This could be your last chance to buy USA-made Eagle Grip locking pliers.
Malco eliminated their Eagle Grip brand, sold off their locking pliers production equipment, and closed the factory over 2 years ago.
A massive amount of unsold inventory headed to tool and closeout retailers, and it seems they all sold through their stock.
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A reader commented yesterday that they just bought 6 pairs of Eagle Grip from Amazon. I thought everything was was all gone, but apparently there’s still some inventory on Amazon via Northern Tool as a 3rd party seller.
There are rumors that Snap-on purchased the equipment. Checking Snap-on’s site, they have straight jaw USA-made 10″ locking pliers at $101.50 and backordered into September, and 11″ locking swivel pad c-clamp pliers for $146.50.
If you were hoping to pick up Eagle Grip locking pliers, you might want to hurry up – they’re practically collector’s pieces now.
Want something different? Grip-on locking pliers are well-made and have a Euro-style release mechanism. I’ve used this brand for years, and the pricing remains very fair.
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Christian Ness
My Snap-On rep has confirmed that they bought the tooling and the pliers they now have are 100% the same and they’ve expanded the lineup even though that may not be reflected online. They didn’t keep the factory since it was apparently extremely run down and not set up well, so they just bought the tooling and moved the factory to somewhere on the east coast, although I can’t recall which factory it was exactly.
Dusty Sowards
I live in the town that has the original factory. Dewitt Ne. Can confirm it is extremely run down, and there is no work force locally.
mark w
I heard this too and saw that in the past it looked like you could buy the needle nose pliers Malco never got around to shipping from snapon. Seems they did buy the tooling and continued production if those pliers are still available.
MichaelT
Interestingly, these are showing Sold and Shipped by Northern Tool and Equipment, not Amazon. However, I can’t find them on NT’s website.
Stuart
That’s what I saw too. Everyone else sold out.
TomD
Did NT ever sell them? Maybe they found a pallet of them after the SKUs had been removed from the system.
Jason
Not sure when Vice Grips originally closed up shop but I visited Dewitt about a decade ago and there were still signs in bars. Bummer this one didn’t work out it really hurt the community the first time around.
Dusty Sowards
The second time around they only employed twenty or thirty people anyways. The town will never recover from the first exodus.
CMF
“they’re practically collector’s pieces now.”
This is a great line. I wonder how many readers saw this and put in order for a dozen or more.
Stuart
For what, to flip on eBay?
frampton
I’ll confess – I bought a variety, some of which I may never use, just because I knew they’d be gone if I ever need them. It’s the allure of scarcity, I suppose. Tool FOMO.
Ben
I wasn’t aware that the Grip-on pliers’ release mechanism was a specifically European style. Learn something new every day, I guess. I strongly prefer that style and will definitely transition my existing locking pliers over to something with that style once they finally kick the bucket or get lost.
Stuart
Might not be, but I picked that up years ago and have yet to see a better name. The other is the traditional Vise-Grip-style.
Chris
That’s the grip where you squeeze the release lever towards the moving handle versus pushing the release handle towards the main body of the pliers?
KokoTheTalkingApe
That’s right. And on the Grip-ons at least, the moving leg opens smoothly, without snapping out and maybe rapping your knuckles.
Jim
I bought two of the Malco 7”? C clamp pliers from HJE a couple years ago.
They are works of art! I smile every time I use them.
Such a shame what SBD did to Dewitt Nebraska
Dusty Sowards
I mean….they made DeWitt what it was anyways. It’s not like they were making anyone except the Peterson’s rich anyways.
Stuart
You can blame SBD for a lot of things, but not that. Rubbermaid moved Irwin Vise-Grip production overseas. Stanley Black & Decker acquired the Irwin brand later.
Analyst
Now, I like many of us on here am kicking myself for not picking up a few more along the way… Hopefully someone has a secret stash that they release soon!
Chris
I’m sure it doesn’t help that Project Farm announced these as the best locking pliers ever made in his latest (8/23/25) video. They performed exceptionally well. Interestingly m, the Grip-On pliers performed poorly. Which is interesting as I hear generally good things about Grip-On pliers. But nobody cared for them when Snap-On was rebranding them. (And it wasn’t about price either. They actually were terrible pliers.
I do appreciate Grip-On’s assortment of locking pliers. They seem to have about every style imaginable. But I don’t know if that would be enough to get me to invest in them. I want something that’s going to bite hard and stay locked on.
mark w
I think gripons perform poorly in project farms tests because gripon epoxy coats the teeth as well. In everyday use, yeah they are the best at digging big indents into metal to turn it, but they are well made for their cost and COO in my opinion. I also think bahco makes good adjustable wrenches out of Spain but I prefer the Japanese offerings. Best price value
mark w
They are NOT** the best at digging indents into metal
Chris
I was very disappointed to see the performance of the Grip-Ons in Project Farms video. I’ve seen a lot of people rave about them, here and on YouTube. I was shocked.
Stuart
Many great tools test poorly under certain conditions, and many poor tools test well.
Andy
I bought some of the Malco Eagle Grips from HJE after you shared Malco took them out of production and I have been super happy with those pliers.
I went to HJE to buy another set of the LP11SP 11″ C-Clamps earlier today, realized they were sold out, and begrudgingly bought them from Amazon.
Good timing on this post!
Brad
The day they popped up on HJE I bought one of each model (7″ and 10″ in both curved and straight jaws, plus small and large clamps of both styles). Wish I’d bought more, because they are literally the best-made tools I’ve ever owned (for reference, Knipex pliers wrench ranks maybe 5th or 6th).
HTG
I have had a pair of Grip-Ons for a number of years, and I like them a lot. My late father-in-law’s 6″ Mole Grips finally gave up this week, so I’ve ordered another (smaller) pair of Grip-Ons. I know I’m European, and all that, but I strongly prefer the style where you pull rather than push the lever to release the grip. For me, it’s the only way to go.
Greg
I would rather have the Snap on version anyway I think a lifetime warranty from Snap on will be better. But the going price for used usa made vice grips is around $3 each
frampton
Harry Epstein had thousands of these in multiple sizes, available for $30 each. All gone.
Drew
Seems these are all gone. I tried ordering from Amazon, but they canceled my order.
Aram
Yep, my order was nuked as well.
Bill
I bought a new pair with plastic hangers on a second-hand website for $60. It is more beautiful and sturdy than any brand on the market, with a mirror-finished pliers body and tightly fitting pliers jaws.