Professional Tool Reviews for Pros

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Wrench Reviews & Buying Guides

We provide in-depth reviews of all types of the best wrenches, including combination wrenches, adjustable wrenches, pipe wrenches, and the best torque wrenches. Our reviews also include specialty tools like basin wrenches and coverage of your everyday open end wrench that might be found in any mechanics tool kit.  We find a ton of wrenches in the hands of auto mechanics and plumbers. But what about other trades and applications? While you may not, at first, think about using wrenches on the typical construction jobsite, we actually find a lot of crossover in these hand tools.  From grabbing onto machined bolts to performing maintenance on OPE equipment, wrenches play an important role across a range of categories. Wrenches even take on a particularly important role when you factor in the needs of electricians. We try, whenever possible, to draw distinctions between universally-popular features and those particularly relevant to the various trades.

Channellock Code Blue Long Nose Pliers 318CB Review
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Channellock Code Blue Long Nose Pliers 318CB Review

by Clint DeBoer

Channellock pliers have been a staple of many tool bags for years. Their signature blue “dipped” handles are easily recognized and have served the trades well for decades. This year, Channellock released a new line of tools it’s calling “Code Blue” which, ironically is one of the hospital terms for someone in cardiopulmonary arrest. I don’t think anyone will have a heart attack over these tools, but the new heavy duty Long Nose Pliers (318CB) may be just the thing if you’re looking for a new pair of rugged pliers.

Kobalt 27-Piece Xtreme Access Socket Set Review
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Kobalt 27-Piece Xtreme Access Socket Set Review

by Clint DeBoer

The new trend in sockets, which Kobalt has fully embraced with its 27-pc Xtreme Access Socket Set, is the universal SAE/Metric spline drive that fits 6 & 12 pt, spline, star, square and even most rounded sockets. But Kobalt also utilized a new 4-in-1 solution that has the ratchet surrounding the socket, leaving the center open. Why is that important? With the center open , your bolt can pass right through, letting you use the same socket for both shallow and deep applications. Combined with the specialized drive system, this 27-piece socket set covers nearly all the bases for most general socket use.

Milwaukee Diagonal Pliers 48-22-4106 Review
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Milwaukee Diagonal Pliers 48-22-4106 Review

by Ben Parker

As an electrician, diagonal pliers are definitely a tool I use a lot in the field. This is especially true with commercial work where you have to cut a lot of cable and wire. Milwaukee’s Diagonal Pliers (48-22-4106) made a clean cut every single time I went to use them. This week we’re working on a remodel job on a commercial building built in the 1930’s. While some walls have been torn down and rebuilt, there are still some that are the original concrete block. On these I have had to put conduit and electrical boxes. Normally, this would be easy, but the wall was literally riddled with nails and screws. I found that these pliers were able to cut through the nails and screws with little to no difficulty. It sort of became my go-to tool for getting through the nitty gritty of clearing my area.

Milwaukee 12'' Tongue & Groove Pliers 48-22-3212 Review
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Milwaukee 12-inch Tongue & Groove Pliers Review

by Ben Parker

Tongue and groove pliers are one of the many tools that are used by commercial electricians, especially when working with conduit. One of the main reasons is because of the compression couplings that are used to put conduit together, but also, they just plain come in handy. I would definitely recommend buying two of these if you work on putting up conduit. You will get your money’s worth if you find yourself frequently using compression couplings. I really like that Milwaukee angled the head of the tool at 45 degrees and not 80-90 degrees. It makes it easier to tighten the couplings in hard to reach places. Plus, the smooth transition grips are especially nice because it feels like the tool is a part of your hand. The grips also don’t feel as if they’re likely to slip, even when you’re applying significant pressure to the tool.

Milwaukee Pliers, Snips, and PEX Cutting Hand Tools Preview
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Milwaukee Hand Tools – Pliers, Snips, and PEX Cutting

by Clint DeBoer

When we attended the Milwaukee New Tools Event this year, Tim Albrecht showed us some of the new hand tools that fall into three basic categories: Pliers, Snips, and PEX Cutting. At the time, the info was under NDA, but now that has been lifted and we an bring you all of the first impressions and info we learned first-hand about the new tools. First up was a focus on build quality. First off, the new hand tools are all drop forged, machined for maximum precision, and treated to resist rust. In fact, using chrome plating instead of nickel, Milwaukee demonstrated the advanced corrosion resistance of their new tools by leaving two new aviation snips left in salt water overnight and then in the sun. Milwaukee’s tool showed considerable resistance to rust while the other brand had a ton of rust around the hinge points and across the blade.

Kobalt 63 Piece Mechanics Tool Set Review
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Kobalt 63 Piece Mechanics Tool Set Review

by Thomas Gaige

With the recent reintroduction of the Kobalt mechanics tools, we have been eager to put our hands on a set to see what they are all about. The Kobalt 63 Piece Mechanics Tool Set (0338513) that we got in includes some of the most common 1/4″ and 3/8″ drive Metric and SAE sizes sockets that you will need. Things like a 72 tooth ratchet and fully polished chrome plating on all the tools comes standard along with laser etching and red/blue colored markings for easy identification of SAE (standard) and MM (metric) sizes. With an ever-growing line of mechanics tools, it looks like Kobalt is not just about quality, but also variety. They want to make sure that they have what you need to do your projects – and they enlisted the help of Hendrick Motorsports to make sure they did it right this time.

C.H. Hanson Automatic Locking Pliers Review
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C.H. Hanson Automatic Locking Pliers Review

by Thomas Gaige

C.H. Hanson is a company that’s been around for a while, so we keep an eye out for innovations when their name pops up. This week the company announced they redesigned their locking jaw pliers to work faster and have a better grip. The new model is re-engineered to automatically lock onto your workpiece, without adjusting – regardless of size (provided it fits within the jaws, of course). Hone is the adjustment screw at the handle bottom. Now, a pressure setting screw is located within the mechanism features a Set & Forget method of operation. You just set the optimal clamping pressure (it can be very light to full force), and then the tool’s jaws will adjust on their own to whatever size object you need.

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