Malco Tools has announced that they are discontinuing their locking handle tool business, and will be selling their remaining inventory. In other words, they are shutting down production for their USA-made Eagle Grip locking pliers.
Malco Tools reopened the former Vise-Grip factory in Dewitt, Nebraska in 2018. The first USA-made Eagle Grip pliers started rolling out of the factory in 2021.
They supplied new locking pliers to Snap-on, seemingly under an OEM agreement, and also sold Eagle Grip tools under its own branding.
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Malco says in a social media announcement that “despite our best efforts, we have not seen the demand needed to make this product line sustainable for our company.”
Malco has not publicly announced their future plans for the DeWitt, Nebraska facility, or what will happen to the workers there, many of whom – I have been told – also worked at the plant when it produced tools under Vise-Grip branding.
Local news reports have said that Malco is seeking a potential buyer for the plant.
This is extremely frustrating and disappointing news.
Thank you to everyone that wrote in about this!
Tool Users’ Early Responses
Fans of the brand are understandably upset. Here are some of the comments on social media:
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@xranellax:
This is bullshit, you didn’t try hard enough. Your marketing and distribution network sucks.
@blaingummybear:
Where are they though?!? Your marketing needs to talk to your distributors
@therealphantomzero:
Where’s the marketing, why was it only sold under Amazon. Seriously needed to push these more!!!
@rdefrancisco:
wasn’t even aware they were available for sale yet TBH 😢 marketing
@untiondad1:
Found out about those a month ago. This was a marketing error. Too bad
@one_gen_behind:
Maybe next time you make a good product, try advertising it.
@tinman126:
Honestly, bigger marketing and more competitive pricing would’ve saved them. It’s a damn shame because these things are tanks. Gonna have to hang on to my pairs.
Could this have been Avoided?
Not to mince words, I agree with others’ sentiments – I believe that Malco and Eagle Grip could have done more.
Earlier this year, unhappy about a conversation I had with a Malco “social media specialist” that had messaged me, I reached out to Malco’s Director of Sales and Marketing, who I spoke extensively with when the Eagle Grip tools first launched. I found them to be intensely passionate and prideful about the new locking pliers.
To my disappointment, I never heard back. I don’t know the details, but I discovered that the Director had left the company after nearly 22 years.
I can’t say whether their emails were forwarded to whomever is handling sales and marketing at Malco or Eagle Grip now; I never heard back from anyone.
Now, a few months later, I cannot say I am surprised about the discontinuation. Disappointed? Absolutely. But surprised? No.
Did Malco and Eagle Grip do the best they could with respect to broadening their selection of locking pliers and clamps, getting the word out to tool users, or expanding retail availability?
It’s unfair to say that Malco didn’t try hard enough to make the Eagle Grip line successful, at least not without knowing inside information none of us are privy to.
How many people disappointed about this development were previously aware of the product line, but didn’t buy any Eagle Grip tools? You vote with your wallet. But if you would have bought the pliers had you seen more about them, that’s on Malco.
In my opinion Malco certainly could have done better in some regards. But even if they did, could the outcome have been different, or was this an inevitability?
Jaycob P.
It didn’t really surprise me considering they seemed to have missed the ball significantly.
1) It took nearly 4 years from the announcement to actually have products for sale basically killing any initial buzz.
2) They were way too expensive. You can get good working import locking pliers for under $15. Even the more expensive German imports are half as much. Old USA made Petersens are usually less than $5 when I find them.
3) They were barely advertised. Outside of the various tool groups/forums I’m in you would never know they existed.
4) They are barely available anywhere. The only two places I know that carried them in stock were Amazon and Harry J. Epstein.
It’ll be interesting to see if SBD handles the new USA Craftsman any better. They should have an advantage in advertising and availability. But they’ve been taking forever too and I can already see the price point being way beyond what most people will pay.
Stuart
1) It took time to do things right. It was conveyed to me at the time that there were many unanticipated challenges.
Keep in mind, that was 4 years of continued investment without sellable products being made.
2) Yep.
3) Yep.
4) Yep.
Doug Alan
We call them “Ladrones”. How can Spain put out Grip-On and Channellock have decent $25 pliers ?
$65 for a dang welders plier ? I buy the grip ons/tig or use Irwins for holding stuff together when sparks are flying .
