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Pliers Wrenches Other Than Knipex?

BQuicksilver

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I love my Knipex pliers wrenches and my mother wanted me to help choose a tool gift for my brothers this xmas. Problem is Knipex isn't in the budget for the gift. Does anyone make a lower-end pliers wrench?

I see lots of Cobra imitations, but no pliers wrenches. Are they under patent?
 
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reptilezs

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nws have some parallel jaw pliers(1 jaw pivots). channellock has smooth jaw pliers. i have not seen anything that compares to the pliers wrench with the sliding track and sheer gripping/crushing force
 

bart1

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Sears has them, maybe you can find some coupon codes to male them affordable for you. I got mine for $39 or $42 or something like that.
 
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BQuicksilver

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I have a set of Knipex comfort grips, but my brothers (who will NOT appreciate $50 pliers) don't. I figure if i could find some knock-offs for $20 it would make a gift that fits what my mother was looking for.
 

jjjrmx5

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Patent-yes.
Protected-yes.

Cheap Knipex Plier-wrench Knock-off. Hahahahaha.

Nope.

Not gonna happen.

Thus why you don't see cheap Cobras outside of Irwin and Craftsman.

Buy the "pseudo" Asian made real thing at your own peril. BTDT via a co-worker. I still LOL.
 
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jjjrmx5

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Monte

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VBW + Stahlwille....but even more expensive than Knippex

6573_fot_012.jpg
 

honcho

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As soon as the Knipex Plier-Wrench patent expires, they'll be plenty of knock offs available. Just look at how many knock offs there now are of the Fein Multimaster.

That said, I've found that most non-tool oriented people don't appreciate great tools. Get them the $20 gift set of chinese tools at Wal-Mart, Costco, Sears, wherever and use the money you save for your tools.
 

t100

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Knipex pliers wrenches

they are different animals than cobra's and alligator's.

there's a solution, if you love them so much, why don't get some more!!!:lol_hitti

Advance Auto has the 3 piece pliers wrench set for $180. use their coupon code "visa" at check out, you get $50 off, and shipping is free. keep 2 pairs for yourself and give 1 free to your bro.
 
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T45

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Irwin makes a smooth jaw groove-lock plier. Its actually very good, and I laugh when people talk down about it. should be under $20, they had it on cripes for a while maybe check there. It is a 10 inch or 250mm length.
 

jeejay

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Thanks, yeah I was looking at pipe wrenches too, and there's another odd variation on pliers.
foo9009_1.jpg

Footprint 900

Since 1875 they say...
 
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T45

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The 166K on that page is the one he would need to compare to Knipex.

Yes, this and the irwin are the same style. Basically a cobra quick-set with a smooth Jaw. Its a different plier that a PW but still quite useful and a nice addition because of the non-marring jaws.

It can be used like a super-strong duck-bill, is passable for hoseclamps, will hold nuts opposite a racthet etc, hold onto sheet metal and etc. Lots of people have a channel locks or cobra, and can probably still benefit from one of these.

PW has parallel jaws which are nice in some situations but they are over-rated IMHO when used as wrenches. For all the miscelaneous tasks tho they are quite nice.
 

jeejay

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If they have an extra 6.382 seconds to adjust,this eats that plier wraunch for breakfast on bigger stuff.Click-Stops handle everything else
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009W9BT0/?tag=atomicindus08-20
People seem to like the Ridgids too. Not sure about this Sealey, isn't huge, but it's a different handle also (and there are a few other brand names for multi-angle pipe wrenches, one's an HDX from Home Depot, pretty good reviews there):
85c7475c-dd0e-42f0-8348-0b99cde67292.jpg

AK5115 (15 position)
 
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dutchgray

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Thanks, yeah I was looking at pipe wrenches too, and there's another odd variation on pliers.
foo9009_1.jpg

Footprint 900

Since 1875 they say...

