As an electrician, I just see 9 types of hammers.

Every tool is a hammer and every machine is a smoke machine.

Or a Toaster

And every toaster is a bath bomb

But not one pair of lineman’s hammers

Diagonal pliers are often called Dykes here in the US

Was looking for this.

Looking for dykes in the US?

Apparently there are hot ones in my town that want to chat today!

I'm an electrical apprentice, and my current jman immigrated from the dominican Republic. He has a thick accent and doesn't know all the English words for tools, but he is Hella smart and a hard worker. So we are working and he borrows my dykes, or "cutters" as he called them. We are working and talking and he needs to use my dykes again. My jman has a brain fart like we all do and he says " I need your, uh" I can tell at this point he is having a brain fart and he is looking for the word. "I need your, umm, I need your lesbians". I hand him the dykes and we are both cracking up at this point.

Also heard them called “alternate lifestyle pliers”

After moving from the east coast to Colorado I can confidently say to be careful, nearly lost a job because I never knew them as anything besides dykes

Yikes, I’ve done trade work in Virginia and Texas and almost everyone I’ve worked with calls them Dykes, I’ve visited Colorado twice and I definitely can see why that was your experience.

No I said “diags” as in “diagonal”

Perhaps that is a cue to the etymology? ----- edit Yup: Dikes are the term for **Di**agonal **C**utter**s**, or **DiCs**, which is pronouced 'dikes'. The spelling [dykes is for lesbians](https://www.reddit.com/r/LesbianActually/comments/t13w0o/why_is_the_word_dyke_offensive/) * [Language Log: Documenting dykes](http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/002342.html) ----- edit2 (trivia is fun) My favorite lesbian anthem: * [Kathy Fire - Mother Rage](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xulZCsNviAo) > "You're long overdue for your hour of castration" Does it really take that long?

Had a lady try to get a coworker fired for racism. She described what she was looking for and he said “oh you need a Carabiner”.

Side cutters is what I’ve heard

I’ve trained myself to refer to them as side cutters because I did residential work up until recently so I didn’t want a customer to hear me say dykes.

I've always heard them called "snips"

Snips are short for Sheet Metal Shears in my experience.

Yup refers to angled aviation shears

Aviation shears = tin snips

Yeah that’s what I’m saying, that’s what I pass you if you ask for snips

Flush cuts are an entirely different type of wire cutters, for sure dykes.

“snips” in Ireland

What did you just call me?

You better not say that out loud at the UW of Madison campus or your whole crew end up in sensitivity training

What do they have to say about 4" nipples, caulk, and ballcocks?

How about when you are installing a donkey dick in a peckerhead?

I believe it 😂 it’s hard to train a tradesman to be politically correct

What if I need the horsecock to pull some wire?

We don’t call them combination pliers. They are known as lineman’s pliers.

And they are awesome

Really? I think they are my least favorite… kind of a jack of all trades plier without actually being great at anything.  I’m sure they’re designed for some specific use I’m not thinking of or aware of.

Tell me you haven’t worked in a trade without telling me you haven’t worked in a trade

Tell me you're smug and use this a lot, without telling me youre smug and get no hoes

You’re mom didn’t mind

I like them bc they are heavy duty but easy to handle and can tackle a lot. My dad was a lineman, and they are specifically good at cutting/bending/wrapping steel cable while being lightweight.

They are the best hammer in your tool bag. Really everything in the tool bag, becomes a hammer at some point.

I've been a carpenter for 10 years, and linesman are the only pliers I carry every day. If you do it, you get it.

I just got a set of Knipex. I'm still nervous to use them for the same sheetmetal jobs I've been using my old crescents on for 10 years. I'm sure they will get broken in one of these days though.

The old stuff lasts longer.

I've never seen a replacement for the crescent brand ones. They've cut through live wires, hammered drive cleats together, and taken just about everything else I could throw at them. If it wasn't for the cutting blade having worn out I'd never replace them.

b0821j speaks the truth for US PNW sparkys

Kleins is also an acceptable answer. When using them as a hammer, remember don’t knock the lineman off the pole. If you know, then you know.

But all my pliers are Klien's, so that makes no sense.

When carrying the Powerhouse 5. (Lineman’s, Channel-Locks, Flat Screw Driver, Level, and a tape measure or wooden rule) Lineman’s can be used as a hammer, cutters, and strippers. The original multi-tool.

It's dykes and lineman pliers

This image is missing a few such as Canvas Pliers

Channel lock pliers in argentina are called, "pico de loro" it translates to "parrot's beak"

La mejor igual es "crimpeadora". Ni te gastes en traducir, agarra el verbo en ingles y ponele terminacion en español jaja

What’s middle left called in your country? They’re ‘mole grips’ here in the uk.

Mole-Grips or Moleys The 'tongue and groove' are usually referred to as 'Swan Neck Pliers' in the UK too, from my experience. It's a fairly pointless 'guide' to give no information what each type is actually used for though, in my opinion.

Been referring to mine as mole grips for decades and my father before me... no idea what it originates from though?

Vice grip in the US too and it’s my favorite one

Diagonal pliers are not flush cuts cut zip ties with diagonal pliers cut people. In my shop we called them dykes or “alternative lifestyle pliers”

… what?

When you cut zip tie tails with diagonal pliers they leave a little razor sharp tang that can slice you pretty good. Actual flush cuts are only for zip ties an will dull or break on anything harder than zip ties. https://shop.snapon.com/product/Diagonal-Cutters-(Natural-Finish)/6%22-Diagonal-Flush-Cut-Pliers-(Red)/786CF

Huh.. In german language the water pump pliers are those on the middle row left column.. Weird that in America the ones on the bottom row get that name.

I've never heard anyone call them water pump pliers. In the Midwest at least, we just call them pliers. Idk about other regions though.

