Christopher Tidy wrote:
Beryl wrote:

Positioning the vise-grip jaws one facet to the left would let the
"leading edge" of the nut (that follows the cut) dig in for a better
bite.

And maybe damage the stud, which I badly needed to avoid!

Chris

I did a crummy job, describing the edge literally digging into the stud!

The way the pliers are positioned in the pic, clamping pressures are as
close to the trailing edge, and far from the leading edge, as they can
be. The split nut is pushed around from behind, tangential force wanting
to lift the rear of the nut off the stud, "unwrapping" it.
Move the clamping pressure close to the leading edge and the nut will
wrap as it's pulled, closing more tightly around the stud.


A situation where a split "stud" grabs the nut around it...

Think of drum brake shoes. When forced outward, the leading edge of a
shoe wedges tightly against the turning drum. A trailing edge forced
outward isn't very effective.