue and black, sold by Channellock. I wouldn’t mind seeing Channellock reenter the market, but not sure they’d hit the right part of the cost vs. volume curve.
just as an example.... here is what german made locking pliers cost directly from the manufacturer:
shop.bollmann-selzer.de
Gedore list prices: (Made in Austria)
www.gedore.com
(Gedore is a bit pricey too though. But street prices are lower.....)
Prices even include 19% sales tax.
Here´s a video of how they are made:
So why can´t Malco make/sell them for these prices if the germans/austrians can.... (and the spanish....) ??
(Given that Malco operates a modern factory (robots etc.))
Gripzangen
Ihre Klemmmechanik macht sie einzigartig: die Gripzange. So unterschiedlich Gripzangen auch sind, sie halten sicher fest, was geklemmt werden muss. Mit raffinierter Hebelmechanik als „dritte Hand“ einsetzbar, um Werkstücke in einer gewünschten Position zu sichern und stabilisieren. Die Zangen...
shop.bollmann-selzer.de
Gripzangen
Prices even include 19% sales tax.
Here´s a video of how they are made:
So why can´t Malco make/sell them for these prices if the germans/austrians can.... (and the spanish....) ??
(Given that Malco operates a modern factory (robots etc.))
@SheetMetalGod Wanted to thank you for keeping us informed about what was happening before official press reports were released. I feel for the employees being dumped over the holidays. Good luck to the town.
I got some old Gedore pliers, they work fine but inevitably if you use them they end up being beat up.
I think the Knipex/Bollman is about the same quality-wise, but obviously my Gedores are a bit older.
New Gedore pliers are around 20-30€, the store prices are a little inflated. I also have a small drawer full of ****** asian pliers for the really dirty work, they're all wobbly and unreliable but they do the same job in the end. The gedores are pretty tight despite the abuse.
I think the Knipex/Bollman is about the same quality-wise, but obviously my Gedores are a bit older.
New Gedore pliers are around 20-30€, the store prices are a little inflated. I also have a small drawer full of ****** asian pliers for the really dirty work, they're all wobbly and unreliable but they do the same job in the end. The gedores are pretty tight despite the abuse.
Tooltime22
Well-known member
When I found out about Eaglegrips, I ordered 1 of each style. Now that they are closing, I may buy another of each. I really like the finish and how strong the teeth are compared to all the others.
I bought 2 pairs, would of purchased more if they made more styles.
really wanted some long nose and some bent long nose, also something like the 12LC and pinch off pliers and hose spring clamp pliers and slim jaw grips been good.
Main issue was no range and no innovation .
No idea why plated jaws as with the plating they using the jaws far better with just chemical finish ...
Hopefully someone buys it up and shows malco how it should be done, snapon perhaps !?
Was a piss poor effort from Malco in my opinion, europe can do locking pliers no problem so why not usa, Gripon pinned and pwder coated design not cheapest to make and they been going decades with not the best locking pliers on market or that good value .
really wanted some long nose and some bent long nose, also something like the 12LC and pinch off pliers and hose spring clamp pliers and slim jaw grips been good.
Main issue was no range and no innovation .
No idea why plated jaws as with the plating they using the jaws far better with just chemical finish ...
Hopefully someone buys it up and shows malco how it should be done, snapon perhaps !?
Was a piss poor effort from Malco in my opinion, europe can do locking pliers no problem so why not usa, Gripon pinned and pwder coated design not cheapest to make and they been going decades with not the best locking pliers on market or that good value .
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CHI_Tool&Die
Well-known member
Locking pliers are probably the last tool I would want to open up a factory/manufacturing line/whatever on. People absolutely destroy these tools on the daily and I cannot see how anyone in that situation would want to spend upwards of $50 each. There is no tool more abused and modified and beat on at my shop and I’ve seen the same at every shop I have been at. I love US tools but dude, locking pliers are not where you want to be.
dnschmidt
Well-known member
This is truth^^^^^
Screwdriver?
dutchgray
Well-known member
They are where you want to be if you can knock them out for $20 and make a profit at that, precisely because they are so abused and regularly broken that they are a consumable and thus the manufacturer gets to sell a lot more pairs.
dnschmidt
Well-known member
If Peterson could make great Vice Grips fairly cheap why couldn't Malco? Apparently they upgraded to the best equipment which should have lowered costs. Instead they opted for $55 Vice-Grips? If you read my comment in my SEMA trip report about Sagola and Walcom spray guns the same insanity was at work at Malco. Get rich slowly is the best way to actually get rich.
