20 Best Channel Lock Pliers (2022 Updated)

US made pliers that feel good in your hand and will last beyond your kids getting old. I respect any company that stays in America despite the additional overhead so they can produce a product of highest quality.

Chanellock is one of those companies.

These are still made in the USA, and are high quality pliers. The blue cushion grips are very comfortable, and the fit and finish are excellent. Been using Channelocks for going on 40 years, and they never disappoint.

Excellent solid tool for homeowner,garage,car ,boat ,. etc. The pliers has a 2 position slip joint so you can adjust the jaw width, the jaws have 2 different sized curved grabbing areas and a flat area, it also has a wire cutter.

The handles have a nice grippy rubber coating.

These are quality made, and with heavier jaws than seen in most of these very small Tongue and Groove Pliers, good handle strength too. Small tongue and Groove Pliers are a must have imo, as they can do so many things.

And the only downside to the heavier better quality jaws is they won’t fit in as tight of spots as say the Crescent brand, but the quality in the metals and the jaw quality makes up for that. These are a essential part of any toolkit.

Can you buy lesser expensive groove plier sets? Yes! Are they as good or better than Channellock? No. If you have ever used cheap tools, you know they are cheap the moment you pick them up and especially when you attempt to use them.

Slip joint groove pliers handles should never spring (deform) when under load. The handle grips should never walk off the handles nor become rotated. That is where channellock got their great reputation for not deforming under normal use.

You get what you pay for here.

Bought it for some of the older equipment I began to run into. Rust, head stripped no problem. Easy to find the right groove to get the right grip on it. Just works!!

ChannelLock quality has slipped a little over the years. These pliers do seem very well made though. Normally I buy Snap-On tools but these looked Ok so I gave them a try. I really like the blue smooth handles over snap-on’s textured handles I must say.

Thanks from GREAT-TOOLS on ebay!.

I have a pair of the channellock 410 one from the 1980’s and another pair that is older than that I have one set at my camper and one set at home. These are very nice for places that you can not get a regular pipe wrench on and they work awesome I’ve used them several different times and they have never been any problems at all.

I also have the bigger 414 as well and haven’t had to use them that much but they have worked good for the times I have used them.

Good overall but the attachments are weak. Using on a very stiff snap ring, bent attachments and caused it to be useless for that job. The tool itself is a bit bulky for tight spaces. Bent the attachments back in my bench vise but that worries me for long time use.

These pliers are the best interchangeable type snap ring pliers I have run across. Bought them for my road tool bag, was tired of packing 4 different pliers that one could do the job. They are tough, the tips are strong unlike cheaper brands.

I would highly recommend!.

I sure hope I’m not putting out a bad review when it isn’t warranted, forgive me if I’m mistaken. With that out of the way, on with the review. I’ve been using hand tools for many years and these are NOT my first pair of lineman pliers BUT, I am NOT a lineman -although I do use these for industrial/commercial electrical work (just not on a pole ??).

I normally use Klein or other quality brands and maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t recall a huge gap between the teeth (see pic) – again, maybe it’s been there and it’s just really glaring in this color scheme.

I can’t compare it to my Kleins because somebody stole them from my bucket – which these are replacing. I bought these because they are made in USA and a bit less than the Kleins. They work for twisting 12+ awg solid wire and are comfortable to use but I don’t thing they would work very well for a homeowner trying to twist together a solid 14 awg with same or smaller stranded (think ceiling fan, light, etc).

AGAIN though, I haven’t tried so maybe it would. It appears the gap is ~5-10 sheets of paper thick. Hope this helps! If this is normal, please let me know!.

I got the larger 10. 5” version and love them so far. They’re great for whacking through drywall. As a testament to that I hit my hand by accident and first whack my hand splattered like some dudes head from braveheart.

So watch out but great for demolition in electrical construction. I’d like to get a shorter 8” hybrid pair for things like trim out but these are great for roughing in. They are cutting like hot knives through butter and have that extra bit of leverage way out on the handles.

The handles are rather narrow yet stiff so when you are way out on the handle it’s not as clumsy as lineman’s with the thicker insulation. Update: within a week or so I notice a small break on one of the cutter knives.

Definitely been cutting occasional screws and stuff. So not the ultimate hard cutters but still heavy weighted and great for everything else.

Four stars out the box. or packahing anyway. Always was iritated by the way my channellock grips were kinda crappy. Love the code blue handles. Even if they come off, it’s easier to put back on than the dipped ones.

Bought these as an alternate to a $50 combo pliers from Klein. Been an tradesman gor decades and I have to say I love the Channellock brand. Wanted these to lighten my belt a bit. Replaces linemans, reamer and honestly I strip wire with them too.

and hammer. and remove staples. Also, they’re my go-to cutters as well. More after a couple months.

