Stuff We Use: Locking Pliers

On our never-ending quest to improve this place by listening to feedback from the B&B, we are taking a new tack with these product posts, choosing instead to focus on items we have actually used or purchased with our own meagre income. After all, if we’re giving you the truth about cars, we ought to give you the truth about car accessories.

On this instalment of Stuff We Use, you’re going to get a lesson in etymology on top of some tool recommendations for your garage stash.

Numerous trademarked brand names have entered the lexicon as a common label for a particular item – even though that word may not technically be its actual name. Kleenex is a great example of a word we use in reference to a generic item (tissues) even though that word belongs to a specific corporation. Same goes for bleach (Javex), ice resurfacers (Zamboni), and jet tubs (Jacuzzi). There is a great deal of this wordplay happening in the garage, as well. Those slip-joint pliers most of us call channel-locks? That’s a brand name. 

Which brings us neatly to this instalment’s subject: locking pliers. Many people, including your author, simply refer to them as vise grips, even though the name Vise Grip is a trademarked term by the Irwin tool company. The more you know. All the same, there must be immense satisfaction in corporate corner offices when one’s product is so ubiquitous that its very name is used generically for all variations thereof – even ones produced by a competitor.

In this case, it helps that the name is apt and it does exactly what it says on the package. These locking pliers are able to hold on to an item with vise-like grip without the user having to apply constant pressure to the tool’s handle as they would with a regular set of pliers. For anyone not in the know or just getting started on their DIY journey, one of the handles on a set of locking pliers contains the mechanism for locking the thing in place; the other handle has a small thumb screw which determines how far the plier jaw will stay open whilst locked. Pro tip: that adjustment screw is likely to fail on cheap no-name locking pliers. Spend the money and invest in a good brand name – maybe even the one whose name is synonymous with these things.

Speaking of jaws, there is generally one of three types on the business end of a set of locking pliers. Most common are the curved sort, perfect for grabbing onto the head of a fastener or gripping tightly onto a round surface such as a metal line or the window winding mechanism of yer old Impala after Johnny snapped off the handle. Again.

Also available are straight jaws, a style which is much better for pinching off the brake line on a 1989 Crown Victoria in order to restore some semblance of stopping power, a purpose for which locking pliers should never be used. No sir. Never. Are the lawyers gone yet? Good. A third type of jaw for this tool is of the needlenosed variety, perfect for squirreling into tight spaces and making sure whatever it is you wish immobile doesn’t move a micron.

It is increasingly common to find some pairs of locking pliers with a padded grip on one or both of their handles, a development which is fine so long as the padding is of good quality and won’t disintegrate into dust after a few uses. Having the grip slip away on ya whilst trying to wrestle a bolt or fastener into submission is No Fun. Properly applied and retained, padding can help produce a skiff of extra leverage whilst locking the pliers which could be just the amount need to finally finish off that infernal third bolt which has been being annoying. Or, you know, serving as a window winder. 

But definitely not pinching off brake lines. You use a well-placed roofing nail for that, right?

As planned, this series of posts will continue to focus on items we’ve actually used and bought with our own money. We hope you found this one helpful.

[Image: Author]

Become a TTAC insider. Get the latest news, features, TTAC takes, and everything else that gets to the truth about cars first by subscribing to our newsletter.