It Took Us 100 Years To Finally Add This Helpful Feature To Vice Grips

Vise-Grips, or locking pliers, have been around since the 1920s. They've become a staple of most toolboxes and can stand the test of time so well they can be older than the person using it. However, it was only after a full century of their existence that one of the most useful features started showing up: An Allen wrench socket that allows you to tighten them up on whatever they're gripping.

Normally the adjustment screw at the bottom of the handle has to be turned by hand to get the pliers to tighten down. They're built to grip, so looseness can sabotage whatever you're working on, whether it's tightening down a bolt or holding a project in place while you drill, sand, or polish. However, manually tightening the screw often leaves enough give so that the pliers can slip.

Enter the Allen wrench socket. As the above video demonstrates, tightening down the screw with a wrench or with an impact driver equipped with an Allen bit locks the pliers down so even your most strenuous activity won't budge it. It's a great upgrade to a vital tool, but unfortunately it's still far from universal. Numerous users in the video's comments section report that their Vise-Grips lack the socket, and I've got a brace of them myself, none of which have this handy little feature.

The socket may not fundamentally change the core function of locking pliers, but it does make them much more useful (and stable) to use. It makes tightening them up a cinch even when you're wearing bulky work gloves, and allows you to tighten them far more than you'd be able to by hand.

The socket also eliminates a lot of the trial and error of using Vise-Grips. Instead of taking them off, tightening them, then snapping them back into place, you can tighten them with an impact driver from wide open all the way down to super tight in seconds.

The socket is also a huge boon as your tool ages (or if it's already a senior). It can enable you to turn an adjustment screw that otherwise won't budge because of corrosion, dirt, or just a long history of heavy use. Like a lot of tools, Vise-Grips tend to live around a lot of paint, oil, or water, so a hex key can also let you get some leverage when the screw is too slippery to grip by hand.

If you're looking to add a Vise-Grip to your own toolbox, they're one of the budget-friendly finds at Home Depot that deserves a dedicated spot, and one of a raft of Fireball tools you can get for under $50. Just verify they've got the Allen wrench socket before you click that Buy button.