Knipex Pliers Wrench Review

The Knipex Pliers Wrench is the most interesting tool I’ve come across in a long time

I hate adjustable wrenches.   The mechanisms are sloppy at best and seem to always get worse with age.  I usually end up having to hold the adjuster with my thumb while holding the wrench to keep the jaws from moving.

Knipex has a different approach to the adjustable wrench.  With a body resembling their Cobra pliers, the pliers wrench has a different head consisting of two flat jaws to grip what you’re trying to hold.  The jaws have roughly a 10-1 mechanical advantage for grip and move 1/8” with the handles.  They are available with dipped or comfort handles

To set the pliers for your work, simply press the lock button and slide the jaws to slightly larger than the desired size.  Keep in mind, for comfort, it may be necessary to set it larger so the handles end up closer together when squeezed. This will allow for a more natural gripping position.  Reading this makes this sound complicated, in practice, it is quite easy.

Once the size is set, simply squeeze the handles to grip.  For turning a bolt, just let the pliers wrench loose and rotate back to the starting position and keep turning.  It is sure to save you loads of time compared to an adjustable wrench especially on fittings like water supply lines.

Another use for this is holding a nut while tightening a bolt.  You can adjust the pliers wrench with one hand on the fly to adapt to different sizes and squeezing the handle really helps hold it in place while you tighten with a ratchet in the other hand.

In just a short time the Knipex pliers wrench has become one of my favorite tools.  In fact, I can only find two very small issues with it.  First, they are a bit pricey compared to an adjustable wrench or set of pliers but the ease of use and durability are easily worth it.  Second, everyone will want to borrow it.