Testing Channellock vs Knipex vs Klein Adjustable Pliers on Old Black Iron Fittings! 

The Channellock 9.5" & 12.5" set is an incredible value. amzn.to/3UdfQKB Also, this video is NOT SPONSORED.

As a Steam pipe fitter 36 yrs I use a 14” ridgid aluminum standard Pipe wrench with an Offset 14” Ridgid aluminum Pipe wrench and they are by far the best combo on the 🌎 . The length 14” is perfect and the dimension of a fatter handle pipe wrench gives you more torque. Thanks Ben 🙏🏼

Knipex also makes 2 tiny versions of those you showed here (Cobra etc.), very useful when the space is small or when you need to carry them with you. Love those tools.

I’m a plumber and electrician of 40 years experience and Ridgid pipe wrenches and the original Channel Locks are all a tradesman needs for pipe and fittings.

As a plumber and pipefitter for over thirty years, I will tell you that the right tool for the job is much more important than the brand. I have always used Channellock brand plies and they make many different styles and types for different jobs. The work you are doing is much more calling for a pipe wrench than a different brand of pliers. As for pipe wrenches, I will never own anything not made by Ridgid while others do make excellent pipe wrenches, I KNOW how badly I can abuse and miss use a Ridgid and it will not fail. They are also not cost prohibitive as are Knipex tools.It's always best to use the CORRECT tool, but if you rarely do any pipe work and are only going to carry the one adjusting plier in your set, maybe the cost of Knipex is justified. Remember tools cannot make up for lack of skill! Cheers!

Knipex has a really clever patent, I like them. I own the Knipex Cobra and the Alligator, but there’s something really special about my Channellocks. The handles have a solid feel and it seems like more old school American steel is helping when you put them to work. Great video demonstration.

If it’s a pipe use a “pipe” wrench Now if your on an abandoned island and all you have is a water Pump” wrench go for it. It was hilarious watching you do this.

You need to try the Channellock 410 and the 414 they are designed for pipe and I think they bite as hard or harder than a pipe wrench plus you don't have to squeeze the hell out of them, they are directional but the harder you push or pull the harder they grip.

thanks for the great comparison. Well done! I haven’t worked with pipe much. But working on cars for 40 plus years and learned to slightly “tighten” a rusted nut to break the “set”. Once there’s any movement it’s so much easier remove nut/bolt. Sockets and wrench last much longer too.

Knipex hands down!!! I do commercial plumbing and a lot of the time I use my cobras as a hammer and they work just as new

Great video. While it might be obvious to others, it is important to properly position the tool in the correct orientation when using these pliers just as you have done. It may seem strange that the pliers are in opposite directions of each other, but is necessary to get the correct “bite” on the pipe because of the tooth ridge configuration of the tool. Thanks for pointing out the flat jaw versus the curved jaw especially when working with pipe!

When it comes to pipes ridgid wrenches and the cobra pliers are one of the best options. I also use the knipex pliers wrench on hex fittings. Another alternative to the Klein pliers are the Irega adjustable wrenches with reversible jaws to work on pipes, and they are very good.

Very cool comparison! The Cobras are King.

Been pipe fitting for 30 years...never used an adjustable plier for such that required an actual pipe wrench, whether Stillson or Ridgid, but I've most certainly used adjustable pliers for other instances that required them...

Another great one Ben!

Wife walked in right as you said squeezing the bottom 😂 That was some explaining to do!

Thanks for this one. Great info!

The straight jaw channel locks absolutely work perfect for pipe. Pipe wrenches also have straight jaws. The curved jaws tend to slip instead of bite into the pipe. The knipex jaws work well for bolt heads but suck for pipe.

Great video. Thanks for putting it up. the Klein pliers are not designed for heavy water or gas pipes but only for conduit pipes that does not require much force to tighten or undo the fittings. I bought one too and was disappointed that it's not as powerful to assemble fittings together. But for the price it's a great tool. Almost ½ price of knipex. I found chanel lock to be a bit awkward to adjust the jaw. But it's cheaper than knipex.

