Harbor Freight has launched new Icon 9″ long nose slip-joint pliers that look to take on Snap-on’s popular but pricey Talon-Grip pliers.
The new Icon pliers feature 3 opening positions, cross-hatched teeth, a shear-style wire cutter, and dipped handle grip.
They look like great long nose pliers already, even without the 3-position opening adjustment.
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The online images do a great job of selling the pliers. Just looking at the 3 jaw styles – fine, coarse, and shaped for rounder parts – I’m ready to visit my local Harbor Freight store to buy a pair.
The new Icon pliers looks very close in design to the Snap-On Talon Grip, which I’ve never considered buying due to the over $70 price tag. The Icon pliers are $25, and regular Harbor Freight coupons will bring it down further.
I’ve avoided larger long nose pliers in the past, typically favoring smaller pliers for gripping smaller parts. But as I said, I think Harbor Freight has done a great job at making the new Icon pliers look appealing.
The wire cutter seems discrete, hardly taking up any space along the gripping edge.
As with other Icon hand tools, Harbor Freight is backing these with a lifetime warranty.
I’m not usually a fan of copycat tools like this, but I’m sold. Once it’s in stock, I get my next HF coupon, and I find some time, I’ll be off the store to get one.
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Price: $25
Daniel
I have two pairs of the Snap-On 7 inch and one of the 5 inch.
Not cheap, but quality, made in the U.S.A. tools usually aren’t!
I use them daily and they are absolutly amazing!
I may pick up the 9 inch icons from Harbor Freight, but I don’t usually have a use for large long nose pliers.
Bob
Sure there is more cost with USA manufacturing but these are mass-produced high volume forgings off a line. The high price comes from snap-ons business model as the item has to be sold twice. snapon makes it’s margin (large) selling to the dealer, then the dealer needs to make his margin selling to you. snapon pricing has gotten outta control in the last 5-10 years.
blocky
Bob, you might be right about Snap-on’s large margin, but I don’t see how this is fundamentally different than other manufacturers selling to businesses that in turn sell to consumer.
According to Snap-On, the tips on this series are machined, then hardened, which is a little more elaborate than simply drop-forging.
MM
Agreed. I’d argue there is often even an extra step involved with retail sales that’s not present with Snap-On. Let’s say someone bought a pair of Klein pliers from the Ace Hardware I worked at as a teen many years ago. Those came from a wholesaler, Handy Hardware, who got them from Klein. That’s three steps of markup. Buying from Snap-On there is only two.
Bob
You’re right about the middleman being there with other manufacturers, I should have stated these tools have to be sold twice at retail type margins or corporate is taking a huge chunk of it. I looked up at Ace Hardware USA Made Klein 9″ Lineman D2000-9NE are $41.99 or USA Made Milwaukee 9″ Lineman MT550 at $49.99 vs Snap-on 9″ Lineman 59CF at $87.75. I guess good for them if they can sell at these margins but its crazy, even if you consider the dealer giving a little discount or something to the customer. They are tools for the working man, not designer luxury goods but then again idk lol
Jesse Sholdice
Your correct , It used to be backed up by amazing service ,a readily available replacement when warrantied and a superior tool but I find nowadays none of these are at the same level. ..
Mopar4wd
I have been watching videos by tool truck owners on you tube. A large part of the markup on snap on seems to be related to carrying costs on free financing offered to pros buying off the truck. Basically everyone ends up paying more for extending free credit to the pros.
MM
I can’t help but think there are other ways the costs get driven up as well. Their extremely good warranty service certainly costs something. I’ve even known them to warranty tools which are guaranteed to wear out and subject to high abuse, like chisels for air hammers.
They do offer informal zero-interest financing to pros they trust, though they also offer at least two kinds of financing that they make money on–a credit card, and traditional loan financing with interest. I’ve never bothered to look at the terms but I’m sure the interest is sky-high on that credit card.
Stuart
I consider the markup to contribute towards the at-your-door service.
In today’s age, it might not be as needed as 20 and even 10 years ago. But the business model seems to work for Snap-on and a lot of mechanics and techs.
https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/snap-on-sales-revenue-steadily-increased-2024/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
It’s not clear how credit ties into their profit structure; in 2023 financial services was 6% of their revenue.
Antonio Claudio Michael
I own every size of the talon grip snap on Pliers there pricey but worth every penny they Grip better then 99 percent of any Pliers I have used they grip better then any icon Pliers I have bought as well
Nate
Is there an in-between option? USA-made but not Snap-On marked-up?
Stuart
Not that I’ve seen. When the Talon Grip hit my radar a few weeks ago, I searched but couldn’t find anything like it.
We could wait until Knipex maybe launches a TwinGrip with long nose jaw profile.
