Quick adjust pipe wrench

[theoldwizard1]

New to me, but they have probably been around for awhile. Ridgid calls them RapidGrip. I am sure other companies sell similar versions.

Pros : what is your opinion vs traditional pipe wrenches ?

 

[Ton ton]

Do you have a picture?

 

[rlitman]

I vote nay.

 

[Earp69]

Snap on makes a quick adjust pipe wrench, a guy I worked with had one and man that thing was handy if you did any amount of pipework. Harbor freight used to make a copy of it but quit. It looks more like a pair of long pliers with pipe Jaws

 

[rlitman]

Snap on makes a quick adjust pipe wrench, a guy I worked with had one and man that thing was handy if you did any amount of pipework. Harbor freight used to make a copy of it but quit. It looks more like a pair of long pliers with pipe Jaws

Are you talking about their Swedish style pipe wrench? Those ARE great.

They actually do make a quick adjust version too:

 

[Tools4Me]

Some people like the Rapidgrip wrenches because they can be used one-handed and they adjust size automatically, so it depends on what type of work you want them for. I didn't personally care for the ones I tried, so I sold them off.

I found they didn't grab well onto pipes that fall towards the smaller range of their jaw capability (plumbing basin wrenches often have the same issue). When grabbing pipes towards the larger end of the jaw capability it always seemed like the handle was too short for the job I was trying to do. With regular, offset, and end style pipe wrenches, any pipe that fits within the jaws will be grabbed well every time. That gives the user a more confident feeling during use, so I stuck with what I already owned and trusted.

In my mind, Rapidgrip pipe wrenches are much like automatic adjusting pliers. Some people like them, but I have never found one I liked over time. I like my tools to work how I expect them to every time, not most of the time.

 

[Earp69]

Are you talking about their Swedish style pipe wrench? Those ARE great.

They actually do make a quick adjust version too:

Yep that's them, the quick adjust ones. There slicker than a miners ****

 

[Qualitytools]

OP, If you're referring to the Swedish Pipe Wrench, they are great.

 

[seber]

I've been using this one. It works well but I haven't given it a lot of stress so I can't say how it will do in serious use.

 

[dnschmidt]

I have the TOPTUL version of this style of wrench and their Swedish version as well. Here are the pertinent details of each:
Hawk version: https://www.toptul.com/en/product-499981/Aluminum-Alloy-Hawk-Pipe-Wrench.html
Swedish version: https://www.toptul.com/en/product-3...dish-model-pipe-wrench-with-S-shaped-jaw.html

I find the Swedish version more useful than the Hawk you originally referred to.

 

[Qualitytools]

Here is a ninety degree Knipex Swedish wrench for example

Amazon.com

 

[metaldad]

No, on the topic of the thread. Long time pipefitter here
Too gimmicky.
We (the crews) all bought them, when the supply houses started carrying them. All have been tossed, left on jobs, given away, without replacement

 

[Ton ton]

No, on the topic of the thread. Long time pipefitter here
Too gimmicky.
We (the crews) all bought them, when the supply houses started carrying them. All have been tossed, left on jobs, given away, without replacement

Thank you, metal dad.

 

[neophyte]

The quick adjust or automatic adjust pipe wrenches go back, maybe 100 plus years or more.
The Ridgid design is just a newer example, with slightly different geometry, and maybe the advantage of replaceable jaws.

Virax pf France makes a wrench very similar to the Ridgid, although I think I’ve seen claims it works slightly better do to slightly different geometry.

Reed has been making a rapid self adjusting pipe wrench, maybe for 100 plus years now. I’m not certain how far back the design goes, but it’s really old, maybe going back to 1897.
Heller used to make the “Masterench”.I believe Heller acquired the design by purchasing the design or another manufacturer. The Masterench design looks somewhat similar to the Reed design, at least as far as the jaws go.

Rothenberger used to manufacture what they called a “Type R One Handed Speed Wrench” which may have been the same or similar to the Masterench.
I’m not really sure where the Rothenber wrenches were made. Some Rothenberger tools where or are made in the USA, and Rothenber purchased one or more US tool brands, so maybe they acquired the design with one of those purchases.I think they may have discontinued the design, but they had the wrenches in their catalog for decades.

“TOP” a Japanese tool brand manufactures a wrench very similar to the Masterench, but maybe better fo tighter spaces?
TOp seems to have tweaked the design somewhat.

I’ve only owned the Rothenberger version.
Those and the TOP wrenchesboth come in the same four sizes, 6”, 8”, 10”, and 12”, from what I recall.
The design seems to be somewhat limited as far as angles and size capacity goes.
In the right clamping range, and the right material, the wrenches grip like a starving Rottweiler, but for most jobs I would prefer to have a wrench like the Knipex Cobra, or a regular pipe wrench.
The Reed wrench as I mentioned has been in production for 100 plus years, and the Reed version isn’t cheap, so there must be jobs the wrenches are perfect for. The original Reed design had a way more “ergonomic” looking handle, so the wrenches must have sold enough for the tooling to be replaced at some point.