I like the flip able jaw on the kleins

Nothing better than a pipe wrench. Love them so much.

Good comparison video, but I'd have liked to also see the new Channellock 442X, V-Jaw speedgrip pliers and Klein's new D505, USA-made alligator style pliers. The new speedgrip pliers seem like a more direct competitor with the Knipex cobras, and I've had great results with them so far.

Nice comparison! I might upgrade my pliers with the better teeth design.

The knipex cobras or alligators are just better engineered bits of kit. Theyre lighter and thinner and they grip better. Of course they are twice the price.

Wylde tool makes channellock pliers with pipe wrench teeth on a "straight jaw". Very solid tool.

A very interesting video! Thanks!

Pipe wrenches work great on pipes.

In yhe old days channel lock like pliers were often referred as water pump pliers because they were comonly used to tighten the water pump packing nuts on model A Fords.

Great video and Comparison

I'm the quality manager at a machine shop that makes a lot of pipe threads. Black Iron Pipe has NPT threads (National Pipe, Tapered). Pipe threads, by design, are intended to deform the crest of the thread. NPT is a looser standard of pipe thread than an NPTF (National Pipe, Tapered, Fuel). Black pipe is not made to NPTF standards. It is not acceptable to re-use an NPTF Thread. It is not recommended to re-use an NPT Thread. NPT threads are intended to be assembled with pipe dope. NPTF threads, when made to spec, do not require pipe dope. They are produced / gaged to a tighter spec than NPT is. I already know that many people re-use these threads. They apply dope, tape, and / or over-tighten the threads and, as long as it works, they then believe you can re-use them. Just thought you should know depending on how you intend to re-use these pipes. Please be careful, apply dope, and find a way to test for leaks (pressurize and watch for pressure decay over 24 hours might be a thought).

The knipex pliers-wrench can have plastic jaw attachments to ensure no marring. I would know, as I have some, lol.

These style pliers are great but nothing beats an actual pipe wrench. I prefer the aluminum pipe wrenchs especially on the larger sized wrench. I have a 3ft and a 4ft pipe wrench both made by Ridgid and aluminum makes them a ton lighter compared to cast iron.

Yep everyone calls Tongue and groove Pliers as channel locks

i have most of those wrenches. if you treat those klein clones of the knipex pliers wrenches as if they were only that, and ignore the goofy flip jaw, they are actually for me anyway... better in many ways than the knipex pliers wrench. i love how easily is free slides and the lower push button is super welcome. just my two cents, both are great tools.

The job would be much easier using any old PIPE wrench

Silly question at the end.... ALL of them! 🤣

Just gonna call you “Project Harm” from now on. Thanks for this interesting video.

Ben save your knuckles and purchase a couple good Rigid pipe wrenches. When I see people trying to use channel locks on plumbing, it makes my blood run cold! Unless you're arms are like Arnold you can't put enough squeezing power on any pipe over three eighths of an inch . I have been using Rigid standard 10, 14 inch and 8 inch backhand HD for over 50 years. ,(the HD backhand wrench is great for close to the wall or in tight spaces) Trying to use Channel locks while under a sink or laying on your back is virtually impossible. I have at times used a 6 ft pipe and my 200 lb of weight on the end of my 14 inch rigid without problem. I use my largest Channel lock for removing stuck oil filters on my vehicles works great.

Forget all these and get the Irwin Vise Grip Groovelock pliers. Trust me. You'll wonder how you withstood the annoyance of channel locks for so long. And they last, are easy to adjust, and you can make fine adjustments. Every once in a great while clean and lube them to keep them working smoothly. I had a pair for over 10 years and they were still working fine before I misplaced them. They were getting almost daily use for 6 or 7 of those years. I was devastated at losing them, and very pleased that they were still being made with pretty much the exact same design.

Might not be the best testing method because each pipe connection is going to be different. The Knipex do look like they are pretty nice. I might have to pick up a set.

