“I’m looking for a first pair of retaining or snap ring pliers. What do you recommend?” We hear this a lot, and often recommend that Channellock is the way to go. Why? Well, Channellock’s internal/external universal retaining ring pliers are high quality tools that are easy to use and are very affordable.
Channellock’s interchangeable tip retaining ring pliers typically go for $18-$25, and can be found online and at most local home improvement stores. These pliers are available in 6 1/4″, 8″, and 10″ sizes. We typically recommend the 8″ version (model # 927).
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Flathead Red
I have a pair of these and they rock. I don’t have a need for an exceptionally high dollar pair as I don’t use mine a great deal but these work awesome and the price is great.
Flathead Red
John
I like having a full set that you just grab the one you need and go without having to take time to swap tips. The cheap Harbor Freight set works great for almost anything the average user would come across.
Jay
If you work on big snaprings and can swing the extra dough for it, a ratcheting mechanism is a very nice feature in a set of snapring pliers.
Joe
After this review I picked a pair up for a project I was working on. Previously I had a set of the dollar bin changeable jaws style pliers.
Wow this are so much easier to work with.
Thanks for the recommendation.
-Joe
uthscsaedu
These are pretty good. I already found changing tips to be a hassle, but I don’t encounter snap rings enough to justify getting more expensive pliers.
I’m going to supplement my tips with this Craftsman set
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00904535000P
I hope they fit.
Tool junkie
Hands down one of the snap ring pilers that I have used .
These are much better than the previous set I had .