A must have for your daily carry bag! Good size range and a very sure grip! The Best Needle Nose Plier in the World! If it’s not blue it just won’t do! Well built and can take a beating, you will try to do more than you should with it! Pulling fuses, compressing arrowheads, moving tabs this is the tool you will use every hour of the day.

Most days I carry it in a waist holster for easier access!.

As you can see I am a Channellock fan. I bought these 460s for the purpose of holding the water pump steady so I could remove the Fan Hub clutch assembly on my moms Chev Trailblazer. My Gearwrench Fan Hub kit is junk.

The tongs no longer have tightness in the pivot rivet so they are way to sloppy. These big bad 460s were able grab those bolts like shown so I could turn the 36mm Hub nut off. Now keep in mind that using these Channellocks on the water pump hub mount bolts didn’t do any good wonders for the bolts but at least I got the job done.

The jaws open up to 4. 5 inches as specified, and they don’t slip. They are a foot and half long, so you will need to grow some muscles to hold them on an object.

I love these pliers. I typically buy mastercraft tools but when I went to buy these, there was channellock and mastercraft sitting side by side, the mastercraft ones were $10 cheaper but the channellock ones had an american flag on them and the mastercraft ones were chinese.

I decided to be a responsible citizen and pay the extra $10 to have a little better quality and support our local economy, especially these days.

Look, when you need slip-joint, tongue and groove adjustable pliers, you NEED Channellocks. These particular Channellocks have a large mouth for just over 4 inches, but when you need to bear down on some 2-inch rigid conduit, these are the right size.

These have the classic Channellock look and feel, but there is a bigger capacity for a bigger job. No doubt, if you have your typical day-to-day work, the Channellock 420’s, 430’s or 440’s will do the job.

But sometimes, you’re trying to turn a larger conduit coupler; sometimes, you want the exhaust pipe to hold still while you work on the back side of the manifold; sometimes you need the Channellock 460’s.

For about 22-bucks or so, these 460’s are the right Channellocks to have standing by.

1) The jaws should open a bit wider, closer to 1″. 2) The edges of the tool are not fully finished. They should be rounded or” knocked-off” a bit more, for overall user comfort. So I bought a competitor’s model which has properly finished edges and opens to 1″.

(it has ‘red’ handles). 3) The competitor’s model also allows the jaws to close fully flush against each other, if you need to properly grip thin sheet metal or other thin materials.

Hands down the absolute best welding pliers money can buy. I have been welding for 10 years. The only bad thing about them is coworkers will try to steal them. Other then that I can’t say anything bad.

They cut wire better. I used them a few times to cut 1/8 subarc wire. They clean nozzles really well. And they last quite a lot longer then the Japanese or China made welding pliers. These are much more heavy duty.

Very high quality and built better than similar tools of this design. I own many Channellock tools, and they always meet my expectations for great quality.

American made with great quality. Love the channellock brand.

I bought it, not for oil filter, but for loosening PVC fittings in hot tube. The pipe fittings surrendered immediately. Wonderful tool; comfortable grip; powerful jaw and the patented channel lock makes sure the pliers would not loose grip during the critical moment; bought it on sale, great price for a well-made made-in-the USA pliers, not your usual CTC tools that were made in China.

Going to last for a long long time Going to try on oil filter in the mercruiser engine next year.

If it doesn’t work then your doing it right!!! I own both sizes & have never been let down, weekly use(sometimes daily) for years now, bought another set because my new job only supplys the band style, they work ok but do slip, these never slip(and take up less room).

Note some hand strength is required, I have a few times ripped through the metal trying to loosen an improperly installed filter. Hand down an awsome tool.

my oil filter was on so tight I never thought it would come off, and it’s in a super hard to reach tight space. these plier are extremely sturdy and high quality, they gripped the filter very tightly and despite oily surface and tight quarters broke the seal so I could change the filter.

these are a once and done purchase.

This review is for the Channellock 3017 8-Inch Long Nose Plier, Blue. They have a very solid construction. The handles are smooth, but their shape still provides solid grip. The only issue I had was that my pair was initially quite gummed up.

It looks like they used some kind of lubricant that dried out, making opening and closing the jaws very difficult. However, this was easily resolved using some WD-40, so it’s more of a nitpick than anything.

I was always using cheap tools to do my house hold DIY works. The cheap dollar value cutting tool and pliers are always either work or semi-work. Since I don’t have a bigger plier, so I bought this channel lock.

I was so impressed. It cuts fencing wires easily. I can twist lock metal wires easily. It’s crosshatch pattern makes griping so easy for wires and nails from any direction. It moves smoothly and freely.

It doesn’t have fancy modern design and pretty grips. It’s a tool with proven design and quality material used for decades. It has the quality you can trust and affordable. I think that’s why so many professionals are using them as default.

I am very happy to find this treasure. I will replace my future tools with channel lock. Let’s all help to keep this American company keep going strong! One more thing, don’t be fooled by the big gap when the jaws are closed ^_^.

It’s a proven design for decades.