They clearly expended a lot of effort (and therefore money) on making them pretty. And I'm not a business expert by any means but it has to be a lot cheaper to keep an existing factory running than start a new one, even with better automation. When the pliers launched they cost like $38 dollars on amazon if I recall correctly. I thought that would come down with time but it just went up from there.
I'll hold out a tiny bit of hope that someone else will buy the plant and not **** it up this time.
I'll hold out a tiny bit of hope that someone else will buy the plant and not **** it up this time.
CHI_Tool&Die
Well-known member
Ah, I forgot about the flathead screwdrivers. I won’t loan mine out at work because they are the only ones in the shop that aren’t chipped, split, bent, reground, or held together with electrical tape and a prayer. A screwdriver’s existence I would not wish on anyone.
MarvinBerry
Well-known member
Actual story with actual info on the plant closing...
Here’s the telling fact -
From the Lincoln Journal Star article, employment was 63. When Irwin closed the plant it was employing 330. There is no way that plant was producing anything like 1/5 of the volume that it was under Irwin. Account for the higher price, and there’s still no way it was producing 1/10th.
From the Lincoln Journal Star article, employment was 63. When Irwin closed the plant it was employing 330. There is no way that plant was producing anything like 1/5 of the volume that it was under Irwin. Account for the higher price, and there’s still no way it was producing 1/10th.
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Ton ton
Well-known member
I actually agree with your statement.
MarvinBerry
Well-known member
One thing that really hit me in that article? Said when they bought the plant 2017 there were state tax breaks & incentives and since not all the requirements were met they may have to pay some back.
That means they took a complete bath on this venture. New machinery too? Sounds like a money pit.
Have to admit I'm only familiar with the eagle grip thing from seeing the name here. After that popped in my feed today I looked at the pricing and yeah, geez $50 locking pliers..?
It's like the fortune teller that goes out of business... they didn't know I wasn't coming?
That means they took a complete bath on this venture. New machinery too? Sounds like a money pit.
Have to admit I'm only familiar with the eagle grip thing from seeing the name here. After that popped in my feed today I looked at the pricing and yeah, geez $50 locking pliers..?
It's like the fortune teller that goes out of business... they didn't know I wasn't coming?
toolenthusiast
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jan 21, 2017
- Messages
- 723
The Grip-on rebrands never went anywhere. When we wear out the Malco ones we’ll have to settle for Grip-on replacements.
toolenthusiast
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jan 21, 2017
- Messages
- 723
I don’t agree with the assumption that the existence of a cheaper, lower quality product rules out the possibility that a premium product could also succeed. I mean, Skechers exists and yet Christian Louboutin is still worth $1.6 billion. He sells thousand dollar shoes and people line right up.
Malco could have made this work if they did the bare minimum amount of advertising or even just retail distribution. Hell, there are people like my FiL who will buy the most expensive version of something on the shelf because “It must be better!”
Michael_in_DE
Well-known member
project farm did a great comparrison with the different brands. Malco came out on top. It's too bad. Just got mine. Love them.
Yeah, the financials must have been really ugly for them to write off that kind of loss after less than 2 years of production. The product is great, so it was all pricing and profitability that killed it. Hopefully the plant gets bought and turned around but would anyone want to work there at this point? They went under twice in 15 years.
My guess is, the workers wouldn't mind
KnurledNut
Well-known member
Since SO was a branded run, they probably have a healthy inventory that will take quite some time to deplete.
They apparently already have a potential buyer/s.
I wouldnt be surprised one bit if this whole thing is happening because someone made them an offer too good to pass up.
Lots of assumption here they werent making money.
They never said that.
