Jeff wrote in with a tip that Irwin GrooveLock pliers are on sale at Amazon. (Thank you, Jeff!)
There are two sizes on sale – 6″ and 8″ pliers, priced at $9 and $10 each, respectively. Both have V-shaped all-purpose jaws, which can grip a variety of flat, round, and hex materials.
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A 2pc set of pliers are usually $20, but have gone on sale for $15 before. However, the 2pc set typically comes with 8″ and 10″ sizes. I don’t remember ever seeing the 6″ pliers discounted before.
I’ve talked about Irwin GrooveLock pliers before, with my comparison of an updated style in 2012 being the most detailed.
GrooveLock pliers offer good performance at a great value. I prefer other adjustable pliers brands over Irwin, but I also have a bigger tool budget now than when I bought my first Irwin 2pc set years ago. Even with more premium pliers, I still use my Irwin’s on occasion. They’re versatile and reliable.
Buy Now(6″ pliers via Amazon)
Buy Now(8″ pliers via Amazon)
The 6″ pliers are an add-on item, which means you need a qualifying order over $25 before they’ll ship.
It’s unclear how long the promo pricing will last. The two are listed on an Irwin Deals page, but there’s no expiration date mentioned.
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As an aside…
A few years ago, Dewalt was showing off their adjustable pliers next to Irwin GrooveLocks, to highlight the difference in jaw opening width capacity. And now Stanley Black & Decker owns Irwin.
Bobby
I have the 6″ straight jaw groovelock pliers and I like them a lot. They come in handy when I’m working in a tight space, where bigger pliers won’t do it.
Jalopy_J
The teeth on those are made of pudding. Kind of a one-time-use deal.
redwyvren87
+1 to this. Owned several pairs, 10 and 12 inch, both sets wore out the teeth in less than a year of relatively light duty. Sent in them back in for warranty replacment, had the same problem with the teeth losing their edges. Ended up throwing away the Irwins and going %100 Knipex
Jalopy_J
X2. I’ve gone with Knipex Cobras and a couple snap-on pliers-wrenches. Love them. Also changed my regular vise-grips to Knipex as well. So much better. They’re frankly even better than original USA vise-grips were before Irwin really screwed them up.
Patty Cake
And, hey, that’s only 0.75 per liter according to Amazon’s page. How much did you pay for your last liter of pliers?
“$8.98 ($0.75 / Liters) Free shipping for Prime members when buying this Add-on Item. “
Stuart
I saw that too, but couldn’t think of a good quip.
I’ve seen brad nailers described as 18 gallons, but can’t see where they got a price per liter for something like this.
Mattd
Too bad irwins plierswrenches are not on sale, though their regular price is half that of the german versions. I would love to see a review of them on here some time.
Jared
What are the smaller silver circles on either side of the adjustment button in your top photo?
I noticed in the Amazon link (for the 8″ version) that some photos show those circles and others do not.
My initial guess was that maybe there are two versions of the tool. One forged and the other using layers of steel held together by rivets. The last photo in the Amazon link seemed to show them the best though – and it doesn’t look like layers to me. Maybe magnets?
Jared
Nevermind. I see your older post discussed this in detail. I should learn to search your site before asking questions!
Stuart
It’s also linked to in the post. =)
But the mistake was mine, I used an older image instead of the new one.
Stuart
Sorry, I used the wrong image. Fixed it.
Irwin has had different GrooveLock pliers designs over the years. The older ones had a 3-piece jaw design. Recent models have 2 pieces.
You’re on the right track, but the older design wasn’t layered in the same way as laminated pliers. There are 2 jaw and handle components, and a pivot retainer. It’s all detailed in photos here: https://toolguyd.com/irwin-vise-grip-groovelock-pliers-comparison/
Rick
To the person who said the “teeth are like pudding” must have bought the knockoff Irwin’s or used them for the improper applications.
I bought these last year and they are still holding up very well. I use them on a damn near daily basis.
Also, keep an eye out on Amazon because I purchased the eight (8) piece set for only $46 bucks. My coworker didn’t believe me, but two months later we saw them again for $46.
Toolfreak
It’s fairly true that the teeth on these are softer than the metal used on the Knipex Pliers Wrench, but how badly the teeth get chewed up and how fast depends on how you’re using them.
If you aren’t regularly using them to hold, say, Grade 8 bolts while you drive the nuts on with an impact wrench and spin the bolt in the jaws a few times doing it, they will probably last a decent amount of time, but even just clamping down on hardened fasteners, the teeth lose their sharpness compared to tools made of harder metal.
Same goes for the Irwin Vise-Grip locking pliers. The metal is just softer, compared to the ones that used to be manufactured in the US.
TonyT
Lowe’s has the 6″ for $8.98, but 8″ is still $13.68. 10″ is on sale for $12.98.
I’m thinking about adding the 6″ via Lowe’s, maybe adding the Irwin pliers wrench (but have to order; my local store doesn’t stock it — I’ m not ready to pay for Knipex until I see how much I use pliers wrenches).
Chip
When I was younger,I would buy cheap pliers and wear them out.
Then I found Knipex, eBay used at first.
Then started watching prices on Amazon,and watching Kc tools deal of the day.
Last week KC had the new updated 10in plierwrench on sale 2 different days, regular grips,and multi grips for $42 each.
All of the good Knipex is on sale all over the net.
New XXL plierwrench is on the way from Amazon for $120.
The EDC minis are in the $20 range,from Zorro,Amazon,and KC. Yes I spent $200 on 3 wrenches.
My 7(yr old,used on eBay) bluepoint rebadged wouldn’t quite open up enough to change coredrill bits.
The new 10’s will open 2 inches,and the 16 will go to 3 7/8.
My plierwrench is the most used handtool,and the first one I grab every day..round, square or hex.
Zorro 20% on all hand tools,is good till the end of March I believe.
They have one other coupon for over $200 purchases.
ca
I’ve always like Irwin tools, but I’ve been going on a German tool frenzy as of late. NWS pliers for me.