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Obviously they're a tool of last resort; you have to resign yourself to making a mess with them.
Couple of tricks, generally you'll want to make sure whatever you're gripping is in the widest part of that nasty opening in the jaws, or it'll probably end up there all shredded, and the other thing is you have to twiddle your knob a lot.
It's always a bit of trial and error to get the clamping force right. If you need maximum clamping, turn the knob as tight as you can get it while still being able to lock the tool, and then carefully unlock it without allowing it to shift on the fastener - then add a bit more on the knob. You can usually repeat this a couple of times, depending on the shape and hardness of the fastener. Or you can do a quicker version where you incrementally bite the jaws in without locking as you tighten the knob before finally locking.
It'll leave a mark, to make an understatement
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Kimmo
@RonAsheton
I bought my first vice grips recently and still can't get them to work properly. I'm properly shit on the tools. These look great, very simple to operate. 🤡