Harbor Freight launched new 8-inch Icon adjustable slip-joint pliers that, like the Knipex TwinGrip they encourage you to compare it to, features a fast-adjust push button.
The new Harbor Freight Icon pliers are professional slip-joint pliers [feature] a convenient push-button adjustment with five locking positions for maximum versatility and increased jaw capacity.
These aren’t your dad’s old clunky two-position slip-joint pliers.
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Harbor Freight says the Icon pliers have “unique” multi-function jaws for a powerful grip.
The Icon pliers have front-facing teeth for gripping stripped screws, and side-gripping jaws with multiple points of contact for holding round, square, and hex shaped materials.
It’s finished with a durable clear coat for corrosion resistance.
Harbor Freight backs the tool with a lifetime warranty.
Model PPBSJ8, SKU 70310
Price: $20
See Also: Knipex TwinGrip is Not Your Dad’s Slip-Joint Pliers
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Discussion
It’s clear that Harbor Freight based their Icon on the Knipex TwinGrip, with a similar design and very similar jaw profile.
The Icon pliers aren’t quite identical to the Knipex in appearance.
The big deal here is that the Icon’s are $20 compared to $37 and up for the Knipex.
It’s not available in stores yet, but I’ll be keeping an eye out for it. I am perfectly happy with my Knipex pliers, but am curious to see how well the performance of the Harbor Freight matches up.
I find it odd that Harbor Freight describes their Icon pliers as having “unique” jaws. Take a look at the jaw profile compared to the Knipex TwinGrip. Do the Icon plier jaws look unique to you?
Harbor Freight and Icon have come so far, and I’d like to see the brand put more of their own spin on things.
Rather than being a lower cost copy, could Harbor Freight have made a better tool?
Mike (the other one)
Are these “designed in the USA”?
mark
Lol looked like they plugged a flashdrive in at knipex HQ for this design.
Bob
Yes, they bought a few Knipex in the USA and sent them to China
Jerry
Too bad they didn’t figure out a way to incorporate a wire cutter.
Regardless, for $20 I think I’ll grab a pair and see how they compare to the Knipex that I already have. Some of the Icon stuff is priced close enough to the original tools they are copying that you just as well get the real deal. At not much over half price, these will be a bargain if done right.
Grokew
If they had wire cutters, they would be almost perfect. Cobra like bite, and adjustment, with screw extraction, hose clamp recess, and wire cutters? Now make them in 150mm size.
NoDak Farming
I was on the fence weather I needed these or not. But then I saw you describe them as having a “hose clamp recess” and now I’m seeing them in a new light. I am remembering one particularly stubborn hose clamp in the engine compartment of one stubborn Studebaker, and I’m wishing I had these back then haha! I’m also hoping they’ll make a downsized version.
I visited Harbor Freights “pliers” page today and noticed several products being described as having a “new lower price”. So these pliers might eventually land at a price where even more people are comfortable trying them out someday.
Grokew
Knipex did end up releasing a 150mm version. That was quite fast.
MM
Yes! Knipex has had 150mm/6″ and 250mm/10″ out for a while now.
Wes
Yes that would be awesome.
Bob
These and the large assortment of Snap-on copies they are offering/releasing has me believing they are playing big into “it’s made in same factory” perception and in my opinion that is dishonest and turns me off of the brand. Copying down to the font, shade of color etc is just too much…come up with a unique brand and let the merits of the tools speak for themselves
David Brock
which items are you referring to that are copies of S-O?
mark
They have these pistol grip pliers & some needle noses I have seen that pretty much look the same from what i recall
Bob
Almost the entire line of pliers, all the icon sockets down to the typeface and socket tray, torque wrenches, extensions, the drawer latches on the Series 3 tool boxes,
check out some SEMA Icon videos with coming soon tools, ball joint press, more plier copies it’s wild
ITCD
I dont think they’re intending to play into that at all, they just wanted to sell their knockoff versions of those brands. They never even insinuate it, they ask you to compare directly against the item, and obviously COO being Taiwan (usually) is gonna be a big tell. It’s all the random folks on the Internet who saw a TikTok making the unfounded claim and thinking it’s on the Internet so it must be true who are running with that hoopla.
