2021 test14 productsHand Tools
Which Lineman Pliers Brand Wins?
A head-to-head test of 14 lineman pliers options with the measured results for each. See how they ranked and watch the full test video.
Budget pick
Doyle or GearWrench (presenter names both as tied affordable picks)
Price shown in test: $22
Check price on Amazon
Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Scroll sideways to see all measurements. Products are listed in the order they finished.
| Product | Claimed specs | Made in | Weight | Grip test 1, socket extension, torque before losing grip | Grip test 2, metal roofing screw, torque before losing grip | Copper wire cut (14 gauge, 3 strands) | 16 penny nail cut | Deck screw cut | Socket adapter breaking force | Leverage profile (rivet to cutter opening distance) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Knipex$42 | cuts hardened steel, high leverage design, forged construction, claims 50 percent less effort than conventional combination pliers, no handle wobble | Germany | 455 g | 9 in lb, better than average | 11 in lb, very small amount of tooth wear | 32 lb of squeezing force | 69 lb, second place just behind the Channellock | 108 lb, second place behind the Channellock, small amount of wear to the cutting knives | 522 lb, rivet launched across the room, some damage to the cutting knives | 6.2 mm, nearly as much leverage as the GearWrench and Channellock's 5.7 mm |
| 2Channellock$27 | XLT technology to increase performance and reduce hand fatigue, forged US steel, laser heat treated cutting edges, precision knife and anvil cutting edges, no handle wobble, described as very smooth | USA | 469 g | 9 in lb, performed well | 15 in lb, tied with a brand the transcript labels Doyle but that the video's own closing recap clarifies was the DeWalt ('the DeWalt and the Channellocks also performed very well at 15 in lb'); very minor tooth wear | 25 lb, the best (easiest) cut of all 14 brands | 66 lb, the best (easiest) cut of all 14 brands | 104 lb, the best (easiest) cut of all 14 brands, cutting knives still in great shape | 395 lb, body of the pliers let go, damage to the cutting knives about average | 5.7 mm, tied with the GearWrench for the shortest distance of all brands measured, i.e. the best leverage profile |
| 3Fujiya$74 | high leverage design, no handle wobble | Japan | 353 g, second lightest of all 14 brands | 29 in lb, by far the best of all 14 brands, 'totally crushes the competition' | 11 in lb; presenter notes the Fujiya's horizontal tooth design (instead of crosshatch) just wasn't able to gain a good grip on the screw despite the strong result on the first grip test; very little tooth wear | 27 lb, performed extremely well despite slightly shorter handles than average | 89 lb | 135 lb, cutting knives still look as good as new | 368 lb, the lowest breaking force of all 14 brands, one jaw broke; presenter notes it is 'definitely not designed for severe abuse,' though the cutting knives themselves held up exceptionally well | not tested |
| 4Vampliers$45 | marketed as the world's best lineman pliers, removes stubborn screws, steel and copper wire cutter, formidable grip due to vertical serrations instead of a crosshatch design, no handle wobble | Japan | 349 g, the lightest of all 14 brands | 24 in lb, second best of all 14 brands behind the Fujiya | 20 in lb, by far the best of all 14 brands, very small amount of wear | 35 lb; presenter notes the handles are slightly shorter than most other brands | 109 lb, again attributed partly to slightly shorter handles | 167 lb, the hardest of all 14 brands to cut through the screw, cutting knives experienced a little more wear than average | 851 lb, the highest of all 14 brands before breaking, body broke near the rivet joint with quite a bit of damage to the cutting knives | not tested |
| 5Doyle$18 | sold at Harbor Freight, high leverage design, laser hardened cutting edges, claims to cut ACSR, screws, nails, and most hardened wire, aggressive crosshatch grip zone, riveted joint claimed for smooth action with no wobble (small amount of handle wobble observed in practice) | Taiwan | 472 g | 10 in lb, tied for the lead with the Klein Tools at that point in testing | 10 in lb, moved into last place at that point in testing, though with less tooth wear than the Irwin | 30 lb, moved into the lead at that point in testing | 84 lb, better than the Irwin | 120 lb, performed far better than the Irwin, less damage to the cutting knives | 581 lb, made a loud snapping sound before breaking, broke in the same general location as the Irwin, quite a bit of damage to the cutting knives | not tested |
| 6GearWrench Pit Bull$22 | claims 35 percent easier cutting, claims the longest cut life at 50 percent longer, laser hardened cutting edges, cut capacity 5 gauge, no handle wobble, crosshatch jaw tooth design | China | 468 g | 5 in lb, the worst of all 14 brands, 'really struggled' | 12 in lb, slightly more tooth wear than the Doyle and Irwin | 26 lb, took the lead at that point, second best overall behind the Channellock's 25 lb | 77 lb | 116 lb, took the lead at that point in testing, small amount of damage to the cutting knives | 827 lb, third highest of all 14 brands, spit out part of the cutting knife before the body broke near the rivet joint, quite a bit of damage | 5.7 mm, tied with the Channellock for the shortest distance of all brands measured, i.e. the best leverage profile |
| 7Irwin$15 | carbon alloy steel for strength and durability, induction hardened cutting edges, machine jaws for maximum gripping strength, very small amount of handle wobble | China | 524 g | 6 in lb | 13 in lb, only minor tooth wear | 38 lb | 100 lb | 151 lb, small amount of damage to the cutting knives | 845 lb, second highest of all 14 brands, body broke near the rivet joint with a lot of damage to the cutters | not tested |
