Patent ID: 8807615

Claim:
A hand-held gripping device, comprising: a gripping portion having a gripping arm movable relative to between a fully clamped position and a fully opened position; a handle portion spaced apart from the gripping portion by a central portion, the central portion comprising at least two separate portions comprising a hollow, corrugated member having alternating ridges and grooves, said corrugated member being bendable so as to attain a predetermined shape so that a user can preposition said central portion into a desired bent configuration; wherein the handle portion comprises a first manually-actuatable trigger operatively connected to the gripping portion by a single pull member at least substantially disposed within the central portion, whereby actuation of the trigger is operative to move the pull member to thereby selectively position the gripping arm between the fully clamped position and the fully opened position; said pull member comprising at least one cord operatively connecting the handle portion to the gripping portion, said at least one cord extending through said central portion, wherein the at least two separate portions of the central portion comprise a plurality of interconnected connectors which together define a passageway through which said pull member passes through; and wherein the central portion remains bendable during the actuation of the trigger and the positioning of the gripping arm between the fully clamped position and the fully opened position.