Stuart
I can’t find the original source, but in news reports of Snap-on’s lawsuit against Harbor Freight, there is discussion about HF conveying or suggesting the two brands’ jacks are made at the same factory.
I’ve heard the assertion about the jacks before, and it’s possible folks online are spring boarding from there, rather than making purely baseless claims.
ITCD
Oh yeah there was that but only because it was true. They legit had a message from Eric Smidt in an ad explaining the jack thing, they had just settled or whatever happened and it was kind of a slam dunk for HF to incidentally come across the same manufacturer and they had their victory lap. It wasn’t an insinuation, it was an outright direct statement that their Daytona jacks are made in the same facility as the Snap-On FJxxx jacks (it should be noted Snap-on also has aluminum jacks which are US-made, so not all jacks).
I don’t think they even did it with the box end wire strippers though when they’re both sourcing through Southwire, but it didn’t have a lawsuit to gloat about not losing either.
The Den of Tools covered the ad specifically in 2019 in a video titled “CEO of Harbor Freight Drops a Bomb on Snap-on” with a pic of it. In that video “the Bear” does make a claim that the majority of Snap-on tools is made overseas which is incorrect, though, for anyone who goes and watches it.
GAK
Can we talk about how shameless Harbor Freight is being with a lot of their Icon stuff?
The gall to call anything about the above pliers “unique” is just beyond absurd levels of gaslighting. Harbor Freight is printing money right now; they can’t hire a couple of product designers and some design engineers to cook up at least a unique feature or two to differentiate their blatant copies from the originals? They are already going through the process of engineering and tooling-up to make these things; it does not take a lot more to actually differentiate them from the well-known originals they are ripping off.
Stuart
I found the wording odd, but it’s in one place; I’d feel more indignant if such language was in all of the images or product advertisements.
The Knipex tool also borrowed from prior designs and pliers features.
https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/knipex-twingrip-followed-stanley-fatmax/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
The Knipex TwinGrip is unique, but I would hesitate to call it completely original.
The Icon is, as the kids would call it today, a “dupe.”
There’s value in HF offering a tool that offers similar functionality to Knipex at a 40% or greater savings.
It’s my opinion that HF is more capable than ever at standing on their own two legs without leaning too much on other brands for so much inspiration.
Will some buy this because it looks to be very similar to the Knipex but at a lower price? Absolutely.
But will many buy this because it’s an Icon tool with lifetime warranty? Absolutely.
In my opinion, HF has grown to where not everything has to look like a copy.
Now is the time where they should start launching new styles and even innovative products.
Consider Tekton today. They were a very different company just 10 years ago. https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/tekton-tools-manager-interview/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Harbor Freight needs to realize they can do that too. There are signs of a philosophical shift in the products they’ve been launching, but they should align their designs and marketing in the same direction as well.
Mr. X
I think the Japan made Engineer PZ-58 was the first with this jaw configuration.
That said, the Knipex is longer and offers more leverage and grip. My guess is that the HF version is made from inferior metal, is less well assembled, and will likely rust or fail sooner than the (more) “original” Knipex.
My favorite use for these pliers is removing broken or stripped 6-32 and 8-32 machine screws from electrical boxes. These pliers make this tedious job much easier.
Reed Prince
There are American pipefitting tools from a hundred years ago that use this design. The origin of the Engineer Nejisaurus jaw was a topic a while ago at Garage Journal.
Mr. X
Interesting! As a tool junkie I am always curious about the origin and evolution of tools. I have not visited Garage Journal in years but will look that up. Thanks!
mark
You said it very well. It’s a shame they are kinda acting like “an eBay dupe company”, ESPECIALLY in the face of Actually gaining respect as a brand (at least in my eyes) with things like their Daytona jacks & how some of their impacts have been tested on Torque Test Channel, etc.
