"A pair of needle nose pliers used on the Apollo 16 lunar module sold for more than $33,000."
Heritage Auction Galleries, Dallas, March 2008
Pliers are hand tools used for gripping objects by using the principle of the lever. They utilize the hand's powerful closing grip of the fingers into the palm to apply force precisely to a small area. There have been many designs with different jaw configurations to grip, turn, pull, adjust, or cut a variety of items.
Pliers are an ancient invention and probably developed from tools used for handling hot coals when fires were used for cooking. Sticks and wooden tongs were used at first. These were replaced by metal tongs, which were effectively early pliers, around 3000 B.C.E. when iron was being forged. A Greek Macedonian gold wreath from the fourth century B.C.E., also shows evidence of the use of pliers.
Modern pliers consist of three elements: a pair of PVC-sheathed handles, the pivot, and the head section with its gripping jaws or cutting edges. The pliers jaws always meet each other at one point. Adjustable slip- joint pliers have grooved jaws, and the pivot hole (holding the rivet connecting the two halves) is elongated so that the halves can pivot in either of two positions to accommodate objects of different sizes.
Pliers may be used to grip a plumbing pipe and loosen it, repair taps, bend (round-nose pliers), and cut wire (pliers with jaws). Diagonal cutting pliers are used for cutting wire and small pins in areas that cannot be reached by larger tools. There are also smaller versions such as the mini "side-cutting" pliers used for jewelry and those in Swiss Army knives.
The basic design of pliers has changed little over the years, and they are still used in many occupations that require dexterity and precision.
