durallymax
Well-known member
- Joined
- Mar 11, 2011
- Messages
- 918
Here is my $0.02.
Are you going to be working in an industry where you will be using the pliers to make a living? And/Or are tools are hobby/passion and you really appreciate the quality even if just for basic home use?
ITs obvious that you are looking for quality, but if you are looking to save money now and do not need to make a living with them. My advice has always been there is no point in stopping halfway if you want to go to the top. Buy something cheap, the cheap stuff is at every single store so you can play with it all you want to see which cheap ones you like better. Then later on step up to the better ones.
I have never been a fan of Channellocks since I found Knipex Cobra's. Other Channellock products I cannot comment on, they seem okay. However I just don't get why people like the Channellock T&G pliers over the Knipex Cobra's, maybe its because they just think everything they have is the best, or they are a COO USA nut, or maybe they have never tried the Knipex. Maybe I am the one that fell off the deep end, but I had a full set of channellocks and never used them if I could avoid it, I took them to my house and replaced them with Knipex Cobra's. Seems I am always looking for something to use them for and the rest of my pliers sit still.
If you want to invest in good stuff right away, the Cobra's are the one I will say without a doubt get. Go try one if you can find one somewhere. They bite harder, have finer adjustment and are "self-locking" so you only need to put all of your weight into turning them versus trying to hold them closed as well like with T&G's. You probably won't need one over 300mm for most things. I use my huge ones a lot, but a homeowner probably wouldn't.
The pliers wrenches are route to go right away. Skip the crescent wrenches. These will be replacements for crescent wrenches. They are also self locking and can ratchet as well. They are very very nice for many things.
Their cobalt mini bolt cutters are a great addition as well. Personally I prefer the ones with the 20* offset.
Now after that, I will say Knipex, NWS, and many of the other foreign brands are awesome, but if you wish to stay USA I will not knock you. It is up to you then. You really just need a linemans pliers, and a couple good needle noses.
I will have to admit I am a bit of a Knipex junkie as illustrated in the picture below, but my post above is as non-biased as I can be on the pliers topic.
Its good to support your neighbor, but with the way things are, I can't bring myself to it. Maybe its just me but I think more than half of the people I meet on the streets or out and about are a*holes that I wouldn't want to support anyways. Maybe I am the a hole I dont know.
I feel with tools, its a business decision when they are your money makers. You have to put you and your families needs first. For me that involves buying the best products needed. The US sadly has slipped very very far down that tube. They stopped innovating a long time ago and use the made in USA COO as a marketing tool more often than a quality mark.
Not to all of their pliers, but when it comes to water pump style pliers, I don't get it. Should I post a video up of the quality of the Channellocks I have versus my Knipex? They channellocks are very sloppy and do not work well at all. They are only a couple years old and I rarely used them.
In my picture below I have two channellock pliers. They are useless. I try to use them but they do not work well at all, way too much flex in them.
They may be the best USA made tool, but that doesn't say much in my opinion anymore. Made in USA is a marketing too for all I care, certainly isn't for labeling the best in quality and innovation anymore.
x2
I notice that hear almost more than on farming boards. Made in USA just isn't what it was 80 years ago but many can't seem to move on.
When you can, sure. However, you have to do what is financially responsible and best for what you need to do. You are a farmer, so you should be able to relate to this.
I have given up on Made in USA. They just can't seem to figure it out. We have dealt with Agco, CNH and Deere and Fendt is just too far ahead to look back. Yes Agco owns them but they do nothing other than own them and use their transmissions. Fendt is very much their own company still. The americans are just too far behind. Germans win again.
Same goes for Choppers and Combines. We had a Deere SPFH. It was terrible, service was even worse. Our Claas has been excellent with far better service to back it up, they aren't even an American company and have better service. Damn Germans, guess they are too good at what they do.
BTW when we bought our Deere we supported the Germans as well as they are built in germany.
Our manure tanker is Canadian, owned by a German company now though. The US built ones just didn't cut it for what we needed.
We all like our VW/Audi vehicles much more than our American made pickups, but we need pickups and really like the Duramax so we support Americans there.
All of our tires (except for pickup tires) are Michelin. Many are made in the USA, but we are supporting a French company. Goodyear/Titan are really the true American tire companies and look how sad their products are. You being in ag I would assume you have seen how terrible their tires are on farm equipment.
Metabo, Bosch, Fein, Flex, Festool.......the list goes on and on for German companies that just seem to excel.
You just had to ask didn't you. My personal favorite is Wiha. I have been upgrading my old stuff to theirs as well as adding some of their more interesting drivers. I ordered a Felo, Wiha and Wera of the identical same sizes and tested them all to see which one felt the best for me. Wiha did. I like the big handle and Microfinish. I had CMan pros. Some of the Wiha's were actually cheaper than the Cmans. The Cmans gave me a lot of troubles so I retired them to my house, others seem to like them a lot though.
Pictures are worth a thousand words. Did I mention I like Knipex a little? Careful, the German tool bug bites hard.
Here are some Wiha's. The purple ones are microfinish HD Phillips/slotted. The Yellow and Red ones are Softfinish nut drivers.