Ryan
Yeah the Amazon thing really killed it for me, I only buy there if I can’t find a legitimate seller otherwise as I’ve had such bad luck with knockoffs being shipped out from their warehouses. I didn’t know HJE had it- I think Acme or the more industrial sites had them but then I get raked over on shipping.
Gordon
Amazon is a horrible place for them to sell. First, most people know those pliers as “Vice-Grips” So naturally the search will be flooded with Irwin Branded Vice-Grips. The Malco’s are the 3rd to last, and the most expensive on the page, by a significant amount.
Their listing is also “Eagle Grip by Malco”, whereas everyone else puts the brand name first. So as you’re scanning listings you see, Irwin, Milwaukee, Craftsman, Amazon Basics, Workpro, Eagle Grip, Duratech, Tekton, etc. “Eagle Grip” as a brand sounds like a Chinese company that wants you to think they’re American.
And no where in the title or short description do they say “Made in the USA”. And absolutely no mention of their guarantee or warranty.
They’re in a sea of knockoffs, and blending in. Not a great move.
Jared
That is a good point.
Out of curiosity I searched for “locking pliers” just now. I got Amazonbasics, Irwin, Workpro, Craftsman, Amazon Denali, Sata, Tekton, Crescent, Milwaukee, Gray, Titan, Williams, Performance tool, Task Tools, Grip-on and a whole bunch of random-generated Chinese company names, all before the first Eagle Grip (which is being sold by a third-party seller for above MSRP).
I doubt anyone who wasn’t already looking for “Eagle Grips” specifically ever found them or would know why they cost so much.
Gareth
Listen.. They absolutely did not do enough. I am a Mechanical Engineer and an absolute tool junkie and I had no ideal USA made Vise Grips were even available until a few months ago when I was on a massive deep dive into hand tool land. The advertising has to be balls to the wall to get the USA made fact into the hearts and minds of those of us who demand it. Price has nothing to do with it IMO. If Malco reached the right buyers through advertising this wouldn’t be happening. They also failed miserably from a marketing stand point. The old 3 pack should have been their first and foremost from the outset. The same one Vise Grip had for half a century. People want to buy things like this all together in a set. I would have happily paid $149.99 for a 3 piece USA made Malco set and had all the Vise Grips I needed for 90% of tasks. Having to buy these piecemeal from different sellers one at a time was a losing formula… A joke really. What were these people thinking. Really sad and I’m really pissed.
Gerald Mschkin
Likewise, I really feel bad for the hard working men and women doing an honest day’s work and being productive members of society. These are good paying careers we need and not these idiotic social media nonsense. Or grown adults playing children’s games and claiming this is a career.
These are truly the best locking pliers I’ve owned and the only locking pliers that came second were Nebraskan made Petersen locking pliers. Bought my first pair in the early 1970’s and the one parts I’ve had to replace were the springs and set screws. Last time I replaced either was more than 20 years ago and the teeth are still in great condition. My grand son whom is a mechanic is using them daily and despite after decades of hard use they still work well.
Sincerely my condolences to the workers; I’ve been through many lay offs and remember being laid off before Christmas as well. We as a nation however need to prioritize the trades and have blue collar hard working Americans be seen as role models. Not these low IQ vapid celebrities on social media.
Nick Donovan
Couldn’t agree more…everybody wants American, nobody wants to pay for it! Terrible mindset that keeps the local guys down and Bezos flying in the stratosphere…
MM
Wow, I’m sorry to hear that the plant is shutting down. Like Stuart wrote I’m not all that surprised, but I am certainly disappointed. This could have been a great success story about reviving US tool manufacturing and providing both good tools for workers as well as jobs but instead it has become a statistic in the opposite category.
Now that said, I do think that some of those people commenting on social media have a point: I don’t think that Malco did a very good job promoting these new made in USA tools. The only place I read or heard about the Malco plant re-opening was here on Toolguyd. If I didn’t happen to see it here I’d have missed it completely.
Jared
Like you, I think I would have missed the news if I weren’t reading Toolguyd. I expect most people, even avid users of locking pliers, completely missed the news. If you didn’t read about them and never saw them in person… why would the average person even consider these pliers that are easily twice the price of already premium offerings on the market?
Despite that lack of promotion, they had a second problem: too expensive. When they finally came for sale in Canada, they were $80+ each and only sold at a couple places. Amazon was one of them which, considering it’s reach, could be enough I suppose – but that doesn’t let people see them in person to appreciate the difference.
