Best wire strippers hands down → amzn.to/3YMOTPQ Absolute worst → amzn.to/4dk1LkX Sorry not sorry, if you disagree, let me know ⬇ Affiliated links As an Amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Those tool manufacturers who "might be watching this" are not going to do anything. What you found out here is most basic form of planned obsolescence. Wire cutters have been around for ages and manufacturers know exactly how to make a good tool if they want to. Instead, they push the price down, so you are more likely to buy their tool, but they also design it so that it breaks faster, so you have to buy them more often. That simply makes them more money.
Just out of interest, your title is "wire CUTTERS", but this pinned comment is "wire STRIPPERS". I have two different tools for the two different jobs. In the comments I suggest the C.K. VDE Cable Cutters (for cutting), but if the issue is wire "stripping" (i.e. taking back the insulation), then - sorry because it is the same make - I have C.K. Wire Strippers. Your knife videos are superb, but by branching out, it seems to have introduced confusion. Do you now do your own electrical (mains) work? I can't think why else you have gone down this road.
@@JohnPreston888 I've been watching this guy's channel for several years. He seems to do his own housework or remodels. It was probably just a topic that piqued his interest when doing electrical at his house so he made a video about it. However, I don't know that all electricians have a separate tool for each task but, I have seen electricians use diagonal cutters for cutting wire and strippers (like the ones in the video) for just stripping wire.
@@OUTDOORS55 Yes, but I have two different tools for two different tasks (although the stripper does have a cutting edge). Your title seems limited to cutting wires, the video examines both cutting and stripping, and the pinned comment suggests that stripping is the object. I don't disagree with the assessments, just the terminology. (And I am sorry for seeming to ignore both of the makes in favour of C.K. which you might not have on that side of the Atlantic.) Also...having two tools might be a pain for some, but there is a very good logical distinction that gives superior results. Thanks.
Knipex is good so are NWS, Wiha, Fujiya, Merry, Keiba or 3.peaks among lots of others. who can afford to throw 30 bucks down the drain every time they need to cut a couple copper or aluminium wires? 🙄
@kurtkurt3626 Boomers selling this country down the river to chinese takeovers deserve a special place in hell for what they've done to a half dozen of good ol American brands. Craftsman springs to mind
Recently retired after 50 years as a pipe fitter and process gas equipment technicisn. Once Knipex showed up Klien and Channelock were tosssed into the garbage. All Knipex cutters, strippers, and compound leverage pliers perform incredibly well. In pipe wrenches NOBODY, NOBODY has ever matched the performance and reliability of RIDGID. I retired with 3 pipe wrenches that were with me every day of my career. I once had an apprentice that I explained each tool in my kit and why it was there. 2 weeks later we were together again and he had an identical match of my kit. I laughed and said that my tool selection was a personal choice. He said that it had taken me 40 years to draw these conclusions and he fully intended to take advantage of that knowledge.
I learned about the Knipex pliers-wrench a few years ago and it's one of the handiest tools in my bag. I'll probably be replacing all my pliers and cutters with Knipex brand one by one from now on
@@ggrthemostgodless8713 Knipex has been around for almost 150 years and is a well known and often bought hand tool manufacturer in Europe. It's also a family business, which means they don't have to worry about share holders. So... I don't think there is any cause for concern regarding overreach or sell outs.
Knipex does a second hardening run using induction heating on the actual cutting edge. That's why the overall hardness isn't that high and still a bit more flexible, preventing damage to the handles or other parts. The actual cutting edges are harder and feature a optimized angle of attack for Individual materials. Knipex does use a really high grade of steel. They are just worth it.. How i know? From a two day visit of their factory from the actual forge, to finish, quality control etc.
@@Stratos1988 I am not. If you really want something relieable you can count on Knipex. If they brake, you have the wrong tool for the Job. Right now i have needle nose pliers laying beside me manufactured in West Germany. That means the pliers are at least 34 years old. Surely they are pretty beat up, you can see light through the cutting edge, the pliers dont close properly because they are a bit bend BUT it's still working like a charm and the most damage dealt to them is probably due to corosion, because they were stored in a wet basement or half open Garage for most of the time. I'm a salesman but not for knipex directly, we just sell their products and i would have no benefit by lying to you..
@@Stratos1988 My long comment disappeared somehow.. Be sure im not lying. If Knipex breaks on your Job you picked the wrong tool. I have old needle nose pliers that are more then 35 years old.. Still working but of course heavily beat up due to corosion and heavy usage. Even cut some thick steel nails with it, wich of course destroys the cutting edge but atleast it holds up better then the rest.
@@T-Ball-o But it's the whole point of them beeing soft. If you tighten or loose nuts you put a lot of stress on them and the material needs to flex or else it will break at sometime. Never had Problems with them either but haven't used them much.
And that's a problem, before we as a country didn't allow such shit to succeed. If it wasn't good the product would fail and not be sold, kinda like video games we get trash full of bugs and hope for updates to fix them while paying full price. That never use to be a problem they released functional games or they'd go under, and like government we allow tyrants to go unpunished and tyrants keep on doing what they want.