Are you going to be working in an industry where you will be using the pliers to make a living? And/Or are tools are hobby/passion and you really appreciate the quality even if just for basic home use?
ITs obvious that you are looking for quality, but if you are looking to save money now and do not need to make a living with them. My advice has always been there is no point in stopping halfway if you want to go to the top. Buy something cheap, the cheap stuff is at every single store so you can play with it all you want to see which cheap ones you like better. Then later on step up to the better ones.
I have never been a fan of Channellocks since I found Knipex Cobra's. Other Channellock products I cannot comment on, they seem okay. However I just don't get why people like the Channellock T&G pliers over the Knipex Cobra's, maybe its because they just think everything they have is the best, or they are a COO USA nut, or maybe they have never tried the Knipex. Maybe I am the one that fell off the deep end, but I had a full set of channellocks and never used them if I could avoid it, I took them to my house and replaced them with Knipex Cobra's. Seems I am always looking for something to use them for and the rest of my pliers sit still.
If you want to invest in good stuff right away, the Cobra's are the one I will say without a doubt get. Go try one if you can find one somewhere. They bite harder, have finer adjustment and are "self-locking" so you only need to put all of your weight into turning them versus trying to hold them closed as well like with T&G's. You probably won't need one over 300mm for most things. I use my huge ones a lot, but a homeowner probably wouldn't.
The pliers wrenches are route to go right away. Skip the crescent wrenches. These will be replacements for crescent wrenches. They are also self locking and can ratchet as well. They are very very nice for many things.
Their cobalt mini bolt cutters are a great addition as well. Personally I prefer the ones with the 20* offset.
Now after that, I will say Knipex, NWS, and many of the other foreign brands are awesome, but if you wish to stay USA I will not knock you. It is up to you then. You really just need a linemans pliers, and a couple good needle noses.
I will have to admit I am a bit of a Knipex junkie as illustrated in the picture below, but my post above is as non-biased as I can be on the pliers topic.
Its good to support your neighbor, but with the way things are, I can't bring myself to it. Maybe its just me but I think more than half of the people I meet on the streets or out and about are a*holes that I wouldn't want to support anyways. Maybe I am the a hole I dont know.
I feel with tools, its a business decision when they are your money makers. You have to put you and your families needs first. For me that involves buying the best products needed. The US sadly has slipped very very far down that tube. They stopped innovating a long time ago and use the made in USA COO as a marketing tool more often than a quality mark.
Not to all of their pliers, but when it comes to water pump style pliers, I don't get it. Should I post a video up of the quality of the Channellocks I have versus my Knipex? They channellocks are very sloppy and do not work well at all. They are only a couple years old and I rarely used them.
In my picture below I have two channellock pliers. They are useless. I try to use them but they do not work well at all, way too much flex in them.
They may be the best USA made tool, but that doesn't say much in my opinion anymore. Made in USA is a marketing too for all I care, certainly isn't for labeling the best in quality and innovation anymore.
x2
I notice that hear almost more than on farming boards. Made in USA just isn't what it was 80 years ago but many can't seem to move on.
When you can, sure. However, you have to do what is financially responsible and best for what you need to do. You are a farmer, so you should be able to relate to this.
I have given up on Made in USA. They just can't seem to figure it out. We have dealt with Agco, CNH and Deere and Fendt is just too far ahead to look back. Yes Agco owns them but they do nothing other than own them and use their transmissions. Fendt is very much their own company still. The americans are just too far behind. Germans win again.
Same goes for Choppers and Combines. We had a Deere SPFH. It was terrible, service was even worse. Our Claas has been excellent with far better service to back it up, they aren't even an American company and have better service. Damn Germans, guess they are too good at what they do.
BTW when we bought our Deere we supported the Germans as well as they are built in germany.
Our manure tanker is Canadian, owned by a German company now though. The US built ones just didn't cut it for what we needed.
We all like our VW/Audi vehicles much more than our American made pickups, but we need pickups and really like the Duramax so we support Americans there.
All of our tires (except for pickup tires) are Michelin. Many are made in the USA, but we are supporting a French company. Goodyear/Titan are really the true American tire companies and look how sad their products are. You being in ag I would assume you have seen how terrible their tires are on farm equipment.
Metabo, Bosch, Fein, Flex, Festool.......the list goes on and on for German companies that just seem to excel.
You just had to ask didn't you. My personal favorite is Wiha. I have been upgrading my old stuff to theirs as well as adding some of their more interesting drivers. I ordered a Felo, Wiha and Wera of the identical same sizes and tested them all to see which one felt the best for me. Wiha did. I like the big handle and Microfinish. I had CMan pros. Some of the Wiha's were actually cheaper than the Cmans. The Cmans gave me a lot of troubles so I retired them to my house, others seem to like them a lot though.
Pictures are worth a thousand words. Did I mention I like Knipex a little? Careful, the German tool bug bites hard.
Here are some Wiha's. The purple ones are microfinish HD Phillips/slotted. The Yellow and Red ones are Softfinish nut drivers.
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) and I need some input. It seems like sockets, different qualities but the same style; ratchets, a bit more variety but still all similar; combination wrenches, same story. But when you get to pliers there is a massive selection that each have a very specific use. I do not know where to start. What do ya'll think.