That price is outlandish. I wanted a pair, but I assumed that initial price was a temporary high as the first few trickled across the border. Do you know how much they are now? $103-$165.
I don’t do the work I used to anymore and probably deserve the “tool polisher” moniker. I pay too much for premium tools I only “lightly” use all the time – yet at over $100 a pair, these pliers are so expensive I would fear to use them for the things I use locking pliers for. It would make me sad to chip the chrome or accidentally get a blob of welding splatter on them.
Mikedt
If you can’t outprice a german made product (knipex locking pliers $40) then you probably shouldn’t be in that business.
67exec
I remember when Irwin moved vise-grip production to China, new USA made LP10WCs were bringing $65 a pair. When I bought my LP10WCs off the tool truck last year, they were $85. The weight, the feel, and the improvements that made over the old drawer full of Petersen’s that I already own made the price reasonable.
I love my eagle-grips, I’ve ordered 2 more in the 7 and 10 with wire cutters. I’m hard on tools, and see no reason shy of loosing them that my current pair of 7 and 10 won’t last my lifetime and my kids lifetime.
Mark
Well to be honest, I don’t think they could have done anything different. Let’s face it most of us have all the locking pliers we need. The only people who would be buying them would be someone replacing a pair that they lost or welded on. I think that they abandoned the line too quickly. And besides that they should have done thier homework a little better.
Jared
These sure didn’t last long. Considering the investment to produce these premium pliers and reopen the old factory, I presume that means their sales were dismal and Malco needed to exit fast. That seems like a strong signal this outcome was inevitable and there was no hope of saving it.
It would be great if someone else bought the plant – but I doubt anyone will take over to produce the same thing. Malco already proved that a loser.
Steve
My guess would be the consumers they are targeting already have the USA made pliers they are trying to sell as there were tens of millions of units produced over the last century and they are a very durable good. They are readily available second hand and the market is saturated. It was also difficult getting distribution in a crowded market at established retailers.
MM
That was/is my situation exactly. I bought many pairs of USA-made Vise Grips years ago. I used them a lot for automotive work because I couldn’t afford full sets of fancy wrenches at the time. I also did a lot of welding and they’re super useful for holding parts for that so I stocked up. I remember picking up multiple assortment packs when they were on sale more than 20 years ago…..and they’re still kicking. Many of them have some rust here and there where the chrome is failing but they still work great.
I could use another one or two of the locking chain clamp/wrench but I don’t think Malco ever got around to making those.
Tim
That didn’t take long.
Peter Fox
I had heard and unconfirmed rumor of this within the last month it is quite sad to see it confirmed. I purchased a couple ( a 7″ and 10″ curved jaw) from HJE last year and am really impressed with the quality of them. Definitely a premium product both in design and quality.
The lack of marketing and exposure is definitely troubling, however Malco is not exactly a household name and I would bet they just did not have enough of a presence or resources to do much more. The high price did not likely help either.
Personally I think that there may be a few more reasons that they did not see the sales that they were hoping for. For one there are a lot more choices for pliers that have aggressive teeth and a strong grip when you don’t care of you mark the work than there used to be. The proliferation and ease of purchase of Knipex cobra and alligator pliers and their clones along with all sorts of specialty pliers such as the Engineer branded screw removing pliers offer some real advantages in many use cases. Even in my own applications I find that I don’t use Visegrip style pliers as much as I used to. They have become more of a special purpose tool rather than the all around staple that they used to be. Second the proliferation of decent clones such as the Bremen ones from harbor freight. Not only are you competing against the Irwin Visegrip you have legitimately good clones as well.
What disappoints me the most from a consumer perspective is this likely meant we may never see any of the old specialty designs that Peterson used to make ever come back into production. Patterns like the 6LC and the bent long nose designs that are super handy in certain cases but very hard to find used.
John L
Bent long nose FTW. 2 years ago was using mine to hold something I was hitting with a hammer and hit the pliers instead, breaking a jaw off. Been looking for a replacement pair since to no avail.
It has however revealed the ignorance of a couple of local professional tool outlet “experts” when they suggested I heat up a straight pair and bend them. Simply looking at the broken part will tell you that was.a cast part nothing like the forged and stamped frame.
Mark M.
