We’re a huge fan of Channellock products, so when they offered us the opportunity to review their new 412 V-Jaw pliers, we couldn’t refuse! As mentioned in our recent preview post of the 412 pliers, Channellock introduced this smaller 6.5-inch version of their V-Jaw pliers for use on small tubing and round stock.
We found that not only did that the pliers fulfill their intended role exceptionally well, but they also proved to be well suited for general purpose applications – especially those that require a relatively compact tool.
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In case you missed our preview post, we’ll recap some of the plier’s basic features. First of all, these tongue & groove pliers are 6.5″ in length, and have a maximum capacity of 0.94″ with their serrated V-Jaws.
The handles can be spread a bit further apart than shown here
What’s so special about V-Jaws? Quite simply stated, V-Jaws are advantageous for gripping round stock and tubing since they offer more points of contacts than do standard styled tongue & groove pliers with flat jaws. In addition, Channellock’s V-Jaws feature right angle laser heat-treated teeth, leading to a better grip and minimized wear.
These pliers also feature an undercut tongue and groove to prevent slipping, a reinforced leading edge for greater strength and to reduce the chance of stress failure and breakage, Channellock’s PermaLock fastener to prevent pivot nut & bolt failures, high carbon C1080 tool steel with a rust-preventative coating, and of course Channellock’s iconic blue grips.
Testing Scenarios
For the sake of this review, we went ahead and used these pliers as we would any of our personally owned tools. Over the past few weeks, we used the pliers on plastic tubing, plastic rod, steel rod and tubing, wood dowels, rubber tubing, several nails, miscellaneous fasteners, and a few non-round objects.
It would take too long to describe in detail all of the specific tasks we used these pliers for, but in short we used them to pull, position, twist, hold, and bend various parts and objects.
Once we were pleased with the plier’s performance in real-life scenarios, we ran around the shop and grabbed random round and roundish items for final testing. You can see photos of some of these test items in the gallery at the end of the review.
Overall Impressions
It was hard not to like these pliers right off the bat. As our experience has been with Channellock’s other plier styles and sizes, these small V-Jaw pliers feel very solidly built, and are very comfortable to hold and to use. We were initially concerned about the tool’s small size and how its ergomomics would compare to that of larger tools, but these concerns were quickly dismissed the first time we handled the pliers.
The plier’s jaw opening can be adjusted via its tongue & groove construction, and we found each adjustment level to
We simply could not find a regularly shaped object that these pliers could not grip strongly within the limits of its capacity. Even in cases where a part was held firmly by one jaw and engaged by only a single tooth on the other jaw, the pliers held strong and tight.
Note that these pliers will mar soft or delicate materials, but no more than any other serrated pliers would.
Conclusions
We found Channellock’s 412 6.5″ V-Jaw tongue & groover pliers to be great for use with round stock, tubing, and small objects. As expected, the pliers were of great quality, and using them felt comfortable and natural. During testing, we used these pliers on everything from 1/8″ pins, to 3/4″ tubes and pipes, and they never slipped up.
As expected, the pliers aren’t perfectly suitable for use on larger items, but they can handle larger items, up to 0.94″ in size. Remember, these are small pliers, and they’re meant to be used on small round objects.
With a list price of $13, it’s hard to justify not picking up a pair. As we grew accustomed to the pliers, we started using them for applications typically delegated to larger tools, and found that the 412 held its ground. In some cases, we preferred the new smaller V-Jaw pliers over the larger 8″ and 10″ tongue & groove pliers that we ordinarily would have used.
Channellock’s small 412 pliers are great for those looking to manipulate smaller parts – especially round or cylindrical parts, and are affordably priced. As with Channellock’s other pliers, the 412 is made in the USA.
It looks like only a handful of online retailers are carrying the 412 pliers at the moment, but we expect that it should soon be carried by other stores where Channellock products are sold.
Channellock V-Jaw Pliers via Amazon (only larger models are currently listed)
Channellock 412 small V-Jaw Pliers, via Channellock (Channellock does offer direct sales for this model)
Gallery
We would like to thank Channellock for providing the pliers featured in this review. Review samples are typically given away to ToolGuyd readers, donated to a non-profit charity, or in rare cases kept for a short time for further review, benchmark, or comparison purposes.
uthscsaedu
Channellock always seems to be reasonably priced.
They have some small “nutbuster” pliers which are also pretty cool.
Stuart
That’s one of the many reasons why we’re so fond of Channellock’s tools – they’re very reasonably priced without sacrificing quality.
paul
don’t forget that they are USA made. Should be a more important reason.