Slip joint pliers are

pliers Pliers are a hand tool used to hold objects firmly, possibly developed from tongs used to handle hot metal in Bronze Age Europe. They are also useful for bending and physically compressing a wide range of materials. Generally, pliers consist ...

whose pivot point or

fulcrum A fulcrum is the support about which a lever pivots. Fulcrum may also refer to: Companies and organizations * Fulcrum (Anglican think tank), a Church of England think tank * Fulcrum Press, a British publisher of poetry * Fulcrum Wheels, a bicy ...

can be moved to increase the size range of their jaws. Most slip joint pliers use a mechanism that allows sliding the pivot point into one of several positions when the pliers are fully opened. Jaws can be thick, thin, regular and multiple. Multiple ones are those slip joint pliers that provide 2 or more pivoting positions.

Varieties

There are many different varieties of slip joint pliers, including straight slip joint pliers, tongue-and-groove pliers and lineman's pliers.

Straight slip joint pliers

Straight slip joint pliers are configured similarly to common or

lineman's pliers Lineman's pliers (US English), Kleins (genericized trademark, US usage), linesman pliers (Canadian English), side cutting linesman pliers and combination pliers (UK / US English) are a type of pliers used by Lineworker, linemen, electricians, and o ...

in that their jaws are in line with their handles. One side of the pliers usually has two holes that are connected by a slot for the pivot. The pivot is fastened to the other side and shaped such that it can slide through the slot when the pliers are fully opened.

Tongue-and-groove pliers

Tongue-and-groove pliers have their jaws offset from their handles and have several positions at which the lower jaw can be positioned. {{Hand tools Pliers