That’s a shame. But if your hook is being made in the USA, you have to get out and wave that flag and establish some partnerships to create awareness and loyalty. Really no excuses on their part, tho- you can approach any decent business school and get a team of BBA or grad students to put a decent marketing plan together for free if you don’t know how to do it yourself.
WPenn
I hate to see this. Were the Eagle Grips pricey? Oh yeah, but I have to say it is one of the few tools I have ever bought and known they could be passed down for generations. They are/were(?) amazingly well built. Taking them out of the box and using them for the first time honestly brought a smile to my face, and even though I love tools, not a lot can do that. Now admitedly I don’t do any sort of professional work that requires the use of these day in and day out anymore and honestly even when I was locking-pliers or vice grips were a tool of last resort. Wven so, I hate to see these go and really encourage folks to pick these up somewhere. If you aren’t convinced by the words of a random dude on the internet check out the Project Farm video on YouTube “Best Locking Pliers” they don’t dominate in every catagory but they really do standout as something special.
Tator
Wouldn’t be surprised if TTI ends up buying the plant to make more of their Milwaukee USA hand tools.
Joe H
I didn’t even know they were available yet.
fred
I hope that Malco’s losses in this deal does not cripple them. My understanding is that they are an employee-owned company- which might put a different twist on both decision making and handling a loss. The flip side is that they may be less beholden to Wall Street – and hopefully they recognized their mistake and made this course correction before it did too much damage.
Stacey Jones
So are they selling the remaining inventory somewhere with steep discounts?
Kevin M Smith
I had no idea these existed.
Paramount
I bought a pair awhile back and though the price was steep, the workmanship and quality is wonderful. Even the packaging was high end.
I’ll probably try to pick up another pair, if I can find them.
JD
I never bought any because I have locking pliers that are good enough. A mix of vintage made in USA Vise Grips, Modern Milwaukee’s and cheap ones I use for welding. Premium pliers just aren’t a necessity in a recession for most people. Unfortunately, I suspect the American tool industry is going to get smacked hard over the next year.
Chris Zawistowski
So the marketing director quit after 22 years? That tells me that big ego ruined this venture. My guess was that he quit out of frustration after being sabotaged and undermined in his efforts to properly market this great product. Cryin’ shame but it happens all the time in corporate America.
Stuart
I really don’t know.
I tried a few times to loop him into an email conversation I was having with their hired “social media specialist,” but he never replied back. This seemed very uncharacteristic given how responsive he was when we talked earlier. So I looked him on LinkedIn, and it showed he had moved on to work at a different company.
The details aren’t my business.
Many of people moved to different jobs for lots of reasons these past few years. I wouldn’t read into it too much.
John L
Their biggest difficulty would have been battling for shelf space at chain retailers. You cant just walk in and talk to individual store or even regional managers and convince them youve got a great product can we display them?
Shelf space is negotiated over years long contracts where the manufacturers made concessions for discount structures, not just for square footage of display space but to keep competitors out. Home Depot for instance would have Malco products displayed at the entrance to the HVAC aisle, but I bet their hands were tied over locking pliers migrating into the tool section and I would be surprised if they were contractually obligated against bringing them into the store at all.
This is often the sole reason manufacturers make acquisitions of their competitors, especially if their products are incrementally better than their own. Absorb their shelf space, and not have to compete with them.
Travis
That is too bad. I purchased two or three pairs off of Amazon and the quality was amazing – better than the original ViceGrips I think. My friends that used them also commented on the fit and finish. I agree, the marketing was terrible. Malco is well known is specific trades but not across the board. Hope someone can pick it up and make a better go of it.
Jack Smith
This is a shame because these were actually real vice grips. The outsourced stuff that says vice grip now is Chineseum and it is not as good.
I have a pair of Peterson vise grips and they look like nothing fancy and they outperform the new stuff that is made in China because I have those as well.
I should probably buy a pair of these Malcos while I can probably still get them. I didn’t buy them because I was not in dire need of them because I have some vice grips.
I do not believe they did the best they could have done in marketing though. Yes this is a shame and I hope somebody else picks them up but I’m not expecting it.
The Peterson vise grips I have do not have any of the comfort grip coating or anything like that they are just plain steel but those things are a beast and they hold like crazy. I need to get some Malco’s or some vintage Peterson vise grips.
