Thoughts on Stanley Fatmax Pliers
- Thread starter VH5150
- Start date
B_Bimmer
Well-known member
Even the cheap stanley pliers are impressive for the cost, bit I still will take my channellock 548's every time they are available.
Parrothead
Well-known member
Any of the Fatmax stuff I’ve used, I’ve been pleased.
I've played with a few of those for a bit in a local store and liked them. They were basically the same price as an equivalent pair of knipex pliers though, and I wouldn't buy fatmax over those. But then again I'm biased since I've had a few bad experiences with stanley's regular line of tools over the years, so that also plays into it.
Empty Pockets
Well-known member
My box contains mostly Channellock and Knipex. I'm well pleased with them, it's not broke so I'm not going to fix it.
Yeah I just thought those Stanleys were interesting because they do seem well built, feel pretty good in my hands, and they look legit. When I was looking around at local off-the-shelf brands to build up my pliers assortment I ended up with quite a few. The Duralasts seem pretty good too - I got the 8" slip joints and few other things. I just like going 2 to 3 deep on some tools so I always backups and went with different brands to check 'em out. But I think I'll get some more of those Stanleys to keep in my Jeep.
Jimithing616
Well-known member
I own a few of the Stanley fat max pliers and I like them fine. Some people will say only Knipex or NWS or Snap On etc will do and blah blah blah... sure, those brands are all very very nice tools.... but, nothing wrong with the fat max, especially if it’s all you’ve got and that’s your budget....
honestly, if you own all of those already and like them then It doesn’t matter if anyone else likes them! I think a lot of guys can sometimes feel as though they need someone else to confirm for them that a low cost tool that’s not “snap on”, or another brand with a huge fan base on here, is good enough for THEM .... if it works for you, who cares what anyone else thinks.... however, I do see the point in your question as to whether or not they will last, and I’m my experience, having used mine for about 2 years regularly, they seem the same as the day I bought them....
If it was a bad tool, you’d be able to tell right away... I recently bought a cheap set of Kobalt pliers for Black Friday.... right out of the package you just knew they were cheap and not made well.... I never got that impression on the Fat Max... they may not be as polished as the Knipex, but they still feel good enough.
If you can truly buy Knipex though for near the same price, get the Knipex... from what I can see though online, the fat max look to be more in the $8-$15 a plier range where knipex is more like $30-$55
In that same range though is the Tekton, made in USA, and those are really nice. However they have the dipped handles, as opposed to the dual material molded ones like the fat max or NWS have....
honestly, if you own all of those already and like them then It doesn’t matter if anyone else likes them! I think a lot of guys can sometimes feel as though they need someone else to confirm for them that a low cost tool that’s not “snap on”, or another brand with a huge fan base on here, is good enough for THEM .... if it works for you, who cares what anyone else thinks.... however, I do see the point in your question as to whether or not they will last, and I’m my experience, having used mine for about 2 years regularly, they seem the same as the day I bought them....
If it was a bad tool, you’d be able to tell right away... I recently bought a cheap set of Kobalt pliers for Black Friday.... right out of the package you just knew they were cheap and not made well.... I never got that impression on the Fat Max... they may not be as polished as the Knipex, but they still feel good enough.
If you can truly buy Knipex though for near the same price, get the Knipex... from what I can see though online, the fat max look to be more in the $8-$15 a plier range where knipex is more like $30-$55
In that same range though is the Tekton, made in USA, and those are really nice. However they have the dipped handles, as opposed to the dual material molded ones like the fat max or NWS have....
Last edited:
Parrothead
Well-known member
In light of Jimithing616 post (thumbs up!) I’ll add that the FatMax stuff I used was in a food production facility and held up to daily abuse. No complaints out of me and they did indeed last
davethorik
Well-known member
If we could get these Fatmax in the US I'd give them a try
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=6872432&postcount=27967
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=6872432&postcount=27967
KnurledNut
Well-known member
Quoted from their push lock slip joint pliers description:
"Jaw has 3 opening positions-an industry first"
Sorry Stanley.
"Jaw has 3 opening positions-an industry first"
Sorry Stanley.
To Jimithing616's comment: I get it. I know they're fine. I'm pretty new here on GJ but I've noticed right away that there is a lot of tool bashing on brands that aren't made in USA, So I like to highlight some of the Chinese/Taiwan stuff that's out there that is actually really good. Especially some of the Stanley stuff at Walmart, like those pliers and their sockets.
I did notice those Tekton pliers and I grabbed a set of the 8" slip joints. They have the Wilde stamp on the inside of them....very nice. But I do like the bigger grips on those Stanleys. Same goes for the Duralast pliers....very comfortable and seem to be really well made. Thanks for all the inputs everyone.
I did notice those Tekton pliers and I grabbed a set of the 8" slip joints. They have the Wilde stamp on the inside of them....very nice. But I do like the bigger grips on those Stanleys. Same goes for the Duralast pliers....very comfortable and seem to be really well made. Thanks for all the inputs everyone.