Side Cutters or cable Shears

[nicebutdim]

These are interesting. Shears with side cutter form factor and stepped blades for your pleasure reduced effort.

 

[Dustydazzler]

Had a set of Nws shears which I primarily used for meter tails , they were great and sliced big cores with ease.
Not sure where they are now thou , think I loaned them out once and never got them back grr

They guys in the Vid are using the side cutters wrong thou on bigger cables , if you need to use side cutters because that’s all you have to hand then do the cut in 2 motions nipping half the cable then rotating the cable 180 between cuts. This avoids most of the squeezing / squashing

 

[nicebutdim]

Had a set of Nws shears which I primarily used for meter tails , they were great and sliced big cores with ease.
Not sure where they are now thou , think I loaned them out once and never got them back grr

They guys in the Vid are using the side cutters wrong thou on bigger cables , if you need to use side cutters because that’s all you have to hand then do the cut in 2 motions nipping half the cable then rotating the cable 180 between cuts. This avoids most of the squeezing / squashing

Was actually thinking those Knipex stepcutters would be ideal for you as they do the work of much longer shears.

 

[pc1966]

For T&E the self-adjusting stripper things work quite well, except for occasionally biting your palms.

For smaller wires I often find these work well, even on PTFE insulation:

https://cpc.farnell.com/ideal/45-121/t-stripper-16-26-awg-stranded/dp/TL00592

I also have the equivalent for typical power cables and it works fine:

https://cpc.farnell.com/ideal/45-120-341/metric-wire-stripper-0-75-6-0/dp/TL00610

They do one covering 0.5mm to 4mm which is probably a good bet for doing typical flexible cables:

https://cpc.farnell.com/ideal/45-125-341/metric-wire-stripper-0-5mm-to/dp/TL00596

 

[pc1966]

I also got one of the side-cutters with a gap for 1.5mm and 2.5mm cable and find it is a pain as often it fails to cut as expected due to the gap (e.g. on cable ties, etc). So looked like a good idea, in practice not so handy.

 

[Dustydazzler]

I also got one of the side-cutters with a gap for 1.5mm and 2.5mm cable and find it is a pain as often it fails to cut as expected due to the gap (e.g. on cable ties, etc). So looked like a good idea, in practice not so handy.

Agree, I had a c.k pair with the 1.5 and 2.5 notches and as much as I wanted to like them I simply couldn't get on with them and just went back to a normal side cutters

 

[pirate]

I quite like my CK cutters with the notches, neat and light in the pocket, and their shears for larger cables. The Knipex installation pliers are a good all-rounder but not a universal "fix" in every situation, and the crimping function is not something I use, preferring proper ratcheting ones for that task. For T&E the automatic strippers are ideal, except for working in back-boxes. Horses for course, I guess...
For cable-ties I trim them with carpenters pincers which are also ideal for removing Linian clips.

 

[nicebutdim]

Agree, I had a c.k pair with the 1.5 and 2.5 notches and as much as I wanted to like them I simply couldn't get on with them and just went back to a normal side cutters

Still have a love/hate relationship with mine, but don't think it's likely I'd buy another pair.

 

[pc1966]

Still have a love/hate relationship with mine, but don't think it's likely I'd buy another pair.

Mine are useful, just not sure I would ever buy a replacement. Would go for conventional cutters instead.

 

[nicebutdim]

Mine are useful, just not sure I would ever buy a replacement. Would go for conventional cutters instead.

I really want to like them, but do so less and less as time passes.

On the plus side, they're excellent cutters in every other regard and will be replaced with another pair of 180mm CKs. I find that insulation gets in the way of my fingers on most other brands and with anything smaller.

 

[swaRRR]

I find that insulation gets in the way of my fingers on most other brands and with anything smaller.

What do you mean? Can't visualise this lol.

I hated side cutters, but i've grown to love mine.

 

[nicebutdim]

What do you mean? Can't visualise this lol.

I hated side cutters, but i've grown to love mine.

I find the insulation gets in the way of my finger up near the pivot on many side cutters and combi pliers - not sure how to describe it myself, but I keep a finger between handles to flick them open and with some brands there doesn't seem to be enough space in there. I think it's down to how handles curve out from the pivot.

 

[telectrix]

I find the insulation gets in the way of my finger up near the pivot on many side cutters and combi pliers - not sure how to describe it myself, but I keep a finger between handles to flick them open and with some brands there doesn't seem to be enough space in there. I think it's down to how handles curve out from the pivot.

you neeed to buy a pairofKim Kardashian ones. they are more curvy.