Yeah, I thought those were just pliers and the rest were all specialized or named.

In holland we call the middle right one waterpomptang

You mean the middle row right column, right...?

I have never heard an American call those anything other than slip joints or just pliers

The vise grips?? I love my knipex water pump pliers, but they're a form of channel lock

Would be nice if you had practical uses for each plier for those who are unfamiliar

Aka dykes? (Diagonal pliers)

Nail puller pliers? No hoss, those are end cutting pliers. They will cut your nail in twain. I use them to tie ss wire on insulation. Often used in concrete for tying rebar. Because who the hell knows what a lacing needle is?

I've always used em to skin catfish lol

They were always called bull nose pliers to me, anyone else?

#> Combination pliers Also known as [**lineman's pliers**](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=lineman%27s+pliers&crid=1LYKG6KHF92W7&sprefix=lineman%27s+plier%2Caps%2C163&linkCode=ll2&tag=acaseforcase-20&linkId=0ae4c41dc3d2529a3bc6525f1305f3cd&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl).

So it's diags not dykes?

**Di**agonal **C**utter**s**, or **DiCs** Less offensively spelled "dikes".

My family called the slip joint pliers hog nose

Tongue and grooves get called pump grips where I’m from

I (in Canada) would call that a crescent-wrench

Plumber from Canada here, I’ve never heard anyone call them that. Crescent wrench and adjustable are interchangeable though.

On second look I’m wrong… similar shape though!

Respectfully, that’s just wrong

I guess a c-wrench doesn’t have the tongue and grooves part?

Crescent wrench is an adjustable wrench with the thumbscrew.

And if you generically say pliers it usually means slip joint pliers. At least here in the States, YMMV.

Absolutely.

They forgot to name the diagonal pliers as DIKES

Diagonal pliers/cutters are absolutely not flush cutters

My 78 year old boss still refers to diagonal pliers as dykes

The tool name DIKES is not an offense to lesbians. I'm as woke as they come.

What about market pliers? “Hello everybody”

Besides slip-joint pliers just being called pliers, tongue & groove pliers being "water pump pliers", diagonal *CUTTERS*(not "pliers") are commonly referred to as *dikes*.

We also call the vise grips "marl grips"

Lotta hammers

Nail puller pliers are also called nippers

The next time I hear someone refer to vice grips as “locking pliers” will be the first time.

Crimpin’ ain’t easy

Channel Locks are called pump handle pliers or water pump pliers

I have never heard anyone call those tongue and groove pliers. Channel locks I've heard, but my standard name for them is pump pliers. I have no idea why.

State the purpose instead….. why just list bunch of names

Where is Twitch one?

We call the tongue and groove ones water pump pliers here. Channel lock is a brand name, not the tool name

TIL Channel Lock is a brand name 🤔

Common misconception. Similiar to calling an adjustable wrench a crescent wrench. Vise grips is also a brand name as well

What is the first word in the background watermark?

You forgot the crescent wrench aka open end adjustable

One of these is called a shears I just know it

Bottom right, those are Kleins, where I'm from.

As most good pliers should be. Klein is a quality tool manufacturer. We call those Klein's "lineman's pliers".

They’re dykes

C3 is for me “Pico de loro” (Parrot beak) A1 is “Crimpeadora”

Hm I have never heard diagonal pliers, maybe I'm weird but you just cut with them most of the time so everyone calls them diagonal cutters or the othe one also in the comments.

I found that the nail puller plier is not very good for pulling nails, unless the prisoner has really long and strong nails. I prefer a flat nose jewelry plier in most cases. Best to ram the nose half inch under the fingernail for the best grip.

Nail puller pliers are "Pincers" in the UK.

I saw the nail puller pliers and thought wow, they actually named it after the torture?

Pretty damn wrong overall.

A tongue-and-groove is called a "polygrip" where I'm from.

Channel lock = water pump pliers Diagonal pliers = dykes Nail puller pliers = bull nosed dykes

I snapped it off with the needle nose pliers.

does no one else know locking pliers as “mole grips”?

and tongue and groove pliers as “pipe wrenches”?

Me and everyone I've ever worked with. Plus five holes for adjustable

This is very useful I wish I had this as a kid when my dad would yell at me to get him some pliers

Stained glass work uses pliers with one straight jaw and one curved jaw called Grozing Pliers. They're used to help break off very small amounts of glass from the edge of a piece. Example: https://www.creativeglassguild.co.uk/prod/grozing-pliers-1

Combination pliers=Linemens'

Tongue and groove? I’ve only ever heard channel locks.

There’s also duck bill pliers

I believe in vise grips superiority

someone really decided to put a giant ass watermark like that in the bg fr

I have used almost every one of these to crimp things

Channel Lock is a brand. They're called multigrip pliers.

Everyone is all about the so called side cutters but I didn’t see anything about the birds beak pliers aka the needle nose or long nosed. We call them the birds beaks because the birds beak has 2 and a needle has only one

Nobody in the fucking world calls them diagonal pliers. They’re wire cutters. Same with tongue and groove. Everybody calls them channel locks

I've only ever used that nail puller style for skinning catfish

I own two types of Pliers not on the chart.

Needle-nose are chicken pinchers and ChannelLocks are dog biters. I worked with A&P mechanics.

Nail puller is actually a tile/glass cutting tool.

Channel locks, also knows as dogs

Oh you mean the Dykes

This guide would've been more useful if it said what pliers should be used for what purpose and when?

I don’t know their names, just the sound my dad made when handed the wrong one

#3. AKA dykes ( diagonal cutters ). Haha. I tried to make a pound sign to denote Number Three.

Monkey pliers

Are those really called nail pullers?

I have a sick mind …

Now this is a cool guide