Pliers are the tools you buy for a specific grip rather than a general one, and the Rolson water pump and circlip pliers on this page are chosen on exactly that basis. Six patterns cover the jobs a household or light trade user actually meets, from slackening a stubborn plumbing nut to lifting a retaining clip out of a machine housing without launching it across the room. All are genuine Rolson Tools stock, held in the UK and sent with tracked delivery.

Water pump pliers for plumbing and large fittings

Two sizes of water pump pliers anchor the range. The 300mm pair is the everyday size for tap connectors, waste traps, radiator fittings and garden hose unions, while the 400mm pair gives the extra jaw capacity and leverage needed for larger compression fittings, older imperial plumbing and seized outdoor connections. The slip joint lets you reset the jaws across a wide range while keeping the handles at a comfortable angle, which is what makes them so much more useful than a fixed spanner on rounded or oversized fittings.

Circlip, long nose and cutting pliers

The 4 piece mini circlip plier set covers internal and external clips in straight and bent nose forms, which is the combination you need for bearings, spindles, small engines and appliance repairs. The 200mm long nose pliers reach into recesses and hold small parts steady, the mini side cutting pliers trim wire, cable ties and sprues cleanly, and the 150mm wire stripping pliers cut, strip and grip on light electrical work. Related trade grade cutting gear sits in trade tools and lighting and electrical.

Looking after pliers and what to buy alongside

Pliers last decades if you keep them dry and put a drop of oil on the pivot once or twice a year, and if you resist using them as a hammer or a lever. Never use pliers on a nut you could reach with a spanner, since serrated jaws round off the corners and turn a five minute job into a much longer one. For spanners and ratchets see trade and industrial tools and Rolson hand tools, and browse the full Rolson Tools, general tools and tool bags and belts ranges to complete the kit.

Which pliers to buy first

If you are building a kit rather than replacing a specific tool, buy in order of how often each pattern gets used. Water pump pliers come first, because they cover plumbing, garden fittings and anything round, and because they substitute for several spanner sizes at a pinch. Long nose pliers come second, since they reach where fingers cannot and hold small parts for soldering, wiring and jewellery repairs. Side cutters come third for trimming cable ties, wire and mouldings. Circlip pliers are a specialist purchase, but the moment you open an appliance, a bearing housing or a small engine you will find you cannot proceed without them, and improvising with screwdrivers usually ends with the clip lost and the groove damaged.