the.com/locking pliers
The wrench that chose violence and never let go.
means A plier-type hand tool with a toggle-lock jaw that clamps onto something and stays clamped, hands-free, until you release the lever.
from Best known by the brand name Vise-Grip, invented in the early 20th century by an American blacksmith who reportedly built it from scrap after a machinist's vise broke on him mid-job. He patented the locking-jaw mechanism in the 1920s, and the tool became a farm-and-garage staple precisely because it could grip like a vise but travel in your pocket. 'Locking pliers' is the generic name that stuck once the patent expired and every toolmaker started making their own.
- origin
- Invented 1924 by a welder named William Petersen
- nickname
- Often called Vise-Grips, a brand turned generic
- mechanism
- Over-center cam locks jaws without constant hand pressure
- improvised use
- Famously doubles as a makeshift gearshift knob