I’m getting old so I don’t need a huge supply. But any young tradesman I would recommend you either try to get some Malco vise grips or some vintage Peterson ones and take care of them. They are vastly superior to the new stuff. And don’t worry about that plastic comfort grip bullshit it’s irrelevant.
JoeM
I’ve been distracted, I wish I had caught these. My new favourite tool place sells Malco, and I probably could’ve got these for an amazing price. I currently have a small set of Mastercraft or Jobmate from Canadian Tire, and they’re European Triggered, instead of Standard.
(I currently have a cold, so, if someone could correct me if I got that wrong? Mine you have to pull a little arm to unlock the pliers, that extends the fixed arm of the pliers? I grew up using Vise Grip style ones where opening was done by pushing on the trigger bar that extended back? So, the inverse mechanism. As seen on these Malco ones.)
I’ll have to keep lookin’ I guess! I don’t think I could’ve bought these fast enough for my liking, and I guess that’s a little bit comforting to know it’s not my fault I missed them. Just a bit of absent mind, and slowed priorities.
JR Ramos
I wondered awhile back if this might happen at some point…sad to see that it is so. I’m in that camp of having not bought any yet because I already have a bunch of good old Irwin models and some surprisingly good pairs from Tekton (Taiwan…a bit better than the typical China ones).
It’s been a long time since I was in purchasing but I recall Malco as being one of the more difficult vendors to deal with and to keep in our stores. They were one that really wanted you to fill out their line rather than perhaps stocking just some random popular tools. At some point we ditched the direct relationship and began buying from a wholesaler even though it cost a bit more. This is one of the things that is such an old school approach to doing business and greatly limits exposure, especially in today’s marketplace. I don’t know if Malco is still operating that way but they’re a little of a niche company to begin with. If they could have had these vise grips in Home Depot and Lowes and Ace Hardware they may have sold boat loads of them, or at least enough to justify staying afloat. But most stores aren’t going to be interested in stocking a bunch of specialty sheet metal and fab tools when they aren’t catering to professionals. I don’t know how many companies I saw like that and only a handful would capitulate and allow us to choose products piecemeal – generally those that did saw a lot of repeat orders from us because those products did sell well. Smaller line and representation, but good profits from what they allowed us to sell without committing to a larger lineup.
It’s probably hard enough to compete with cheap-china model pricing or the recognition of brands like Irwin and Milwaukee that are decent and still very affordable, but if more companies could have stocked these eagle grips alongside those other brands, I suspect a fair amount of people would have swallowed the premium price to have nice domestically-made tools again. When manufacturers push line sales and company purchasers have embraced the race-to-the-bottom pricing, quality tools don’t stand as much of a chance. It’s alarming how many Good tools have just disappeared from the market and many have not been replaced with equivalent quality from other brands. Hearing the Malco revolution was very refreshing a few years back, sad to see it end so quickly.
Mike (the other one)
This isn’t a patented design, and EVERY tool brand has some version of this type of plier, and most of them are made in China, or Taiwan for decent ones. Sure they are crap, but do they necessarily need to be premium? It’s not exactly a precision instrument.
These are nice, but almost too nice to use while welding, etc. To an extent, locking pliers are somewhat disposable, and multiples may needed, making the price that much more of an issue.
$50 per pair is hard to justify when I can get Bremen’s at HF (which are very good) for less than $10, and Proto’s version (which is a rebranded Grip-on) for $25.
They needed a long nose version, and other variants. Also, they were identical to the Vise Grip design, with no new features, or anything patentable.
They are pretty, but do they really need so much chrome, especially on the jaws? It’s going to flake, and they will be slippery if your hands are oily.
Ignoring the price, these were not easy to find, and no Brick and Mortar stores had them, so hardly anyone other than tool enthusiasts even knew they existed. There was next to no advertising, so there was no one to buy them. Of course there were people dumb enough to spend almost twice as much for the Snap-On rebranded version, but not enough to make a difference.
I applaud Malco for trying, but this was doomed to fail for all of the above reasons. I hope SBD can buy the plant and figure out a way to make these, the Original Vise Grips, but in a profitable way.
PW
This is bitterly disappointing to me. I know these were pricey, but they were extremely well reviewed. Project Farm even put it on the “best of” list for the year!
I had hoped Malco would succeed enough to show there was still interest in quality domestic tools.