It seems like the moment to grow past that as a brand but the latest designs feel almost more blatant copies (these and pistol grip pliers snapon dupes)
Dust
“Kids today” – aka kids in ‘96 playing Diablo 1. What’s the HF equivalent to “Plates of Godly Whale”?
Michael Fernandez
I have no problem with the copying other products if the quality is there. This in my opinion shows how much other companies are actually overcharging
Eddie the Hook
I wish Channellock would make a version of these 😟
Jared
I expect this will prompt a lot of complaints about Harbor Freight “ripping off” the designs of other companies. It seems like they do that sometimes.
On the other hand, I wonder whether this actually infringes any Knipex IP? Push-button adjustment can’t be copy-rightable can it? It’s on plenty of other tools. The screw-gripping part at the tip isn’t unique to Knipex, so it’s probably not subject to protection either. The jaw profile? Maybe – Knipex would have to have claimed some unique benefit to the design and obtained a patent.
I don’t want to encourage companies who just break the rules and depend on their legal teams and pocketbooks to bludgeon their victims into backing off. On the other hand, IP protection is generally premised on encouraging innovation AND bringing that innovation to the competitive marketplace. That’s why it’s usually time-limited.
So if Harbor Freight’s copy isn’t breaking any rules, then I think it’s fine. I’d have to see these in person though to decide whether it’s worth the $17 savings to go with Icon – because the twin grips are pretty good!
ITCD
Copyright is for artistic works, you’re thinking patents. And yes, it was patentable, because Knipex had the patent for their push button mechanism that made for a box joint plier and used the teeth for fine adjustment.
That was 40 years ago when they introduced the Cobra. Which is when they introduced that jaw shape as well for the horizontal serrations. Adding the vertical serrations isn’t new or novel and was already done elsewhere long ago, though I don’t see any patents related to their specific shape ever being filed.
They do have design patents on the ornamental shape though, namely that part with the elongated oval where they usually put their name. Which is what I assume HF avoided by doing the chevron thing instead.
HF so far has seemed real good at toeing the line without crossing it.
mark
Yeah feels like that Chevron design was a well-played margin of safety on their part. But geez I can’t tell the jaw designs apart.
Jared
You’re right, I misspoke. If those innovations are 40 years old, then I presume they’re no longer subject to patent protection.
I was sort of “preemptively” reacting to the common perception that by copying, Harbor Freight is doing something wrong. It’s by design that the protection is time-limited to encourage competition and bring those innovations to consumers at lower price points.
At least to me, it seems like an area where legal rights don’t always match up with how people perceive it ethically. Makes me wonder which came first – e.g. do we protect IP because we perceive a moral obligation to protect the inventor, or do we feel the inventor should be protected because of the longstanding and well-entrenched patent rules?
Blocky
A cobra knockoff would not feel as disrespectful; it’s a now classic design. The TwinGrips are pretty new, correct me, but I feel like within-the-last-3-years-new.
A lot of folks focus on the important head shape and jaw design or the five position. I think the slim neck profile is equally important in function and just as relevant to the visual fingerprint of the twingrips, which one could, until moments ago, recognize uniquely at a glance.
Blocky
The real question is whether if you put Knipex and Icon together, do you have twin grips? And is the original more iconic?
Wayne R.
I recently bought a pair of Snap-On inspired pliers from HF. While I have a lot of tools, none of them are Snap-On. For this particular model that I picked up, the original is $95 and the HF model is $20. It was the only reason I went to HF.
I believe this is my only digression into knock-off purchasing. For me, an original that’s not even double the cost of a copy will still be the one to get.
How long until they copy Milwaukee’s cross handle plier design? I’ll still get the Milwaukee versions.
ITCD
It’ll probably be a while. Pretty sure the cross handle thing got patented.
mark
+1 think Milwaukee is gonna hold on to that one for a while or sell licenses
Derek
I picked up the Knipex twingrip last year for under $30 on Amazon. Haven’t had much of a chance to use them fortunately as I’d rather not have screws that are stripped. At under $30 I’m getting the Knipex any day. At $37 I might go check out the Icons but I’m not sure which I would get.
