The Eifel Plierench...what most people have been missing!

great white said:
Well, wanted to see what all the hubub was about, so bought this:

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7" kit. has the standard and the "wire" jaws. Missing the pipe wrench jaws, but that's not a big deal. The original canvas pouch was just a nice bonus.

Paid too much for it probably. Shipping kicked it up to a few bucks over 100 CAD. But, shipping is just a modern evil these days.
I "paid up" for it becuase of the condition. Most I've seen are rusty, pock marked, dirty or beat up pretty good. It is a tool after all....;)

Build date is March, 1947 as stamped on the gear head (47-3).

I guess I'll see if it lives up the "hype"....
Click to expand...
Plierench showed up yesterday.

I guess I’m odd man out on this because my overall impression of the plierench is:

Meh.

It certainly has a solid “clamp” action to it though. That, and the parallel jaws, are about about its only really useful “features” i can see in it so far.

The adjustment for size does take some getting used to. Need to develop the technique to pull one lever against the other to loosen it off and be ready for the adjustable jaw to slide right off if you’re not holding it right.

I also found you need to “fool around“ with the adjustment quite a bit to get it to fit a fastener and have the handles fall into a comfortable position. Ie: you can’t adjust it like a standard adjustable crescent wrench because you still have to squeeze the handles to close/clamp it. So you end up trying to hold the adjuster open, position the jaws and then try and release the adjuster at the right point as you squeeze the handles to have it hold. The alternative is to “guess“ where you want the jaw and then squeeze the handles to further close it, hoping the handles fall in a comfortable postion and the jaws clamp the fastener adequately. Some might find that an unfair/nit-picky comment, but its what I have observed so far and I find it quite annoying.

The “head” is obnoxiously big and the handles are obnoxiously thin. While it will does grip well, the thin handles limit how hard you can squeeze (ie: uncomfortable). I can certainly understand why the later years have rubber dipped handles.

The thin hadles and large head also make it front/top heavy. it can be a bit awkward to maneuver it if you’re not used to it being so front heavy with the thin handles. That might be nit-picking, but its still a valid observation.

It’s not an everyday tool for me, but it does have some pluses (adjustability, parallel jaws, clamping strength, etc).

It feels more along the lines of a gerber multi-tool: jack of all trades, master of none.

It may work well enough in a “pinch” to get you out of a jam when the proper tools aren’t at hand, but I find it a bit too cumbersome and awkward to be regular use type of tool. Just like a gerber multi-tool.

Its kind of like piers, but not really. Its kind of like an adjustable crescent wrench, but not really. Its kind of like a clamp, but not really. Its got a common screwdriver blade, but not really. Its got wire cutters, but not really. Like a multi-tool: its got “x” feature, but not really.

I’ll probably chuck it in the toolbox for my Argo. Will probably make a good “deployed maintenance” type of tool….ie: will get it done and get you out of a tight spot, but not exactly the right tool for the job. Like a gerber multi-too.

I can see where it may have its uses, but I can also understand why it never really became much of a “mainstream” tool. Its a “curiosity” at best.
 
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great white said:
Plierench showed up yesterday.

I guess I’m odd man out on this because my overall impression of the plierench is:

Meh.

It certainly has a solid “clamp” action to it though. That, and the parallel jaws, are about about its only really useful “features” i can see in it so far.

The adjustment for size does take some getting used to. Need to develop the technique to pull one lever against the other to loosen it off and be ready for the adjustable jaw to slide right off if you’re not holding it right.

I also found you need to “fool around“ with the adjustment quite a bit to get it to fit a fastener and have the handles fall into a comfortable position. Ie: you can’t adjust it like a standard adjustable crescent wrench because you still have to squeeze the handles to close/clamp it. So you end up trying to hold the adjuster open, position the jaws and then try and release the adjuster at the right point as you squeeze the handles to have it hold. The alternative is to “guess“ where you want the jaw and then squeeze the handles to further close it, hoping the handles fall in a comfortable postion and the jaws clamp the fastener adequately. Some might find that an unfair/nit-picky comment, but its what I have observed so far and I find it quite annoying.

The “head” is obnoxiously big and the handles are obnoxiously thin. While it will does grip well, the thin handles limit how hard you can squeeze (ie: uncomfortable). I can certainly understand why the later years have rubber dipped handles.

The thin hadles and large head also make it front/top heavy. it can be a bit awkward to maneuver it if you’re not used to it being so front heavy with the thin handles. That might be nit-picking, but its still a valid observation.

It’s not an everyday tool for me, but it does have some pluses (adjustability, parallel jaws, clamping strength, etc).

It feels more along the lines of a gerber multi-tool: jack of all trades, master of none.

It may work well enough in a “pinch” to get you out of a jam when the proper tools aren’t at hand, but I find it a bit too cumbersome and awkward to be regular use type of tool. Just like a gerber multi-tool.

Its kind of like piers, but not really. Its kind of like an adjustable crescent wrench, but not really. Its kind of like a clamp, but not really. Its got a common screwdriver blade, but not really. Its got wire cutters, but not really. Like a multi-tool: its got “x” feature, but not really.

I’ll probably chuck it in the toolbox for my Argo. Will probably make a good “deployed maintenance” type of tool….ie: will get it done and get you out of a tight spot, but not exactly the right tool for the job. Like a gerber multi-too.

I can see where it may have its uses, but I can also understand why it never really became much of a “mainstream” tool. Its a “curiosity” at best.
Click to expand...
I agree with pretty much everything you said. I bought one a few months ago and it mostly sits in my pliers drawer.
 
Yes, it’s a jack of all trades, but that’s why I have (now) five of them. I sprinkle them around the “jack of all trades” boxes—house tool box, RV tool box, welding box, portable fixit boxes, etc. They have generally replaced vise grips and smaller channel-locks, which are less-good jack-of-all-trades tools.

Rick “one tool to rule them all” Denney
 
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