I don't know all the details, but the recession was unkind to the main Triton Company based in Australia. Bad news, because Triton products have always been highly regarded by the people who use them. I have a couple of their products myself, and use them on an almost day-to-day basis with complete confidence in their solidity and ability to do a good job.

But the good news is that Toolstream, the company behind the highly successful Silverline brand, has acquired the rights to distribute Triton products in the Europe. Established Triton users will breathe a sigh of relief. My experience is that they are a loyal bunch, and would happily buy other Triton products as they are developed, based on their own experience. So the tough old Australian brand is back and in the words of Homer Simpson -Woohoo!

The subject of this review is the design classic Triton SuperJaws. Several tool company executives have said to me that they wish their company had invented it because it is such a brilliant idea and works so well. In some ways it is like a Workmate on steroids - super tough and capable of holding work in a surprising number of ways - but the user needs to know how to get the best out of it.

When I got it out of the box, the first thing I noticed is that the SuperJaws is no mean weight. That is because no compromise has been made in its manufacture. There are a few ways in which some weight has been shaved off it, but it is robustly fabricated from steel. I challenge the clumsiest employee to break it! It will clamp items from 0 to 956mm long. The clamping force exerted via the footpedal is a massive 1000 Kgs. The maximum load it can support is a not insubstantial 100 Kgs. So you see, the weight is the least of it. The SuperJaws is, as it stands, one of the most powerful portable gripping tools and therefore it has as many applications as you can think of.

The SuperJaws uses the principle of the triangle as being a stable structure and on its three legs it stands firmly on most surfaces. This is handy on the building site or outdoors where it is not always possible to find a flat surface. To open the SuperJaws, there is an easy way and a hard way. The easy way is to lie it upside down on the ground at first and slip the back leg out of its small socket and tighten it into place by its locking screw. The foot pedal is then raised until it clicks into position. Next, the front legs fold out straightforwardly and are held in place by simple metal turnscrews. Once opened, the SuperJaws can be turned over onto its legs. It is nearly ready for use because the all important gripping bits are exposed. Mastering the use of the two locking latches is a matter of a few minutes but by using them correctly, the jaws can then be tightened and released very easily. If both latches are released, the jaws can be moved up and down the slides by hand, making speedy adjustments very easy. For general use the standard jaws are lined with a tough urethane rubber that grips very hard and also protects the workpiece. For most purposes these jaws would be perfectly adequate. They do perfectly for holding a delicately veneered door one minute, and then a rough old piece of firewood the next.

For engineers, plumbers and pipefitters, the solidly made cast iron engineer's jaws are really easy to fit to the existing jaws. These jaws have grooves and hollows that allow easy gripping of pipes and other geometric shapes.

The final option on the jaws front is the log jaws. Obviously based on the Great White Shark, that favourite of Australian surfers, these toothy jaws will hold the slipperiest and wettest logs being offered up to a chainsaw with safety. My wife, who has ambitions to be a wood sculptor, loved them because they held a nice large lump of ash for her while she set about it with a large gouge. The footpedal also got a thumbs-up for being a really good way for her to exert a lot of holding pressure without the need for her to have a great deal of strength.

The other piece of essential kit to have with the Triton SuperJaws is the accessories tray. If you work the way I do, I always have a load of extraneous bits that I am using at the same time. By itself, the SuperJaws has no place to put these bits, but the addition of the sturdy plastic tray, mounted on rails passed through the body of the tool is a really good idea. The rails themselves, without the tray could also be used to hang things from, and they also serve as a work support for larger pieces.

Like a lot of good tools that provide opportunities rather than limitations, I think an inventive user would soon find a whole lot of other ways of using the Triton SuperJaws. One thing I would do to suit my particular set of needs when working outside, is to make a small workbench top by taking a 60cm by 120cm piece of 20m thick ply, screw a batten to the bottom of it and tighten into the main jaws. Instant workbench. Combined with the storage tray, it would enable me to deal with most of the joinery jobs I do outdoors. It's clear to see the Tirton SuperJaws is original and still the best.

One more thing - it is a pet hate of mine to see a list of instructions that have obviously been translated so many times into so many languages that they verge on the meaningless. The Triton instructions are a model of clarity. Not only providing clear pictures of what to do and how to operate it, but giving a whole list of other suggestions on how to get the most use out of the Triton. Well done Triton- who said the Australians have mangled our common language! On this evidence they are a good deal better than us.