One of my major issues with anything Icon is that they’re locked up in boxes. I want to feel the ratchet before I go spend all that money on one. The Icon plier grips seem too big for a dipped handle in my mind. Without being able to feel one first I’ll probably keep buying other brands.
Adam
They are unique to a majority of pliers out there. So in that respect I don’t consider it misleading marketing, unlike so much else out there is.
Great for a cheap version, but seems they would be stepping in some kind of design patent, apparently not though.
Stuart
Unique: “being the only one of its kind; unlike anything else.”
Mark M.
Then to be fair a socket set, for example, that has some minor geometry change should also receive the same level of criticism if the brand calls it unique because 95% it’s just another socket set. I agree in this case it’s unique in the sense that most slip joint pliers don’t have jaws like this, and that being the case the use of the word doesn’t bother me.
Stuart
Just looking at the jaw profiles, would you be able to tell the two apart?
“Unique” and “close derivative” are mutually exclusive here.
If it’s one or the other, which term would you say is more accurate?
MikeS
Similar != Same. There appear to be ever so slight differences between the 2 jaws.
It seems likely that they are unique.
MM
One of the things I’ve always liked about Knipex pliers is that the teeth are actually properly sharp. And hard. A lot of makers don’t seem to care very much about the quality of the teeth but this is a detail that Knipex always gets right. Marketing pics can be deceiving of course because you never really know how they were processed but if you look at the comparison photo of the two side-by-side, the teeth appear sharper on Knipex.
While we’re on the subject of good tooth quality I want to call out some of Klein and also Snap-On’s Talon Grip series, they typically have a lot of attention paid to the teeth as well.
Scott F
Likewise – Knipex teeth are pure quality. Can Icon say the same? Don’t have any other Icon pliers to compare against, but I suspect not.
I’d guess these are 80% as good as Knipex at 60% the price. For using nicely or once a year, they’re probably fine.
Do HF 20%/25% coupons exclude Icon – doesn’t look like it. $17 is pretty cheap.
Asdqqq
From tests of other pliers, HF’s heat treatment isn’t quite as good as Knipex, but is still quite good on the spectrum of all tools, better than the box store brands for example. Whether that little bit extra is worth the price difference depends on the person and situation, especially how easy it would be to drop by HF for a free replacement if the teeth fail.
John
Yep, this is exactly it and it’s huge when it comes to pliers. I don’t buy knipex for the feel or because they last longer – I buy them because they have the hardest teeth of any company. The way they can bite into metal without slipping and with much less pressure makes a huge difference when you’re in a tricky spot. I’ll buy knockoffs of other tools but not knipex.
mark
+1 this is why I stay with knipex. They are great and designing AND making their jaws. When everything else fails to dig into something my cobras get it done. They have extra-hard flush cutters too. Even over locking pliers I’ve squeezed to death onto something. You can see the localized heat treating on the tools. I don’t see that on any other brands I can recall.
ITCD
Localized heat treating shows up on other brands too but its a guess as to the specifics of their process and whatnot of course, which Knipex has clearly dialed in and is willing to spend whatever necessary time and money to do it proper and pass the costs along to the customer.
An example off the top of my head is Channellock mentioning their jaws get heat-treated with a laser shows up regularly on their packaging and advertising.
Mike
The biggest question in my mind is how good is the heat treat on the teeth. I don’t have any Icon pliers but I’ve got a few pairs of the Doyle pliers that Harbor Freight sells and the teeth on them are really soft in my opinion. I think I have 3 different Doyle pliers and all of them have an Alabama smile after just a few uses. I’ve went and picked up the knipex versions of all of them afterwards and wish I had just done that to start with.
Saulac
That and the finish. I have never had a pair of pliers that are broken to the point of unusable, but I have plenty that I don’t like anymore because they are a bit worn out. So yes, the question is how long they can stay in top shape.
Mark M.
