Them fierce boys in Meadville

jzmtl · **on:** January 13, 2018, 04:54:12 AM

Fiercely making pliers still

Picked up a few Channellock pliers recently, and this apparently is their new logo. Not sure how do you make pliers fiercely, but there must be AR15 and beer involved, and probably liberal dose of freedom.

gerleatherberman · **Reply #1 on:** January 13, 2018, 05:16:28 AM

I freakin' love classic Channellock pliers/cutters. Congrats on getting some! Slogan is silly. Their pliers are not.

They do have some tools called "code blue" that are made overseas though. Wonder if the packaging says "Fiercely made in China".

jzmtl · **Reply #2 on:** January 13, 2018, 05:56:03 AM

They are quite comparable to the German pliers but better price, especially when on sale.

Actually the top one is a code blue, I think it's exactly the same thing just different rubber on handle, I haven't seen any channellock that's not made in US yet.

Blackbeard · **Reply #3 on:** January 13, 2018, 06:00:41 AM

If they put happily made in USA would they have different sales numbers? Maybe, I think the Kebler elves might use that one.

Lynn LeFey · **Reply #4 on:** January 13, 2018, 08:13:02 AM

I thought 'fierce' was a word reserved for drag queens and jungle cats.

Or those that are both...

styx · **Reply #5 on:** January 13, 2018, 10:09:57 AM

well it certainly stands out

gerleatherberman · **Reply #6 on:** January 13, 2018, 01:40:20 PM

Quote from: jzmtl on January 13, 2018, 05:56:03 AM

They are quite comparable to the German pliers but better price, especially when on sale.

Actually the top one is a code blue, I think it's exactly the same thing just different rubber on handle, I haven't seen any channellock that's not made in US yet.

Thank you for the correction. Only SOME of the code blue is foreign right now. Their page here sows the code blue lineup. Anything without the US slogan next to it is not US made. https://www.channellock.com/code-blue.aspx

Not that the quality is less on the overseas products, but their slogan kind of makes one think they don't outsource.

As far as their tools. I have yet to break any. I have broken countless craftsman, millers, etc. But, channellock seems to be made just as well as they were originally.

ThundahBeagle · **Reply #7 on:** January 13, 2018, 04:28:45 PM

My father had been a welder, like his father before him. My father used Channel Locks since as far back as I can remember. Fixing the car, fixing our bicycles, whatever.

And I have Channel Locks in my toolbox, along with a lot of Craftsman, older Stanley, and even an S-K tool or two.

I've broken very few older Craftsman tools, I think a ratchet, and a very big screwdriver that I should not have been using to pry an engine up out of the motor mount.

Never broke a Channel Lock, though. Of course, they don't make ratchets or screwdrivers that I'm aware.

Nice to be able to buy USA. I try to do so whenever possible, as long as quality is there. I'm not an isolationist per se, I just have seen an awful lot of stuff outsourced over the last 25 years. I mean, it's kind of ridiculous to buy an American flag for the 4th of July and realize it was made in China. So when I find something good and its made in USA, I try to stick with it. Swiss Army Knives and Belgian chocolate excluded, for obvious reasons.

WoodsDuck · **Reply #8 on:** January 13, 2018, 04:36:46 PM

I've got Channellocks ranging from recent purchases to decades old, and they're all excellent, quality pliers

Had my eye on a set of 548s for a while now.

cody6268 · **Reply #9 on:** January 14, 2018, 03:47:49 AM

Most of my pliers are Proto, but I've got quite a few Channellock pliers ( two 6", E-318 Electrician's, and a pair of Champion Dearment (the name before Channellocks became popular) battery pliers). My grandfather swears by the regular Channellocks, and i love the E-318a. Proto pliers are somewhat easy to find (most mine/industrial supply places either have them, or can order them), but expensive--I looked up how much it would be to replace my 267s, and the current model, the 267Gs are $40-- at least $10 more expensive than Channellock, Klein, and most European companies 7-8 inch pliers (the Protos are an odd 7.5").