Straight Jaw Lock-Grip Plier (10")

A curved jaw closes onto round work at several points around its circumference, which is what makes it grip pipe and bar without rolling off. A straight jaw closes flat face to flat face, and along the whole length of the jaw. That makes it the right tool for flat and square work: gripping plate, flat bar, sheet, square and rectangular section, holding two flat pieces together, and clamping onto anything with parallel faces. On flat stock a curved jaw touches only at its ends and can rock; a straight jaw holds the whole face and does not.

It also clamps two flat things together better, which is why straight jaw locking pliers are used a great deal in fabrication and assembly as improvised clamps.

The specification is the same upgraded one as its curved partner and it is worth having. Chrome molybdenum steel — the tough alloy used for highly stressed components, which takes the very high loads an over-centre toggle generates and deforms rather than fracturing. Hardness HRC 52-56, which is what keeps the jaw serrations biting: locking pliers live on gripping what nothing else will, and soft jaws wear smooth and start slipping, losing the tool its only real advantage. Opening range 0-45mm, stated plainly so you know what it will take. Nickel plated, ten inches, in double blister packaging.

The locking mechanism is the family's over-centre toggle: the screw sets the opening, a squeeze drives the linkage past its pivot so the tool holds itself shut under great pressure, and the release lever frees it.

The buyers are welders and fabricators, sheet metal and plate workers, vehicle body and chassis repairers, engineering and machine shops, maintenance fitters, and hardware dealers supplying fabrication trades.

The cautions are unchanged by the better alloy. Hardened serrated jaws bite and will mark, score or distort plated, polished, thin or finished surfaces — put card or leather in between if appearance matters. They round the corners of nuts, so keep them off fasteners you intend to reuse. And set the adjusting screw so the jaws just close over the work rather than winding it tight, since an over-tightened toggle is very hard to release and can spring the jaws permanently.

Keep the screw thread and pivots lightly oiled. Message us on WhatsApp for a price, or for the curved and straight pair.