Dammit. I hate you guys. Well. My wallet hates you guys.
Well my Vampliers arrived today with my new Olsa 1/2” swivel ratchet wrench. I tried to use my old craftsman ratchet the other day and it wasn’t working. Maybe I’ll head over to ace and see if they’ll replace it.
Just a dog chauffeur that used to hold the dumb end of the leash.
I saw this thread last week, but was annoyed assembling a new Enigma this week and gave in and ordered a pair of the Vampliers Brute(black oxide model), will have them tomorrow.
https://a.co/d/hQPmkYQ
Another similar option available now is the Twin-Grip Slip Joint Pliers from Knipex... I got mine from Home Depot but Amazon also has them.
I expect these to be very handy for more than just stripped screws... Things like those damn squeezable hose clamps that can be so difficult to grab.
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Thanks for the thread.
I ordered a set of original Vampliers each for my son in Eustis and step-son in Jacksonville NC as stocking stuffers. Every year instead of some lame gift card, I try and get them some genuinely useful tool. Last year it was a seven piece Wera screwdriver set, year before a Surefire Sidekick.
ordered a set of vamps after buying a used jm with way over tightened retention. Glad to have it in the tool bag for gun specific stuff ive accumulated over the years.
I remember in the 80s or 90s a SOF article that mentioned that rather than a multitool, several Aussie SAS (IIRC) would have a sheath for a set of slipjoint pliers taped to the sheath of a K-Bar. They found it more useful with less wasted weight than a multitool. Easier to cut fencing with, for example. Not easy, but easier. They found that saws and screwdrivers could be carried small and decrete, maybe by every other team member, but when they needed pliers multitools universally sucked.
Of course, that is also a unit where you get what you want and can replace it at govt expense when you decide you need new. Msg. G. Hand has a story from the 90s about his Delta team leader DXing a gore-tex jacket because it was muddy...
When I think of my multitool use in the field (hiking/hunting/fishing) I use the knife blade and the pliers the most...the can/bottle opener and screwdrivers a very distant second. The Vampliers may get lashed to a sheath knife, and the multitool left behind...
pat
I came to this same thought myself years ago...
https://pistol-forum.com/showthread....ti-tool-Pliers