Comments on: Stanley’s FatMax Groove Joint Pliers

By: alice

alice — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 16:54:51 +0000

I picked these up a couple weeks ago at Walmart, of all places, and love them. The real advantage is the size of the jaws; great for close quarters work but strong enough for really heavy duty applications! I actually gave away my Iwrin GrooveLocks because the jaws were just too big for most jobs.

By: Stuart Deutsch

Stuart Deutsch — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 16:56:35 +0000

Tom, what I intended to convey was that Irwin GrooveLocks can sometimes self-adjust themselves. I’ve crushed soft materials before by applying pressure via the upper handle (connected to lower jaw) while the upper jaw was being pulled down via the lower handle. The lower jaw slide upwards and gripped the materials a bit too tight. To its credit, I love my GrooveLocks and was knowingly using them improperly.

Also, although it’s not really relevent, I wish that Irwin’s pliers had the same soft handle material as Vise Grips. They have a similar color scheme, but the texture isn’t even remotely similar. I think the Stanley might have a small edge in the grip department but cannot confirm it until I get my hands on one of the new pliers.

By: Tom C

Tom C — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 16:23:58 +0000

Stuart, the Irwin Groovelock can work the same way as the Fat Max, you push the button and move the jaws to the opening you want, you don’t always have to slide the jaws together. Seems to me that a choice between two ways to adjust is better than one way.

As for “oversized” handles they are a lot more comfortable to grip really hard on something. “Old Don” should try it, even Knipex has got oversized handles on some models now.

By: Britannia

Britannia — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 16:00:42 +0000

Looks just like my pair of Irwin/Vise Grip Groovelocks. What makes these things different?

By: Old Donn

Old Donn — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 00:29:54 +0000

Whether the tool’s good or bad, do they really need these oversized, multi-colored handles? Stanley’s not alone, seems like everybody’s got them, the only difference being the colors. I’ve had a set of thin handled Knipex for years. I’ll stick with them.

By: Teacher

Teacher — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 18:43:49 +0000

bc, a lot of guys would be glad to give you theirs. I tried a pair of crapogrips and hated them.

I might try more Stanley tools, but I still have a grudge against Stanley Works for lying repeatedly claiming that their Husky line was USA made when in fact they were being made in Taiwan. It took two lawsuits and fines from the FTC to get them to start accurately labeling Husky hand tools.

By: bc

bc — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 16:05:52 +0000

This reminds me of the craftsman robogrip… i loved those pliers (someone took mine).