Kentucky fan
If you have any friends that are mechanics you could probably get them cheaper
Jared
It’s not even necessarily the Snap-On price that would stop me – it’s that I’d have to chase down a truck or pay shipping too. Maybe that doesn’t apply in the USA?
These are $92.75 in Canada – which is very expensive, but I’ve got NWS and Knipex pliers that were at least in the ballpark (say ~$75). I could accept that as the Snap-on premium. But then it’s $46.95 (and up) to ship them to me.
$146.69 is simply too much.
Jared
*P.s. I realize those numbers don’t add up. I should have said that $146.69 was the after-tax total, when I went through the Snap-on checkout to see how much it would cost.
MM
I’ve bought a few Snap-On tools off Ebay with “free shipping”. Prices can vary but unless it’s some rare discontinued tool that collectors want you can usually find them for MSRP or a little lower. Right now I can see the Talon Grip needle nose, shipped, ranging from about $70 to $100 depending on color and length, with most being around $80. Those prices include shipping but not tax. I don’t know if any sellers offer free shipping to Canada, but if they do it’s worth looking into.
Finding the trucks is pretty easy in my area, I often see them while I’m out running errands. If I happen to need something in a hurry I’ll call the driver, find out where their next stop is, and meet them there.
Jared
@MM Thanks! I checked it out, but there’s no good deals on ebay Canada. Maybe the pliers are still too new.
I’m rural, so that limits the tool trucks I can chase. I used to work in a shop in the nearby town, so I know the MAC and Wurth tool guys would happily sell me things – but as far as I know, there is no Snap-on truck in this area.
Phillip Howard Chambers
You can buy almost anything Snap On makes off of EBay and get Free Shipping.
I have ordered a bunch of Snao On Tools off of EBay, with Great results.
I have 2 different Guys that I order from on there regularly, one is an actual Snap On Dealer. 95% of the time I’m getting this stuff cheaper than if I walked on the Truck and purchased it in person.
This is the best way to buy them if you don’t want to chase the Truck down, because I agree with you about the Insane Shipping Charges when ordering directly from Snap On Corporate.
Hope this helps you out.
Emilio Gonzalez
Where do EBay sellers get all those SnapOn tools? Maybe tool truck sellers doing side business? You can get around the shipping cost buying from a local truck. eBay sellers can’t offer warranty either. Prices are just as high as on line SO. Why pay full price and no warranty?
MM
@Emilio Gonzalez
I know at least some of the Ebay sellers are Snap-On dealers. And as for the warranty, I’ve never known a Snap-On dealer to care where the tool was purchased. If it’s Snap-On brand they will warranty it, age doesn’t matter, neither does whether you bought it new or used, from them or from some other dealer, no proof of purchase required.
ITCD
Nope. If you’re looking specifically for long nose slip joints, Snap-on is the only domestic option. Pro America has something *loosely* in that vein with long nose *long reach* 2 position slip joints but that’s obviously a pretty different tool and a bunch of their stuff has shown out of stock on their website for some time. I don’t know if that means their direct sales arm is being ignored, if their distributors are being given preference and they’re behind schedule or something, or if it’s a sign of them sinking. The part number is 5050 (5051 for bent nose) though if you wanna see those unusual pliers.
There’s some options for regular slip joints and for regular long noses though.
MM
The Snap-On originals that these copy are fantastic. In my opinion the majority of Snap-On’s pliers are nothing special and highly overpriced, but those Talon Grip needle nose are worth the price of admission. The quality of the serrations on them is top notch, perhaps even better than Knipex. Whether or not Harbor Freight got that right will be the real key factor here, and it’s hard to tell from the photos.
blocky
In my estimation, the major selling point of the Talon grip pliers is the file-grade jaw serrations, which harbor freight did not reproduce. These have been on my wish-list for awhile, but I’m going for the originals.
It’s interesting to note that Snap-on lists an active patent for the 3-way joint: https://patents.google.com/patent/US8051749B2/en
ITCD
It’s not a patent on having a 3-way joint, the patent is regarding “positive pivot” action aka having some sort of feedback or indication that it’s in a particular position. Slip joints with more than 2 positions go waaaayyyyyyy back, Wilde was doing a 3-position joint with their very first design which came to market in the early 1930s, you can see it on their first patent ever which was filed in 1928 (not for having 3 positions specifically though, the patent was for angling the jaws).
ITCD
Note that the Snap-on patent mentions having at least one non-terminal center (a minimum of 3 total positions, but the patent can cover more). The idea of this patent is to make it easier to select a middle position without overshooting it, which obviously isn’t necessary if it only had 2 positions.
eddiesky
I want to see Spring Hose Clamp pliers that are IKON brand (they only have hose grip pliers and not the same), and I’d get a set. Knipex has two versions and my last Knipex pliers (stripper/cutters) has two flaws I don’t like: you have to really open them wide to get wire in back to cut, and the size markings are really hard to read (14G 18G…) when stripping wire. I do like the thumb-lock lug but also want to see these in needle-nose variant to be the All-in-one pliers for doing receptacles…you can’t wrap a 12G neutral, hot or ground with these and need to swap for needle nose end pliers to twist for securing to receptacle screw leads.
