Every type of tool, such as screwdrivers and socket wrenches, has its own brand trusted by users, and KNIPEX, made in Germany, is a representative of gripping tools. KNIPEX has developed as a pliers manufacturer for 140 years, including nippers, radio pliers, and pliers, and has invented several innovative products. Among these products, the plier wrenches and cobra are outstandingly easy to use in the maintenance of motorcycles and automobiles.
Pliers wrench that can be turned quickly like a ratchet without play in the gripping surface
Axle nuts for fixing wheels are often 21, 22, or 24 mm in size, which are not always compatible with the set tools such as box-end wrenches or socket wrenches. Although adjustable wrenches are useful in such situations, due to the structure in which the opening width of the jaws is adjusted by the worm gear, when torque is applied, force is applied to the jaws in the direction of opening, which may cause rattling.
KNIPEX is the leading brand of gripping tools. From top to bottom: 250mm long pliers wrench with soft grip handle, 250mm long smart grip water pump pliers with automatic adjustment, and 150mm long Cobra with plastic coated handle. All are loaded with the attention to detail that only a manufacturer specializing in pliers can offer.
Although the product name is a pliers wrench, the design of the jaws is a monkey wrench itself. Not only does it not damage bolts and nuts, but it can also be used in place of a press when correcting bends in plates and stick parts. The upper handle and lower jaw are separate structures connected by a joint, and the force input to the handle is transferred to the jaw using the principle of leverage to amplify it tenfold.
In the working position shown in the image, lifting the lower handle upward tightens the jaws while transmitting rotational force. If the lifting force is reduced, the jaws will open, so the contact position with the nut can be easily changed, and the wrench can be continuously turned like a ratchet wrench.
Pliers, such as radio pliers and slip-joint pliers, are probably most commonly thought of for light work such as detailed work or for turning bolts and screws. If you need to turn a bolt, you are supposed to use a wrench, box-end wrench, or socket wrench, and the more maintenance-oriented you are, the more likely you are to have an adjustable wrench in your toolbox, but you rarely use it.
Although it is true that both pliers and adjustable wrenches are easy and convenient to use, pliers slip if the handle is not gripped tightly when applying force, and adjustable wrenches have a slight rattling even if the jaw opening is adjusted with a worm gear. These characteristics are unavoidable structural weaknesses of gripping tools, but the KNIPEX Pliers Wrench, developed in 1994, has been acclaimed by professional users and tool lovers as a revolutionary wrench that eliminates such weak points.
One of the characteristics of plier wrenches is that the gripping surface moves parallel to the smoothly polished jaws when the grip is held. This movement of the pliers wrench is quite dissimilar, since the gripping surface of pliers is knurled to grip bolts, nuts, and plates, and generally closes from the pivot area to the tip when the grip is held.
The jaws of the adjustable wrench also open and close in parallel, but when a strong torque is applied across the bolt and nut, the jaws will inevitably have a slight rattling due to the play in the worm gear as they try to open. Even if there is no rattling, the force in the opening direction is still applied to the jaws when torque is applied.
In contrast to the adjustable wrench, which has a worm gear to fix the opening width even if there is a slight rattling, the pliers wrench can grip the bolt and nut without any play because the jaws are opened and closed by the handle operation. However, with a pliers of general construction, a strong grip on the handle is necessary to loosen a bolt that is tightly tightened, and in most cases, the handle cannot be held and the bolt will end up being damaged.
In contrast, a major feature of the pliers' wrench is that there is no need to "grip" the handle. The self-locking mechanism, which is based on the unique structure of the handle, pivot, and jaws, allows the user to apply 10 times the input force to the jaws by simply pressing down on the upper handle. During actual operation, the upper and lower handles are gripped and turned. In both loosening and tightening operations, the greater the force input to the handle, the more strongly it adheres to the bolt nut, so there is no risk of taming. The more force you apply to the handle, the stronger the biting force becomes, which is similar to the usability of a pipe wrench.
While the pliers exhibit strong holding power when gripped, they also feature a jaw that can be opened and easily re-hung by loosening the grip on the handle. This is not surprising since they are pliers, but in places where the handle's swing is limited, they can operate like a ratchet wrench depending on the amount of force you exert on the handle. Considering that the same operation with an adjustable wrench requires loosening and tightening the worm gear each time you change over, the ratchet mechanism of a pliers wrench is by far the most convenient.
