amzn.to/4crVFyR Raptor eats Parrot. Beaked Pliers: Knipex vs Icon. Training tools lean towards lesser Harbor FreightHarbor Freight needs to pay attention, and finish the job after assembly. Raptor on Amazon: amzn.to/4crVFyR
I carry around a tool bag for property management. The HF parrot beak pliers replaced a whole set of combination wrenches/Crescent wrenches as you said. I was going to get the Knipex but I tend to be absent minded and lose lots of my tools so I try not to carry around anything expensive.
After personal usage, I've found that Parrots are the wrench version of the Cobras. Pliers Wrench is a two handed tool that you need to squeeze the handle to use, if the torque is too high the pliers wrench will open up. The Parrot, like the Cobras, all you have to do is push down on the squeezing arm and it can handle loads of torque without opening up. Cobra perfect for round items, parrot perfect for hex/square shaped items.
The raptors are my go-to for back-holding a nut/bolt while running it in with an impact. Bought an ICON pair to keep in the truck and was similarly disappointed. The jaws on mine are machined more parallel than yours, but the fasteners just never sit right in the jaws. I ended up returning them and going with an old adjustable instead.
Hey doc. The answer to your question about what the application is brass airline fittings. I have came across several that have been marred over the years and using the correct wrench doesn't quite fit. It's so easy just to grab the Parrott nose, or pliers wrenches, and you can fix air leaks quickly.
The Icon tools seem like a good deal at the regular prices, but the thing to keep in mind is that they’re often available for 25% or even 30% off which makes them an unbelievable value.
I love the "training wheels" take - that's EXACTLY what i ended up doing. Since i'm not a trade professional, and with so many other options for hex fasteners, I figured i couldn't justify purchasing a Raptor just to try it out, so I drew the line at the Raptor after purchasing the half a dozen or so "essential" Knipex tools. Then, when i found out HF made a budget raptor alternative, i went ahead and gave that one a try, and enjoyed using it so much that i eventually ended up buying a Knipex version after all 😄. I of course understand the "HF is ripping off knipex" take, but HF actually got me to buy the Knipex, and that's happened to me once with HF v SnapOn too. I think the HF Icon line is great for trying out tools that you arent sure will fit your workflow; I don't know that HF is hurting the premium brands to the degree some of us might assume - Icon may act as much like a gateway drug or a free sample. Anyway, i think these are both good/great tools. And yeah, additional sizes would be sweet!
This is the information one needs when considering 'saving money' buying Icon Knipex copies. Not all of the Icon pliers qre majorly inferior I suppose, but in this case are you really saving money? This design is all about using compound leverage to securely hold a fastener. And if the jaws are not flat & off centre... well the whole tool is not doing what the designers intended it to do.
Raptor is not a particularly expensive tool at $38. I'm of the opinion that if you're going to get one of these, just get the Knipex over the clearly inferior Icon. As you said-it effectively replaces a whole set of combination wrenches, so you might as well pay the extra $18.
I bought the Parrots from Harbor Freight, because I do soft washing. Sodium Hypochlorite is very corrosive, so I figure if it ruins a pair of pliers, it might as well ruin the more affordable pair. I am likely going to go buy a back up pair. They are great for grabbing onto fittings with a barb in the middle. If gives you fantastic control of it and the barb is not in the way. Makes for easy fixes while in the middle of a job. I do agree, there are not many applications for a tool like this, but there are ones that make this a must have at the same time.
Got the ICON tool on sale, used it a few times on my car and bike. Glad I bought the cheaper one, since I don't use it much. Will invest the savings into 10mm wrenches, sockets etc. lol. Can't seem to have enough of those.
Not a fan of icon. They are expensive for ripped off designs imo. Id rather pay the little extra for hard working companies. Hf has become overpriced for mostly junk tools but people will say im wrong.
Thing with the Icon is they keep comparing everything to SnapOn and that’s why it seems like such a good deal. I’m a little more forgiving of the pliers, even though I personally just go Knipex with those clones. But the ratchets and sockets are priced too high.
The Raptors are almost like a ratchet. When your fastener is in a crowded spot, the open-end wrenches and parallel-jaw pliers have to be removed and replaced after every 1/6 of a turn. In many cases, I can hold the Raptor handles loosely and re-angle the tool without removing it. I think that they also apply more pressure than others (except vise-grips).
I struggle to find a use for the knipex. I’m a big Knipex fan, love my cobras but these ones are somewhat of a novelty and look as new as the day I got them.
When the dedicated wrench for changing blades on the table saw at work is “borrowed” but not returned, the Raptor could be great for the quick adjustment in a tight space and making the half turn needed to loosen the nut (without chewing it up).
I use mine for minimal Room behind bumpers and in hard to reach frame Rail locations as well as tie rods and even lots of hard to reach engine bay locations both raptor and the parrot pliers
so it seems that everyone is trying to copy Knipex.....and no wonder! but they will never have the performance, construction and quality of Knipex and no one will even match them....and I'm glad you're introducing them to both pliers
I'll be honest, I'm completely ignorant when it comes to how some company in China or Taiwan can blatantly copy another manufacturer that spent the initial time for R&D and offer a similar product for sale in the mass market.