Brandon
I have a pair of the Snap-On LN47ACF these are a copy of. The only Snap-On tool I own. Bought it years ago and it is absolutely worth it.
I just picked up a pair of these Icons to toss in a tool bag and I have to say they are pretty darn identical. Made in Taiwan, too.
I’m sure they won’t hold up as well as the Snap-Ons. Looking forward to testing on metal hardness and teeth wear. But for the price, they are a solid deal.
What I don’t get is how Harbor Freight is getting around the Snap-On triple joint patent. Seems like there’s an interesting story there. Did HF license it from Snappy? Is there some backroom deal they did after the floor jack lawsuit that Snap-On lost?
ITCD
Snap-on doesn’t have a patent on having a joint with 3 positions. Their patent is on having a “positive pivot” which makes it easier to select the middle position. If you get the new Tsunoda PLC-200U with 3 positions it’d make sense why Snap-on developed their positive pivot, it’s pretty easy to overshoot the middle position when it’s the one you want.
G G
“They look like well-featured long nose pliers, until you see the 3-position opening adjustment.”
I’m confused – they look well-featured – until the 3-position opening makes them not well featured?
That would be the typical usage. (“It looked like a win-win situation, until I saw the fine print.”)
Dave
I’m with you. It wasn’t until I closed the article and came back and reread it, that I realized what Stuart meant.
I THINK he meant:
“They look like well-featured [standard] long nose pliers, until you see the 3-position opening adjustment [and realize they’re slip-joint pliers].”
Brian
Thanks for the editing. I was also confused
Stuart
Sorry, I reworded it. They look like great pliers already, with the slip joint making them more special, at least in my opinion.
It’s more like… you get really nice-looking jaws (that hopefully perform as good as they look), and adjustable opening widths on top of that.
Generally speaking, slip joint pliers suck. Modern slip joint pliers have been fantastic. In this case, it looks to be a feature, not a compromise.
Dave
Your first paragraph made me think, oh, no, I hate slip-joint pliers.
Lol, but then the start of your 3rd paragraph echoed the same idea.
fred
These may become part of my stocking stuffers for next Christmas.
Last year I bought some IPS ones for that use. Other than a thank-you I go no feedback one way or another about them:
https://www.amazon.com/Igarashi-Plier-straight-HLS-300-4953880166235/dp/B002PK0JOK
Rog
May I get on your Christmas list?
JR Ramos
I’m debating on buying a pair of these. I stopped in the closest store to me yesterday and they had four pairs in stock…all in the hands of one customer who happened to be checking out just as I was about to ask the cashier if they had them in stock yet. They look pretty good although the teeth did not appear to be very sharp – acceptable but I’ve come to really like and prefer good sharp teeth on pliers. I’ve only seen one blue pair of the SnapOn smaller ones and they were pretty well used & abused but the teeth on those were obviously hard and durable and while dulled a bit from use, still very grippy. Hopefully HF spec’d a good quality steel and didn’t skimp on hardening and tempering.
If they had a 7″ pair I’d be sold…not sure the 9″ will be as well used for me, but I’d like to see some honest abuse tests on these.
Coupons usually do not work with anything Icon…but sometimes if you sweet talk an employee they can make it happen.
ITCD
There’s eBay listings cropping up here and there wanting near $50 for a pair, I’d say it’s not out of the realm of possibility that the buyer you saw is thinking to do just that. Very annoying part of the modern scene, anything proves a bit popular and here come the vultures trying to charge you double. Same thing happened to the Kobalt mini boxes.
JR Ramos
That’s irritating when people do that. This guy was wearing the costume of a local Ford dealership, though, so I think he was making a shop run.
S
The 9 inch size seems overly large to me. I’ve got 3 pairs if the 7 inch snap on, and a pair of the 5 inch…
Honestly, despite the markup, it’s one of my favorite pliers(how I ended up with multiples. Useful tools I keep 1. Tools I use daily, I keep multiples of for redundancy) because of the jaw style. Thin enough for detailed gripping work. But the transition to more rugged teeth further down is perfect for ‘accidental violence’ that tends to happen with nearby tools sometimes.
The price is worth a try, though I really like the tooth separation of the 7″ for fuse pulling that this version doesn’t have.
Emilio Esteban Gonzalez
SnapOn pliers will twist just like the Ikons. $70 doesn’t prevent the tips from twisting when turning hard. Way over priced even for USA made.