A hand tool having first and second plier units attached to one another where a jaw region is operatively configured to have a work piece to be placed therein and a handle region is configured to be used by the user of the tool to grasp the work piece. A tension member is provided to be positioned past a dead point axis so as to apply a clamping force upon the jaw member and the hand tool maintains a grip upon the work piece without continuous interaction with the user of the tool.