| 8Southwire Fire Edge$21 | claims 15 percent easier cuts, fire induction hardened blades for cutting ACSR wire, no handle wobble | China | 495 g | 9 in lb, nearly as good as the Doyle | 12 in lb, performed better than the Doyle, very little tooth wear | 31 lb, nearly as good as the Doyle, moved into second place at that point | 86 lb, nearly the same as the Doyle | 154 lb, nearly the same as the Irwin, cutting knives still in great condition | 812 lb, fourth highest of all 14 brands, one jaw finally broke; cutting knives held up quite a bit better than the Doyle despite the higher pressure | 6.9 mm |
| 9DeWalt$24 | made of chrome vanadium steel, induction hardening for edge retention, crosshatch tooth design for better grip, no handle wobble | China | 463 g | 6 in lb, slightly better than the GearWrench | 15 in lb, tied with the Channellock for a strong result; the transcript mislabels this specific sentence as 'The Doyle moves into the lead at 15 in lb,' but the video's own closing recap for this test explicitly says 'the DeWalt and the Channellocks also performed very well at 15 in lb,' and the established brand testing order (this segment falls right after GearWrench, matching the DeWalt's position in every other test) confirms this figure belongs to the DeWalt, not a second Doyle result | 31 lb; the transcript again mislabels this sentence as 'The Doyle performed the same as the Southwire, making the cut at only 31 lb,' but by the same testing-order logic (falling right after GearWrench's 26 lb result) this is treated as the DeWalt's figure, not a second Doyle result | 73 lb, better than the GearWrench | 129 lb, third place behind the Doyle, cutting knives nearly as good as new | 558 lb, one jaw broke, cutting knives experienced very little damage | 7.2 mm |
| 10Milwaukee$34 | claims maximum leverage, easier cuts, lifetime warranty, forged strength, machine precision, no handle wobble | China | about 500 g | 8 in lb | 10 in lb, same as the Doyle brand's first result, a little more tooth wear than the Doyle and Channellock | 27 lb, performed very well but not enough to take the lead from the Channellock | 84 lb, same as the Doyle | 109 lb, nearly as good as the Channellock, small amount of knife damage | 613 lb, rivet finally snapped, quite a bit of damage to the cutting knives | 7 mm |
| 11Ideal$36 | custom alloyed premium quality tool steel, high leverage design, designed to cut hardened wire, bolts, and stainless steel wire, no handle wobble | USA | 486 g | 7 in lb | 13 in lb, performed better than average, about the same tooth wear as the Milwaukee | 35 lb; presenter notes it just doesn't offer as much leverage as some of the other brands | 79 lb, described as a very respectable fourth position result | 132 lb, small amount of wear to the cutting knives | 454 lb, jaw tossed away from the workpiece, some damage to the cutting knives | not tested |
| 12Klein Tools$44 | heavy duty cutting knives claimed to cut ACSR, screws, nails, and most hardened wire, high leverage design with a claimed 46 percent more cutting power, induction hardening for edge retention | USA | 510 g | 10 in lb, tied with the Doyle for the lead at that point in testing | 11 in lb, same as the Knipex, very little tooth wear | 31 lb, slightly better than the Knipex but not enough to take the lead | 75 lb | 129 lb, small amount of wear to the cutting knives | 660 lb, body broke near the rivet joint, damage about the same as the Knipex | not tested |
| 13Wiha$54 | crosshatch jaw tooth design for gripping and pulling, no handle wobble | Vietnam | 521 g, second heaviest of all 14 brands | 4 in lb, the worst of all 14 brands, 'really struggled' | 11 in lb, very little tooth wear | 37 lb; presenter notes it just doesn't offer as much leverage as some other brands | 90 lb, required more force than average | 139 lb, a little more cutter damage than most other brands | 752 lb, jaw began to bend then broke, quite a bit of damage to the cutting knives | not tested |
| 14Typhone East$13 | the least expensive brand tested, machine jaws claimed for superior gripping strength, horizontal indentations inside the jaws for twisting wires, induction hardened cutting edges, small amount of handle wobble out of the box | China | 365 g | 9 in lb | 12 in lb, caused quite a bit of wear and tear to the teeth | 71 lb, by far the worst (hardest) cut of all 14 brands, 'really struggled' | 161 lb, by far the worst (hardest) cut of all 14 brands, 'really struggled' | failed the test entirely: the handles bent during the attempt and the pliers were not able to make the cut, with quite a bit of damage to the cutting knives | not tested; excluded from this final destructive test, a genuine skip rather than a transcript gap, since the pliers had already failed and been damaged during the preceding deck screw test | not tested |
How it was tested
- grip strength test 1: pliers clamp a socket extension under about 100 lb of jig squeezing force, torque to slip measured in in-lb
- grip strength test 2: pliers grip a metal roofing screw from the front jaws, torque to slip measured in in-lb, tooth wear also assessed
- cutting force to sever 14 gauge insulated copper wire (3 strands), measured in lb of squeezing force via a hydraulic press
- cutting force to sever a 16 penny nail, measured in lb
- cutting force to sever a deck screw, measured in lb, cutting knife wear also assessed
- destructive test: force required to break the pliers cutting through a socket adapter, measured in lb, failure mode and knife damage also assessed
- leverage profile measurement: distance in mm from the rivet/axle center to the cutter opening (partial data, only some brands measured)
- weight comparison