The use the right tool people, it looks like some of these worked though...and pretty well... Just saying... I will say some older Channel Locks were designed for round things though before this newer 90 degree head style. Buying two of either kind in Channel Lock, is still going to be cheaper than two Cobras or Alligators by Knipex but that said, Knipex is great but expensive. There are limits to what one wants to buy and carry... Until I got a couple of aluminum pipe wrenches I carried them much less and even then pliers have some appeal. Some of the use the right tool people come off as if we have never heard of pipe wrenches and or own none... Just saying...

Those are water-pump pliers. So-called because they are shaped, in use, like an old-fashioned water pump. Others called them arc-joint pliers to differentiate them from slip-joint pliers.

Great video

Wilde tool started angled head pliers in the 20's

I have pipe wrenches, some for over 40 years...

There is only two types of Adjustable Pliers.... Knipex Aligator and Cobra!:)

Can this replace pipe wrench or you would still need that in your tool box

I have a suggestion. Invest in some PIPE WRENCHES when working with PIPE!

All these types of pliers are called tongue and groove pliers and to remove cast metal pipes, a plumbing wrench should be used unless the pipes are loose.

I have a couple of pairs of Knipex pliers that have a crazy half moon connection in the slip joint that drives me crazy trying to adjust. I haven’t seen anyone demonstrating this type of pliers but they make me cuss. I usually just grab my Channel Locks.

I beleive the "classic" jaws are the flat ones. These adjustable pliers are use to be "water pump" pliers made to ajust the gland on the water pump for old car engine.

Infinite bro? C'mon Benjamin, lol. Great video!

The Channy's are great beater pliers. Work in nud, use em next to a torch, loose em don't carr get em blue and yelloe from glues. Knipex and the clones are great for everyday jobs or for sservice calls mainly brass copper aluminum fittings. Pipe wrenches are for the torque use with iron cast galvanized pipe. Add a cheater for more unph. Those Kliens are EMT HVAC pipe and fittings oriented, not really a plumbing tool. But the greatest all use tool is hand and repetitive mucle memory. Not a brand. Or money.

Pipe wrench has left the chat

Can you test how hard the teeth are? I would like to know which will last longer.

Anyone here try the knipex Swedish pipe wrench??? Now those bad boiiiz look like they mean business! Curious how they compare to pipe wrenches

make sure when you hook up your gas grill with hose from the large propane tank that you shut off the valve each time you use it, I have seen squirrels chew through the hose emptying a whole giant tank of propane if valve from black iron pipe is left on to hose. where are the Klein wrenches made? they make some stuff in America and some in China.

Should’ve had the Irwin in there, they are best.

The whole video I was just thinking "Why is he making it harder?" Every fitting you were trying to remove was with your weak hand. I don't mean left or right. It's MUCH easier to push the tool to turn it than it is to lift it. That second pliers should only be there to stabilize the fitting.

channellock has auto bite feature like knipex?

The v style jaw is ok for nuts. Around 5:00 was noticing your ergonomics are not totally correct causing you to use more effort. Pipe wrenches for pipe.

Knipex have leverstops to save your knuckles.

Granted i due agree w you that out of these options the cobras are certainly my #1 choice. But to not even have a pipe wrench in this comparison is ridiculous.. Yeah sometimes they seem too big n bulky n heavy etc to justify carrying/using them, but they are thee tool for this exact job lol. I would recommend getting a pair or a few def the bigger ones for pipes bigger than this one ur using. I have a pair of the 7" n 10" cobras for sumn the size of the pipe ur using and smaller, maaybe the next size up, but anything passed that rather than trying w a bigger cobra, just go to the pipe wrench. And thats not to say dont skip on a smaller pipe wrench for stuff this size cuz sometimes they are better vs the cobras in some Instances. Lol looong story short im just echoing what others have said that you need to invest in some pipe wrenches. If you deal w piping often why not get the tool that is MADE for these jobs lol. cobras work for this usage more often than not, but theyre made to be able to do this as well as other jobs. Yet the pipe wrench is made solely for... u guessed it,,, wrenching on pipes!!