For $20 and a coupon I’ll probably try them. Why not. In terms of use, I have the Engineer version and don’t use them 99% of the time but when you need them MAN are they a lifesaver.
Greg
If you know where to buy you can order the real thing for € 19,99 that is normal price before discount. I see these on sale for less than € 19,99 but you might need to buy more to earn bigger discounts and free shipping.
Charles
I own the pz-58 and twin grips. I see all the knock off tools harbor freight sells and refuse to buy that crap that someone else put the time into engineering and they just straight rip them off. Then they have the nerve to use to other tools in there advertisements. Pathetic
Jesse
I agree with your statement 100%. I use the Snap on PZ’s daily and my twin grips daily in the automotive industry. The new PZ style swedish plier that hobo freight just launched looks interesting for home use. The rest of them, I could just about guarantee that the metallurgy of the jaws of the Icons will be inferior to Knipex and Snappy.
ITCD
Twin Grips just takes a 40-year-old designs (push button) along with a 50-year-old design (jaw profile), and adds a decades-old design (burner pliers) to a century-plus-old concept (slip joint pliers).
Not exactly millions blown in engineering here. They’ve had up to 40 years to milk the push button to get their money back, and they have with the Cobra, PliersWrench, Raptor, and now TwinGrip. Half a century for the jaw profile which started on the Alligator. The concept of burner pliers was borrowed, and specifically billing them as for screw removal is stealing from Engineer’s claimed original engineering, which itself is over 20 years old now.
ITCD
I say it also puts the onus on higher priced companies to make sure their quality differentiates itself enough to command the price, and not just coast on their name. Knipex and some others are a fan of MAP which forces their distributors to advertise no lower than a certain price, no matter how sweet of a deal they themselves got on them.
Gary
I bought another icon knipex like pliers, I returned it as it wasn’t nearly close to the knipex quality.
Using knipex & klein are far superior.
Joel
Corperation “stealing” from another corporation, boohoo. The little guy wins. I own a business where I supply the tools, and these “knockoffs” are perfect value tools. Higher quality than bottom bin tools, but not made in a German factory. One of my guys will lose this, and I’d rather pay half the price to replace. My personal tools, I will splurge. I appreciate high-quality tools; that’s why I follow this site. But there is a place for this. 10% less quality, 40% less price.
Harry
If you guys go crazy over the Knipex twin grip clones, I can’t wait for the ICON version of the Snap on LN47ACF long nose, three position, slip joint pliers to come out. LOL
MM
Those are fantastic pliers, and they can take some abuse. I recall seeing a pair used as an impromptu value spring compressor on a big diesel engine rebuild before. But in my opinion the most important part of those pliers is the fantastic quality of the teeth–both geometry and hardness. If they can’t match or at least get close to Snap-On’s tooth quality then these lose a lot of their appeal even if they end up much cheaper.
scott taylor
BTW there are two types of patents that could apply to tools, design and utility (really 3, with provisional and a fourth being plant, but I digress). They could have of been covered by a design patent and if so they could have stopped the blantant copy, but probably not worth it in the end.
ITCD
Design patents can only apply to ornamental aspects of something, and a knockoff only has to look different “enough.” Different button shape and giant Chevrons down the side and a slight difference to forging shape around the area of the button stick out to me, might be different enough to pass muster if it did have a design patent. Jaw shape and all that can’t be covered by a design patent.
GM
Don’t understand the hand-wringing and gnashing of teeth over Harbor Freight copying tools from Snap-On, Knipex, or whoever. This is the entire history of tool design and manufacturing worldwide. Why do people still call every adjustable wrench with a worm thumbwheel and gear teeth on the movable jaw a Crescent wrench? Take a look at US Patent 1133236A (1915). All adjustable wrenches of this type look essentially the same because they are all copies of this same design. Snap-On sells these too. Where is the vitriol over that abomination?
Stuart
If I didn’t mention it’s a TwinGrip copy, that’s all everyone would focus on in comments. I mentioned its a TwinGrip copy, and it’s all everyone focuses on in comments.
