Milwaukee vs Irwin Locking pliers

[mr.lemons]

I've just got some new Milwaukee locking pliers to keep in my car.

On first inspection they are very similar to Irwins. They don't look/feel any better or worse to me.

Time for a hugely unscientific test to compare Milwaukee to Irwin. Grip the ring end of an old spanner and spend 30 seconds wrestling with it to to see how much the teeth get damaged.

Milwaukee teeth show damage but hold up quite well.

Irwin teeth flatten and round off quite easily.

Not very impressed that both pliers appeared to be made of softer metal than a cheap Draper spanner that I know from experience is made of cheese.

Just out of interest I brought out a wild card. Original Mole grips that used to belong to my friend's Dad.

With much effort I unable to leave any marks on the Mole grip's teeth. They just eat away at the chrome on the spanner.

I don't think Irwin or Milwaukee pliers will last long enough to be passed onto future generations of tool users to enjoy. They don't make them like they used to.

 

[MTNSleder]

My Milwaukee grips seem to be not bad took off a few bolts ect, i really like the red knob on the end for adjusting them!

 

[AceofSpad3s]

Milwaukee is probably the better just for that knob alone, since it's a lot easier to tighten it on the fastener than to try and use 200 pound retard gorilla strength to squeeze them on a hardened bolt, especially with the old thin metal handled stuff. Also helps the newer ones aren't nearly as hard as the old ones so they start deforming before biting into the fastener

 

[Ji m]

I bought my first pair of Milwaukee locking pliers at HD a couple weeks ago (more money spent thanks to G.J. lol),

I haven't really needed them yet, but am impressed with their fit, finish and feel as probably the best 'new' option for locking pliers since Irwin turned what had been the best into H.F. wannabee's

How do you like the plastic handles?

I am usually not a fan of adding plastic handles to something that always worked fine without them
(I got the all metal style),
but I was thinking of getting the plastic handle 2-pack of Milwaukee's next time I'm at the store.

 

[mr.lemons]

I bought my first pair of Milwaukee locking pliers at HD a couple weeks ago (more money spent thanks to G.J. lol),

I haven't really needed them yet, but am impressed with their fit, finish and feel as probably the best 'new' option for locking pliers since Irwin turned what had been the best into H.F. wannabee's

How do you like the plastic handles?

I am usually not a fan of adding plastic handles to something that always worked fine without them
(I got the all metal style),
but I was thinking of getting the plastic handle 2-pack of Milwaukee's next time I'm at the store.

I think the rubber helps a lot when squeezing the handles together. Creates more surface area to squeeze on. Plain metal can hurt my softy hands.

 

[davethorik]

On the comfort grip vise grips on both brands...the lower grip always comes loose. A bit of epoxy is an easy fix, still annoying.

I've found the Milwaukees to be better overall quality for the price. And the flat knob is better than the knurled round knob.

 

[d.mcfarland]

I wish someone that has the ability to hardness test metal would test the different brands to see what we are dealing with.

 

[Tallpilot]

Grip-on > Milwaukee > Irwin

I wish someone that has the ability to hardness test metal would test the different brands to see what we are dealing with.

Someday when I finish my hand tool wish list I will buy a set of those hardness testers. They are pretty expensive.

 

[yaidunno]

I wish someone that has the ability to hardness test metal would test the different brands to see what we are dealing with.

We've got one at work. Maybe i'll bring an Irwin in and give it a poke.

I see the Milwaukee one is listed as CrMo. People seem to love that stuff. Hardness rating for it can range from B90 annealed all the way up to C60 fully hardened. That's a huge range from butter soft, to harder than a wedding ****.

From what I've found, there is little to no info on what (if any) heat treatment is spec'd on something like this. Case hardened, through hardened, tempering afterword's? Its anybody's guess. Looking at pictures like this, and my own locking pliers, I'd say your low C scale, 20-30 in hardness.

 

[d.mcfarland]

yaidunno I'd appreciate it.

I actually am working on customize vise grips right now, and I am unable to drill through the jaw portion without destroying drill bits (HSS and Ti coated both failed quickly). I think somehow the teeth aren't all that hard but deeper down into the jaw area the hardness somehow increases. Sounds strange, but is true.

 

[Mr_B]

I don't think Irwin or Milwaukee pliers will last long enough to be passed onto future generations of tool users to enjoy. They don't make them like they used to.

+1 on this
truth is the cr-v or cr-mo on the tool means very little as generally the actual grade of either and the hardness treatments are not what they use to be on the older pliers.
I always pick up any decent used old peterson/vise grips as they better than 90% of anything new.
toptul do a pretty good effort but teeth hardness probably not as good .

Most pliers if want proper decent jaws and joints means need good brand or vintage or both .

Most of the modern tool alloys are soft as cheese lol .

You can feel the difference and see difference if compare old pliers, screwdrivers to many new ones .

 

[majorbanjo]

Get a cat to test for hardness....I always heard the phrase..."so hard a cat couldn't scratch it"......but come to think of it that applied to something else.....never mind.....

 

[yaidunno]

A follow up on the hardness testing.

The sample in question is a 7WR model with the rubber handle. Its USA made, and I'd estimate 8-10 years old. The teeth serrations show some flattening, but it's still a very usable tool.

Hardness at the jaw came in at a surprising C44 on the Rockwell scale. This is a respectable hardness for this tool.

I will do some digging around tonight, as I think I have an old Peterson made one stashed away. I'd be curious to see a comparison between the two, along with the new ones, which I don't think are made in the states even.