The unique pivot and joint structure of the KNIPEX pliers allow for a wide jaw opening in relation to the overall length of the wrench, which is another attractive point. Pliers wrenches are available in a wide variety of lengths (100mm, 125mm, 150mm, 180mm, 250mm, 300mm, 400mm), but even the 100mm type, which fits comfortably in the palm of the hand, has a maximum opening width of 21mm with 10 levels of fine adjustment. The 180mm type, which is less bulky and convenient to carry around as an in-vehicle tool, can open up to 40mm to accommodate axle nuts on big motorcycles, and the 400mm length type provides a wide opening width of 85mm. Size adjustment is as easy as pushing a button on the joint.
Although there are many gripping tools, it is no exaggeration to say that there is no other product with such functionality except the pliers wrench. It is true that this tool is more expensive than ordinary pliers or adjustable wrenches, but you will realize that it is more than worth it.
- Point 1: The pliers wrench can be used in place of an adjustable wrench, as the jaws adhere to the bolt and nut with 10 times the force applied by simply pressing down on the handle.
Cobra and Alligator, pioneers of KNIPEX pliers that bite the jaws the more you grip the handle.
Pressing the button on the joint part disengages the hinge part, so that the Cobra can be adjusted to the optimum opening width simply by sliding the lower jaw while pressing the button with the upper jaw against the bolt. There is no need to go through the tedious process of opening the handle wide to set the opening width, placing it against the bolt, and then removing it and opening the handle wide again to readjust it if it is not what it appears to be.
The Cobra variation also includes a slimmer product with a longer jaw tip, ideal for use in motorcycle and automobile maintenance where detailed work is often performed in confined spaces. The parallelogram-shaped part at the base of the jaw is set to fit perfectly on the two sides of the bolt and nut, and combined with the handle shape that amplifies torque when pushed, it is also suitable for loosening bolts that are stuck together.
Water pump pliers with an automatic adjustment that eliminates the push button at the box joint, opens to the maximum width each time the hand is released from the handle, and closes the jaws according to the size of the counterpart by gripping. The maximum opening width is 36mm in relation to the overall length of 250mm, and when stored, the jaws can be fully closed by setting the locking lever at the rear of the joint.
As the name of the tool suggests, water pump pliers are used for water-related construction and maintenance. They are also useful for working on motorcycles and automobiles, and feature a larger opening than slip-joint pliers.
In the 1970s, KNIPEX developed a revolutionary product named Alligator. While ordinary water pump pliers have only five levels of opening width adjustment, the Alligator has nine levels of fine adjustment, allowing the user to maintain the most comfortable handle width for input regardless of the size of the object to be gripped. In addition, the self-locking function, in which the jaws bite into the pipe or bolt nut, ensures that the gripping force is transmitted simply by pushing the handle.
Unlike most pliers, which have a box joint, the Alligator has a slit in one handle and a box joint in the other handle, which improves the rigidity of the joint and prevents the jaws from twisting even when the handle is twisted. The box joint improves the rigidity of the joint and ensures that the jaw does not twist when the handle is twisted. Although this construction leads to higher costs, it is also carried over to alligator and plier wrenches.
Cobra was introduced in the 1980s as an evolutionary model of Alligator. To adjust the opening width of water pump pliers, it is common practice to open the handle wide to the left or right to change the joint position, but Cobra can be set to the optimum opening width according to the bolt nut size simply by sliding the handle while pressing the push button.
Both cobra and alligator pliers have sharp teeth on their gripping surfaces, but the design of the gripping surface itself has its own secret. The gripping surface of a typical water pump pliers is symmetrical at the top and bottom of the jaw, while the Cobra and Alligator have a parallelogram shape with asymmetrical teeth. This shape allows the pliers to bite into a bolt, nut, or round bar when force is applied to the handle, and to transmit torque reliably in both tightening and loosening motions.
Cobra also has variations with different overall lengths of 100mm, 125mm, 150mm, 180mm, 250mm, and 300mm, and the 150mm and 180mm classes are useful for in-vehicle use. For those who think that grabbing tools are only for temporary or emergency use, the ease of use of Alligator and Cobra should come as a surprise.
- Point 1: The opening width of the jaw can be easily adjusted with a push button, and the cobra that does not let go of the gripped partner is useful for daily maintenance.
