SPEETOG PLIER CLAMP

Speetogs may sound like slimline swimming trunks, but mixing these toggle-operated tools with your Speedos could engender life-changing events. Compact as nutcrackers, the Speetog plier clamp is the true terrier of the toolbox, as tenacious as those eager jaws and muscular levers would suggest.

- ROBIN GATES

It uses an over-center locking mechanism similar to the Petersen Vise-Grip and its later UK counterpart the Mole Self-Grip Wrench, but with the distinct advantage of the jaws closing parallel instead of pinching at their tips. Parallel jaws distribute pressure evenly across the clamped object, reducing the likelihood of deforming it, and maximizing the surface area of the tool in contact with the work so there’s less slippage.