I also seriously question the marketing and distribution choices they made. Snap on was a smart partner choice. But beyond that…Amazon? Nobody who shops on Amazon knows what Malco is, or that “Eagle Grip” isn’t a Chinese knock off. Or would think to search for either term.
I’m sure Malco is making a business decision that seems sensible on their end, but it really feels like they didn’t try very hard on everything that happens after you have a working assembly line.
DC
Well Malco didn’t market these Vise-Grips and try to put them at HD or Lowes. I bought mine via Amazon.com and Harry J. Epstein. They’re nice with that thick chrome plating but nothing special. I’ve been emailing them with no replies about producing a long nose version for a couple of years. I guess I’ll go to Knipex or Tekton for those.
XRH07
I mean, how would we know that they didn’t try to get into HD/Lowe’s? Both already carry Malco products on their websites (Lowe’s has EagleGrips on their website too) But getting physical retail space is a whole other ballgame and Malco is a small fish with very little leverage compared to most everyone else.
I think the safe conclusion there is that they wouldn’t have moved much when they’re on a shelf next to a pair of Irwins or Craftsman, Husky, etc for 4-5x the price anyways. I don’t think the typical Lowe’s/HD shopper is looking to drop nearly $60 on a pair of locking pliers.
JR Ramos
If anyone is trying to hunt these down, Fireball Tools has just a few in stock of a couple models…standard pricing.
RC Cola
It’s a damn shame ! What a great pair of pliers. I discovered these pliers a few months back . I have noticed however that the MAC (Proto, Stanley / Black&Decker ) locking pliers in their flyer look very similar. I read that Malco had been making pliers for Snap -On . Not sure how much truth there is to that.
Chris
I still use made in USA Irwin’s or the Chinese ones and are the very best, hard to beat original vise grips
Jerry
I was wondering about their marketing as well. I don’t think Amazon was the best choice for selling as people there generally shop by price. Somewhere like Ace Hardware or similar would have been a better choice but then again maybe the hardware chains didn’t want to carry them. The first time I actually saw Eagle Grip pliers in an actual store was last week in a small local family owned farm supply store and got a pair. They are as good or better than the original made in DeWitt Vise-Grips and the guy in the store said they were selling a lot of them but I think their distribution to physical stores was too little too late. I really hope someone takes over the factory because the quality really is there.
Mark
Geez I am thankful I am an avid “Project Farm” watcher on youtube and learned about these on the video he made. Sad I only bought the 10″ curved. I would’ve liked the 7″ as well and was really hoping they would make a needlenose pair eventually. The fit and finish is amazing and better than the Grip-ons (spain) and Knipex (Germany, but rebrand?) needlenoses I have purchased as well.
I’d like to get a pair of the 7″‘s but don;t think I’ll be buying them on backorder (acme/TTT) – which doesn’t make much sense since they say they will be selling remaining inventory…sad. But with Milwaukee & SBD still chatting about US made hand tools lets hope we get some other options soon.
Richard Childers
I bought the 10 inch ones from Snap-on and also bought 8 inch off Amazon and would buy more even at the price point. They are the best in fit and finish you can buy as a diesel mechanic that is going to retire in 4 months I still would buy more today. USA tools are still the best tools your money can buy. I am with most people who think they just didn’t try with good marketing. It’s a shame I will never buy anything made buy irwin after what they did to the town of De- Witt Nebraska and it’s people.
J-van
I recently just learned of eagle grip, and I purchased the 7 curved and the 7 straight under the Malco name I also purchased 2. 11 R and a 10 straight under the snap on stamp . The quality and the fit and finish is second to none . It’s a quality tool made in the USA !!! and I am very disappointed that now they’re going to close the factory. I learned of them 2 months ago and now they’re gonna close down in the end of December . I agree with all of the other statements that have been made on this site. They’re advertising is terrible. No one knew about them, and I have purchased five items and now they’re going to close. The snap on man and says once he puts one pair of those pliers in the shop and guys see them and use them everybody in the shop buys them. He said they’re a hot seller. Everybody likes them and now they’re closing the factory it makes no sense. I don’t know who the corporate Bean counters are, but they need to give the product a little bit more time and definitely step up the advertising.
Ian
Very sad. I waited for them to arrive in New Zealand but…
I still buy NOS Peterson vise grips when I find them in original boxes. Getting harder to find now. Almost all the small tool dealers here are gone now replaced by mega centers and of course, Amazon.