The pin adjustable style is the 1875 pattern
I do see loads of old worn out ones about, they were once extremely common here, much lighter than a stillson pattern and fast in use, great for assembly. Don't see so many now but we don't use much threaded pipe anymore, outside industrial applications.
 

jeejay

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The pin adjustable style is the 1875 pattern
I saw it listed as 698 currently. I like the looks of a thumb screw there myself, but a pin could be useful for keeping the same setting I suppose (although if it was wearing out, maybe a thumb screw would keep it working longer, or mostly its handle could take up the slack). I'd only use one occasionally like I do a smooth monkey wrench, so it's more of a novelty (I just prefer those to work too, and plier handles seem better for biting into a pipe than wrenching alone).

Oh, you were stating the year... I was thinking pattern number. Looks like they still make both types.
 
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FigureItOut

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Mobile Distributor Supply has great deals that may put a pliers wrench in your budget. I just got a 7" pair for $35, I added a big box of fuses to get to $50 for free shipping.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337Z using Tapatalk
 

jeejay

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Looks like they make six sizes of pliers wrench now (saw up to a 5-kit fer sale, then there's the mini, shown next to the others in a demo).
 
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winlinmac

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I actually thought the plier wrenches were exclusively available through Knipex-only.
 

neophyte

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I actually thought the plier wrenches were exclusively available through Knipex-only.

VBW another German plier manufacturer which is owned by Stahlwille, also makes a Plier Wrench style parallel jawed wrench. The mechanism is slightly different but in practical use works almost the same. Unfortunately the VBW Plier Wrenches cost almost the same, if not more, than the Knipex version, and are harder to find in North America. VBW calls their version the "PowerGrip" plier wrench.

http://www.vbw.de/vbw_uk/index1.htm
 

Milwookie

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VBW another German plier manufacturer which is owned by Stahlwille, also makes a Plier Wrench style parallel jawed wrench. The mechanism is slightly different but in practical use works almost the same. Unfortunately the VBW Plier Wrenches cost almost the same, if not more, than the Knipex version, and are harder to find in North America. VBW calls their version the "PowerGrip" plier wrench.

http://www.vbw.de/vbw_uk/index1.htm

It doesn't look like it has the lever that gives the pliers wrench its 10:1 power ratio, though.
 

neophyte

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It doesn't look like it has the lever that gives the pliers wrench its 10:1 power ratio, though.

Both the Knipex and VBW plier wrenches provide extra leverage to the jaws. There may be a difference in the amount of leverage, but I'm not sure if so and how much of a difference. There is also a bit of a difference in the head geometry that might make one or the other better in some situations. The Knipex version has a head shape closer to The Knipex Alligator pliers, whereas the VBW version looks more similar to the Knipex Cobra pliers. I'm not sure whether this would make a difference in most situations, but for some it might.

Extra leverage on the jaws isn't always going to be an advantage. The flimsy chrome plated nuts used on plumbing waste pipes actually smoosh from the extra leverage of the Knipex plier wrench, and it can make the nuts harder to remove that if you used a regular adjustable wrench.

There was a past thread on the difference between the wrenches but It didn't specify the exact leverage differences.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=316539
 

bwringer

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Irwin makes a smooth jaw groove-lock plier. Its actually very good, and I laugh when people talk down about it. should be under $20, they had it on cripes for a while maybe check there. It is a 10 inch or 250mm length.

Yup. Irwin (you know, the bastards making cheesball imitation Vice-Grips in China) sells a "GrooveLock" set of pliers that are sorta reminiscent of the Knipex, not half-bad, and they're dirt-cheap just about anywhere.
 

jeejay

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I noticed the Irwin "large jaw" (pipe type) vise grips recently, those are some lobster claws.

I do see loads of old worn out ones about, they were once extremely common here, much lighter than a stillson pattern and fast in use, great for assembly.
Now that I got my hands on them, the Footprint wrenches do feel light and fast with a good grip, surprising this design isn't knocked off all over the place (like any other pipe wrench).
 
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