I have a pair of Ridgid in the pouch

I would have used a pipe wrench.

In your first case it looked like you were trying to turn the pipe CW rather than the cap CC. Seems not what you'd want to do and thus the slippage. Also, the cap has a flange which helps. Why put two pliers side by side and lift up! Not very effective use of force it seems.

Knipex are my favorite all day long and I'm a Mechanic

Get a pipe wrench. That’s the right tool.

Knipex uber alles!

The Klein flipable jaws are neet buT they don't seem to be practical or work

why in the heck aren't you using pipe wrenches for you know.. pipes?! You just have to know how to use them with having 3 points of contact then Bob's your Uncle

The proper tool would be a pipe wrench

Life long sparky and have owned at least owned at least what old timers called pump pliers from several companies. Craftsman were the worst, Greenlee are horrible, kleins not bad, never loked the overpriced Knipex brand. Channelock are the best in class and made in my home state ( PA ). Still using a big think 12 or 14" pair of Channelock pliers that I purchased 50 years ago. Like a timex watch, take a beating and kerps on working.

I use pipe wrenches. Channelocks are only good for being pliers and chewing things up

Knipex all day long

I saw the kline ones and id use the pliers wrench in normal mode on the flats of the union but its also probably mostly for Electricians more than plumbers

TIP For pipe use a pipe wrench.. DoH

I have almost every version of knipex water pump pliers....the Klein fails....

Id just like to mention in case anyone is unaware, the second pair of channelocks he uses here w the "updated teeth" , are in fact a blatant stealing of the knipex cobras designs. I would have liked to seen you do the og channelocks first, then the cobras considering they came before and are the tool channelock copied to update there jaw designs. Channelocks have been chasing knipex ever since they released the cobras and alligators and you can see that in all there various newer models, if its not the teeth, its the push button design, or the switch from having each piece of the pliers screwed together to sandwiching on inside the other so theres no side to side flexing or chance of bending. Nothing against channelocks, I support them making what tools they make in America and all that, but its obvious that they realize their tongue and groove design is antiquated and theres been huge advancements in the world of pliers. And if they keep taking all these ideas from the same company, hell from the same tool, why would u go w an imitation and not the real deal? (The only reason i have gotten any was because some were American made and regardless if theyre a copy of another tool or whatevs, i can support that..)

I am pretty sure Knipex makes those for Klein.

Buen video

Knipex warranty is garbage the teeth wear out fast I had a bolt that was stuck bad the other day and the knipex wouldn’t even come close to getting it out told my son go get the blues and bam took it off I forgot how good they work.

Slip joint pliers

How do you pronounce “knife”? What about when you tie a “knot”, how do you pronounce that? And lastly when you say “the Black Knight in Monty Python was funny” how do you pronounce “knight”?

If you are not a tradesman don't buy any expensive brand-name tools.

You were bouncing between not pronouncing the K and pronouncing it. It’s a German company so they do pronounce it. Technically Ka-née-pex is correct, but in US Ka-nip-ex also seems to work.

Before all the Taiwanese tool companies ruined the American Tool Manufacturers Market every family household in America owned a pair of ChanneLock pliers and a Crescent Wrench !

…‘Ken-ipix ’?…im out…heard enough… 2:17

Not testing I'm afraid. All random.

Torch it.

Use a fuckin pipe wrench

You always want to hold the upside down and claim the Chineseium brand of pliers is best, so you can get the maximum number of youtube comments.

This klein looks terrible

Theyre not Knipex you pronounce them ni-peks!!! Look it up!

SPEEDGRIP™ 442®X V-JAW TONGUE & GROOVE PLIERS ARE NEW PLIERS CHANELLOCK JUST CAME OUT WITH

I smoke the pipe then I play with my pipe for hours