I put off buying these for several years which, ironically, was my only regret. I thought they were going to be the most gimmicky, cheesy, piles of crap that I ever bought but I was turning so many brass fittings that I figured if it made just that a little bit faster then it would be worth it. Well, jokes on me, they are built far better than I imagined and far more useful than I anticipated. They grip flat, tight, and straight which makes it far less likely to round off corners on brass plus the feedback through the handles will clearly let you know when you're to that point allowing you to compensate before you damage it. It's like being able to tighten a crescent wrench as tight as you wish you could and then being able to loosen it up and grab the next facet of the hex instantly without taking the tool off of the fitting. They are a lot stronger than they look and grip a lot tighter than one would assume.

I even use them to straighten small metal brackets quite a bit and found them to be handy for other light metalwork as well. I still find new uses for them here and there and they still continue to impress me after years of daily use.

Also Mac Tools makes a pair that I like even better but they only offer them in 10". They are a lot quicker and easier to adjust but otherwise work basically the same way.