MM
I’ve noticed this too, and not just with tools either. I think comes down to two factors:
First, is what people are passionate about, or at the very least knowledgeableabout. This is a tool board so most of us are either tool nerds, professional tool users, or both. It makes sense that we are going to notice and call out when knockoffs of well known tools appear since that’s what we know and care about. We probably don’t give a crud if our dinnertime flatware or garden trowels are also uncredited copies of classic patterns unless we also happened to be into those hobbies.
Second is what you hinted on about history. When certain things are around for so long we tend to forget their origins and just take them for granted.
I think this applies to any field or hobby, really. For example: I’m no fisherman, I’d probably be happy picking up whatever random rod and reel from a big-box store, while an experienced fisherman might instantly recognize the reel as a cheap copy of the well-known XYZ123.
Bob
this is a comically large over-simplification, nobody is complaining cause Icon made some tools with the same features, it’s because they purposely made them look extremely similar to the name brand. If you saw some of the icon pliers without the icon name, they would be mistaken for the name brand.
Look at their new Sema coming soon video, they are bringing out a mini wire stripper/crimper that is a literal copy of the snap-on. Other companies also copied this design but used different colors, coatings, handle shape/design, etc, but icon made theirs identical to the snapon, rust prone and everything.
nicholas contos
You can get the real thing on Amazon for $27.
PW
Yeah I don’t understand the excitement to save a modest percentage of the price to get something with almost assuredly inferior steel, teeth, and heat treatment.
BigTimeTommy
This is going to be my first purchase at HF in a long time. I’ve been curious about these pliers for a while but hate paying Knipex prices for tools that aren’t used every day.
James
I held off for a long time before picking them up. Had them for about 3 weeks with no use, and then on an install this week I needed some pliers and decided to try them. Worked like a charm and kept them in my pocket all week and they’re really handy.
I’ve hated those slipjoint pliers since I was a kid but these are different. Should say I’m talking about the Knipex, not the Icon….my use cases were not crazy so the Icon may have done the trick in all cases but the teeth quality as mentioned will always make me choose Knipex.
Electrified Hunterman
I think I’ll keep my $20 . Tho HF is good for some items & Icon might be included, ” for some beater pliers ” .
Harry
The new Chinese made SK on Amazon also offers a push button, five position pair of slip joint pliers but, they lack the vamplier perpendicular jaw teeth. I’m sure they will be other brands offering similar pliers.
Lynyrd
I appreciate any cost savings – however – Harbor Freight is now become a very unethical company. I loo forward to a joint Snap-On / Knipex patent infringement lawsuit against Harbor Freight.
ITCD
There’s nothing here that’s patented in the US market. Not the TwinGrip, not the Talon Grip, eetc. Snap-on thought they saw design patent infringement with the Daytona jack. A judge disagreed.
Jronman
Wow stolen much? It is super annoying that Harbor Freight (and other Chinesium companies) can get away with this. Zero r&d needed just throw an ICON badge on it and you are good to go.
ITCD
To be fair, the R&D on this was mostly done long ago. The push button thing and the manufacturing method to make it a box joint came out in the mid 80s. The jaw profile is from the 70s. The vertical serrations hearken back to burner pliers that have been around forever, and the specific idea of using them for fasteners wasn’t a Knipex first, other companies already had something like that.
People like to get on it about the PliersWrench dupe also. That was 1994, the patent has been dead for 10 years now. The core concept of the PliersWrench is decades old with things like the Eifel Plierench and the Winner Pliers Wrench, just they were the first to do it in that specific way.
Whitlow
I just used the 30% off coupon for an item under $20 and they were $19.99 so I picked up a pair for under $15
IMT
Have these now, and had the Knipex. Are they equally as good? No. Are they equally as painful to lose as when I lost my Knipex pair? No.
As above commenter said, used the 30% off and got them for 15$. That is half of the Knipex on a good day. I’m far more likely to lose my pliers than break them, so I’m okay with the slightly softer metal and not quite as good jaw design. For a work tool where I’m paid by the hour, all for it.