P.T. Barnum said a sucker is born every minute, but I hate it when it turns out to be me. Every once in awhile I will buy a cool new tool to try out such as these pliers by Irwin. The reason I bought them is they have a quick adjustment mechanism that is different than regular channel lock pliers and I thought it would be helpful.
I have only owned these pliers for about 6 months and have been pleased with them. I like the handle grips and the jaws have square notches that help hold nuts better than regular channel lock pliers. However, I had them almost fully extended trying to loosen a nut on a pipe and the top jaw broke off.
I broke these pliers with my bare hands. Now, I felt like a brute, but there is no way I should be able to break these using one hand.
There is a reason professionals pay the extra money for quality tools; they last. I am going to have to give Irwin a failing grade.
Update: I took these pliers back to Home Depot and they replaced them at no charge. I still don’t think they should break, but I am happy I was able to return them.
