Allcock Crimping Pliers

Overview

The Allcock Crimping Pliers are a compact fishing-tackle tool built for securely closing crimps when making sea-fishing rigs, heavy monofilament leaders and wire traces. They combine multiple crimping positions with an integrated front cutter, making them a genuinely useful general-purpose rig-making tool for anglers who tie their own terminal tackle.

Current retailer listings identify stainless-steel jaws for added strength, and the jaws themselves are designed to flare the edges of the crimp as it's compressed. This helps reduce the chance of a crimp's sharp edges damaging the line running through it, which is particularly important when working with heavier monofilament.

Worth noting: there are two similar products in the wider Dennett/Allcock range. This inexpensive standard tool is sold as Allcock Crimping Pliers, while a separate, larger 8-inch crimping plier exists and is currently listed by Dennett under its own name and model code.

Perfect For

These pliers are well suited to sea-fishing rig construction, including heavy sea traces, boat rigs, mono leaders and wire traces, provided the crimp size is correctly matched to the line or wire being used. Practical sea-angling applications include conger traces, tope traces, shark traces, heavy boat rigs and heavy mono rubbing leaders.

They're also handy for positioning components along a rig body rather than just forming loops — for example trapping a bead and snood swivel arrangement in place on a flapper, paternoster or multi-hook rig. For this lighter mono work, controlled, correctly-matched crimping is essential to avoid weakening the rig body.

Technical Insight

The multiple crimping positions let the angler select an appropriate squeeze point for the crimp size in use and apply pressure in a controlled way, rather than crushing a crimp flat with ordinary pliers. This gives a more consistent, secure connection when a knot isn't practical or desirable.

The flared jaw profile is arguably the standout feature of this budget-friendly tool: instead of simply crushing the crimp, the jaws compress it while flaring its edges outward, reducing the risk of a sharp crimp edge creating a pressure point against the line. The integrated front snips add a cutting function for trimming line while building rigs, though no specific wire-cutting capacity is stated by the manufacturer, so it shouldn't be relied on for cutting heavier-gauge wire.