Seems more to this story than we know.
dr_clyde
Well-known member
I'm sad to hear this, I had bought some and was planning to buy more.
They are hands down the best locking pliers I've ever handled. I don't care about the price. They were just really nice tools.
I agree the absolutely dropped the ball marketing these and getting them in front of the public. The only place I ever could buy them was from Snap-on and Harry Epstein.
I bet if they'd put them in the box stores and common hardwares with the price maybe $10 less they would've sold a bunch more than they did.
They are hands down the best locking pliers I've ever handled. I don't care about the price. They were just really nice tools.
I agree the absolutely dropped the ball marketing these and getting them in front of the public. The only place I ever could buy them was from Snap-on and Harry Epstein.
I bet if they'd put them in the box stores and common hardwares with the price maybe $10 less they would've sold a bunch more than they did.
milkovich
Well-known member
In the last 48 hours we sold every one we had on the shelf and now are showing backorders.
You collectors move fast!
You collectors move fast!
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but those retailers don't accept items from manufacturers. Suppliers fill entire sections and profits are the only thing that matters.
Malco can't just go to home depot and make a deal, even if they already have some Malco stuff in the store.
dnschmidt
Well-known member
A vice grip is a tool you intentionally beat the **** out of, you don't put in in a jewelry box. TOPTUL makes a good vice grip I bought by the box (normally that's 10) and I got these really cheap (I can tell you that the box of 10 cost less than one Eagle Grip) since I was a distributor. I've destroyed the appearance of many by simply using them for what they're made for WELDING. They still work but they do look like **** which is what I expected. It's different from a Snap-On wrench which looks so pretty once you wipe the grease off. Vice Grips used as Vice Grips never look pretty since welding spatter never looks pretty.
dr_clyde
Well-known member
I mean, yeah, but you can go to the supplier and push your products to them.
As a manufacturer of tools I'd think it should be a top priority to get your products in the stores where a large majority of the tool buying public buys tools.
And if you can't, they should be pushing these things to every independent hardware, tool guy, building supply or what have you.
The fact remains a lot of tools are bought in person and not online. Once you feel and touch a Malco grip next to a Irwin you'll immediately see why they're more money. You can't get that on Amazon.
Bubba Fett
Well-known member
Malco should have made these a "limited special edition" and then offered a less pretty version for a lower cost. They don't need to have all that chrome, certainly not on the jaws.
They were also IDENTICAL to the classic Vise-Grips. That's nostalgic, but the thing is EVERY tool brand has a clone of those pliers, since the patent has expired. They could have engineered a new feature, or something unique for the regular line. They were durable, they were pretty, but you can get Bremens for less than $10, and Proto (rebranded Grip-Ons) for less than $30.
They were also IDENTICAL to the classic Vise-Grips. That's nostalgic, but the thing is EVERY tool brand has a clone of those pliers, since the patent has expired. They could have engineered a new feature, or something unique for the regular line. They were durable, they were pretty, but you can get Bremens for less than $10, and Proto (rebranded Grip-Ons) for less than $30.
dr_clyde
Well-known member
Looks aren't nearly as important as function, quality and useability and Malco had that in spades over Irwin.
Probably didn't need the full polish chrome on some things but yeah, they just were that much better.
And there's lots of uses for vise grips other than welding. Yes, they're useful on the welding table but I run a professional weld shop and we rarely use the standard pliers style in the welding world. The C-clamp style, yes all the time. But the regular joe pliers? Not nearly as often.
Plus it's a poor craftsman who obliterates their tools with welding spatter and torch cuts and whatever. Yes, they occasionally get some BBs or whatever. But if you put 10 seconds of thought into where your spatter is going you can keep tools nice for decades. I have some small pieces of aluminum plate I use as spatter deflectors, and they're great for that. Keeps my tools nice.
I just ordered $200 of Malco clamps from Epstein's an hour ago. I'm annoyed that they won't be available anymore. I was planning to buy a whole nother set for my home tool box at some point, now I either need to scramble or find them used. *****.
dr_clyde
Well-known member
If it ain't broke, why fix it? The original Petersen grips are the ones to copy if you're going to copy one.