Patents run out, that is why everyone has a pliers wrench and water pump pliers now. Also, different countries handle patent laws differently. Especially if a company uses a Chinese factory for production. They will retain the tooling, and will produce it on their own when the run is over.
It not just China. All of our American tool companies do the same. As a guy said above, once the patent runs its course it’s free game. It’s done in most of industries. That’s how we get competition and in a lot of cases innovation
Great video Doc I looked at the ICON set but I couldn't justify the need for them when I already have a lot of better tools to do the same job. Thanks Doc 😊
I've been using Knipex raptors for years on brass fittings. Raptors are more compact, lighter, and easier to use than a pliers wrench for most nuts and fittings. A small pliers wrench gives more range for holding smaller items and flat stock.
The only use I have for either of these is when it comes to something that I don’t want to mar the finish on and don’t want to walk back for the correct size wrench. The raptors seemed to be on the verge of useless (except for very specific sizes) when it came to hex fasteners, so I passed on them. When the Icons rolled out for very few pesos I picked them up just to have them for the extremely rare instance in which they are useful. No matter which you choose though, the Channellock 410’s are far superior. As a self-proclaimed Knipex whore, the raptors remain “meh” for me. . .
I love to use my raptors with my cobras for emt conduit couplers and all the compression fittings for conduit theyre a great compact pair for that kinda stuff
if it's holding a nut when using a socket on a bolt, i think it is equivalent of a "crescent" wrench rather than a full set of combo wrenches. well at least in my portable kit is where i hold the nut with an adjustable wrench. but point taken as at home i will grab the combination wrench for nut holding duty. i guess the pliers would have a firm grip on the nut so you they dont spin out of the wrench as the threads push the nut away. that point might be a time saver aspect of this tool.
I buy the best tools I can. Unless it's a job which will destroy the tool. The net result is that I have tools that I bought 50 years ago that still are great. Plus tools I've bought in antique stores that are 100 years old and still work as well as they did when they were first manufactured. Buying cheap is the expensive way to go. In this case, buy the Knipex water pump Cobra pliers (250/10") about $34 on AMZN or the XS (Extra slim) $36 AMZN and they will work nearly as well as the Raptor ($38 AMZN) unless there is a nut you just can't grab with anything else and you already own the other pliers. The Harbor Freight one's are $19, so you are only saving $19 or the price of two Starbucks coffee's or one fancy late and in return you get a much better tool.
The snap on is kind of like a ratchet and slips one way and grabs the other you just have to not squeeze as hard when you break it free. I tried using it that way a couple times and it worked ok. I got the icon to try and have only used it once and I could have used what I always do or a dozen other tools I kind of like more
I’ll have to get the Raptor and Snapon. I am always trying to get a wrench on the back side A different profile than vice grips or a Swedish pipe wrench
The Raptors are a better pipe wrench that doesn’t mar. They are designed to turn smooth, round surfaces first & foremost. I last used them on tie-rods & I agree with you I wish there was a bigger version. If I didn’t have the whole assortment of cobras I’d use them in place of a pipe wrench. They will grip a rod or pipe like no other.
would be interested in a review of these. The jaw is reversible so tries to be both a pliers wrench and a cobra? Does it do either well or both poorly?
Klein Plier Wrench w/ Reversible lower jaw and 1/2 Cobra performance. Heavy but versatile You Decide ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-rNDhC1Ku4WY.html
Yes, I used my knipex to remove very rusted O2 sensors from a Harley exhaust. Albeit I used heat and penetrating oil and had the exhaust off the bike so I could get a good angle/ purchase. The tool does not slip and worked extremely well.
I e been eyeing the Raptors for a long time, just not sure if they’re something I “need.” I’ve seen the Parrots as well, but kinda the same thing when I think about getting any of them. More often than not, I’ll go with Knipex when it comes to pliers. Just too tried and true for me.
I have never really even concerned those kind of pliers they don't seem useful to me at least not more so than a mother tool that would be better and do more the only thing I think id use them for is to back random size nuts so I can impact them off but generally my 5 inch cobras in my pocket will do that job
Buy once, buy well. The guy who has more tools than a technical school's mechanical training department tells people to limit their tool purchases, because they won't know what to do with the good one they want to buy. SMH.
this is probably the most useless style plier I’ve ever seen. there’s literally nothing in my tool box that cant accomplish what these can do. and even if there’s one random, super specific extremely odd job that it would be good for, that is not worth 50 dollars. if you get one, I’d get the cheapest one you can find.
What I like most about my raptors is for working with rusted and weathered fasteners that I'm completely indifferent to. When the high end, low tolerance spanners won't even fit over a rusted bolt. The raptors excel. Also call me gay if you want, but I really don't like squeezing nice chrome spanners over nasty fasteners. Just buy the German ones.
Sounds like the Channellock 410’s would suit you best. They’ll rust the first time you step out of an air-conditioned and building into scorching humidity and they absolutely destroy old rusty fasteners. I can’t even count how many old seized bolts I’ve twisted in two with a pair of 410’s on the mangled end.
