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Pliers
A scissor-like gripping tool that multiplies the strength of a user's hand. Designed for grabbing irregular-shaped objects.
Pliers have very limited use for bicycle work, and many bicycle parts are damaged by incompetents who try to use pliers for a job that really calls for a wrench. This commonly results in damage to the surfaces of the nuts or bolts so abused, as the serrated jaws slip around.
Many accidents are caused by people attempting to secure axle nuts with pliers. This cannot be done by people of normal hand strength, the nuts will not be tight, and the wheel is liable to fall out. Never use pliers to tighten nuts or bolts!
Locking pliers, such as Vise-Grips ® can grip a nut or bolt hard enough, but will ruin the driving surface so that it will be unusable with the correct tool.
