8 in. Z2 K9 Straight Jaw Tongue and Groove Dipped Grip Pliers

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] A channel lock plier is one of the most versatile tools you can have- this one fits the bill. It feels great in your hand. Certainly made with high quality materials. The rubber handles feel super solid, not going to slide off or move. The jaws are my favorite part. They are toothed in different ways so you can use them for various purposes. I used them once for a small hose clamp as well as a bigger pipe for my pool. I would FULLY recommend these to anyone.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I'm a sucker for tongue-and-groove pliers. Even though I own around 10 of them in various size from several brands, I was very excited when I got these 7" straight jaw. The build quality was a good first impression. The finish was smooth and defined. The grip felt solid and stable. The teeth were sharp and clean. They bite very well into the work piece so I wouldn't use it on anything dedicate without some sort of surface protection. I have used it only several times and have been happy with the grip and the leverage so far.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] These are very nice homeowner-grade pliers. I have used them for a couple of small plumbing tasks around the house in the last week, such as installing a sink in my garage. They were easy to adjust on the fly and the dipped handles were comfortable. Overall, I am very happy with these small pliers and may add some of the larger sizes to my collection in the future.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I have used this set of tongue and grove pliers for several hard use tasks and then K9 teeth have live up to their name. The bite in like a pitbull and wont slip. They make made many tasks like tightening bolts in hard to access area easy due to them biteing in to the bolt or nut. But best of all show almost no wear in an industrial setting. Way better than the blue competition.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I have used these straight jaw pliers under the sink, disconnecting a dishwasher, tightening a few bolts, knocking out the vent on a hood. So far these pliers seem solidly constructed with great teeth. They definitely grab onto the object well.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I have had the pliers for a week and they have earned a spot on my commonly grabbed tools strip. They are thin enough to reach most items and have excellent grip. I have even taken them on dirt bike rides to assist with trail “maintenance”.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] These are perfect for small jobs. I rarely need pliers much bigger than these. Definitely going onto every job site with me. Very aggressive teeth. The handles are very comfortable. A lot of different jaws positions with these.

Full disclosure: I have been provided with a free pair of Klein 10 inch and 8 inch tongue and groove pliers for my review. I don’t know anyone who works for the manufacturer and have no affiliation with Klein Tools. The following review is my honest opinion and has not been influenced by the free samples. Crescent is a name trusted by generations of professional tradesman ever since the introduction of its Crescent Adjustable Wrench in 1907. I still refer to my adjustable wrenches as “Crescent Wrenches” and I have never been disappointed with any of their hand tools. I have always called these tongue and groove channel lock style pliers water pump pliers. They got this name because many workers that were provided with this style of pliers on the job used them to tighten packing nuts on water pumps. This design of pliers was invented and popularized by the Champion–DeArment Tool Company in 1934 under another brand name and are frequently called channelocks. As seen in my attached photos I am comparing them to an old non branded pair that I have had for many years. While my old pair have proved to hold up to the routine abuse that I submit them to on a regular basis. I occasionally even use a pipe slipped over the handles to drastically increase the force I am able to apply. There have been many times that I was pretty sure that I would crack them, but they held. Well from all of that abuse over more than 20 years they have become sort of sloppy and I’ll pass them off to my son. These new Crescent brand water pump pliers appear to be well built and I am confident that they will last the rest of my life and maybe even that of my son’s. What I really like about these pliers include: 1 Their overall design. As seen in one of the photos the 10 inch jaws open much wider than my old pair. In addition the head angle allows for much greater force to be applied as compared to my old pair. 2. Fit and Finish. These pliers have really nice rubber dipped handles that are easy on the hands and the metal is coated in some sort of clear coat that appears rather durable. 3. They operate very smoothly without being “loosey-goosey”. I gave them 4 stars only because it’s a rare tool that deserves a perfect 5.

The precision machined jaws with pipe grip and aggressive tooth design make securing black gas pipe or copper tubing very easy. The jaws adjust to 8 set positions depending on how large the material is you are trying to grip. The thickness of the pliers is narrower compared to other adjusting pliers and this should help get into tight openings. I found at 2.25 inches, the pliers were still easy to use and control. I wouldn’t use them on any material larger than 2.25 inches in diameter. The fulcrum made aligning the channels and adjusting the pliers very easy. The handles are a smooth dipped surface and provide good hand grip. I know Crescent offers this plier with handles made of a cushioned dual material that has a textured surface.

The Crescent 8" Z2 Dipped Tongue and Groove Pliers are several steps above other "experienced" tongue and groove pliers I have on my pegboard tool wall. The fit and finish is premium. It is immediately obvious that the jaws open much wider and have more positions than the older/cheaper pliers. Crescent put a lot more thought into the design of the "K9" jaws. The teeth are double ground pyramid shaped, instead of the cheaper single pass straight-across teeth found on lesser pliers. If you examine closely the jaws you can see a wire/nail slot ground in, and purpose driven variations in the jaw width to accept/grip at different angles of attack. This is in contrast to the simple straight jaws on lesser pliers. The rivet is forged and ground absolutely flush/invisible. Cheaper pliers have the rivet sticking out, or in the case of one set I have, a smashed nut on the rivet. The Crescent is able to get in much tighter spaces because of the flush rivet. Everything about it seems high tech and absolutely optimized. My old pliers all seem clunky and overweight now. The Crescent features thick vinyl dipped handles that don't slip off and feel right. This is in contrast to the cheap foam grips or loosey-goosey press fit handles on my other pliers. Thanks Crescent for a great tool!