Online reviews were supposed to help solve this. But they got hijacked by the store/websites "curating" the reviews. Ostensibly to remove "obviously" fake reviews. But in all likelihood they're just taking bribes to remove bad reviews at the behest of bad product manufacturers. Don't believe me? The top-performing Knipex has a 4.6 rating on Amazon. While the worst-performing Klein has a 4.8 rating.
People can't gaslight me that companies aren't doing this on purpose to 1. Save money on manufacturing and 2. Force you to buy CONSUMABLE hand tools (as insane as a concept as that is). The amount of cope like "this is how things have to be" "why do you expect better" is honestly pathetic and exactly why this exists. Things weren't always this bad, you just accepted things going to sh*t and instead of speaking against it you decide to gaslight everyone else that it's actually acceptable or even that this is how it's always been. If you don't expect better, then you'll never get better, and tbh you don't deserve better.
It must be all about point number 2, because if you think about it, sharpening at a larger angle should save them money, the amount of material being removed would be less, which is less wear and tear on their grinding equipment.
Yup its what gest me worst. Not just that things are horrible, but instead the number of people who try and shame me for wanting the world to be better. Which that is where the real damage is being done: so many people now will actively try to shut down any call for improvement, I've lost all hope the world will do anything but decline into absolute ruin. Civilization cannot recover if nobody is allowed to EVEN WANT it to be better. Sure tools here and the discourse around them are micro example, but the exact is happening on the mega macro global scale. People are shutting down anybody who tries to make things better or improve anything. Its like the world is now filled with rats that crave the sewer. I'm happy I don't have children. I don't have to feel guilty that I bought new life into a world devoid of hope and on its way to ruin.
What every handyman and -woman needs to learn (hopefully quite early) is that there are two categories of tools: those for people who think they know what they're doing, and those for people who know what they're doing. The first kind is made by companies with tech-CEOs, who brought over the concept of planned obsolescence, focusing on stock price. The second kind costs more, but also gives you peace and lasts 30 years.
As a man with multiple Knipex tools stamped W. Germany it warms the cockles of my heart to see people recommending them in comment sections. The world figured it out eventually 😊
@@T-Ball-o ? I have a pliers wrench quite literally in my hand right now that I've been using for about 12 years daily and it's as good as the day I bought it, might be a you problem.
I only have one pair of Knipex wire-cutters (for tying rebar together with steel wire) and they were hella-expensive, but they're 16 years old now and still cut everything like they did when they were new, except that the pivot's pretty loose now and a few minor dings in the blades from pulling nails with them. Knipex are *The Daddy* of cutters, and one day I'll have the full set... Thanks for another amazing video Alex 😎👍
I lost a pair of knipex cobras in the snow one year, left them on my bumper. Found them that spring in the ditch of my driveway. Minimal rust, right back in the bags onto the next job. I was using a pair of kliens to wire a pressure switch in a boiler room. some water got on them while pressurizing the system and they rusted overnight. There's no beating the Knipex German steel.
You reminded me of my current old reliable wire cutter, found in a trunk hollow left there since no one knows why, and is yet to have a dent. Meanwhile the same sized pliers at work are used only for cat6 cables and look like they were used to break gravel.
My experience: I steer clear from "shear" wire cutters - what I mean by that is that the claws of the cutters move side by side - I choose that they instead move "edge on edge". The force of cutting in the shear type moves the claws apart and so changes the geometry of cutting, which is pretty evident with the stranded cable cutting, where the strands just "ride" in between the claws. So an important reason why Knipex are so much better may be that they are made much more substantial, which prevents this moving apart. Edge on edge design prevents any diagonal action. But edge on edge is very susceptible to any blade damage and demands much more accuracy in manufacturing.
Or simply acknowledge that Wire Strippers are the only "disposable" tool in an electrician's tool pouch ...as they are an inexpensive die cut steel, purpose design tool, not a forged steel "multi-tool" design...and that the cutting edge is simply an 'add-on' feature, not their primary purpose.
Klein makes a much better wire stripper/cutter with forged arms and a compression type cutter rather than a shearing type cutter. No one who is making a ton of cuts uses one of those cheap stamped-metal ones. Those are intended for a homeowner who might replace an outlet every couple of years.
My brother in law is an electrician in his early fifties and he's still using the same pair of wire strippers he was using during his apprenticeship over thirty years ago. Yes, it's a Knipex.
@@hansdietrich1496 While I love Knipex, I can't say they never let me down. The Knipex cobra quickset pliers just don't work... I mean, they work as regular knipex cobra pliers, but the quickset system is flawed and doesn't work most of the time. Regular cobras are still amazing so I still use them for everything, but that was a bit of a letdown.
@@hansdietrich1496 only knipex tool that has broken 2 or 3 times on me is their ziptie cutters. But my god are they worth it as long as one of the snippers doesn't break of (which for me is always the same problem)
Top notch video - damn few channels are little more than paid sponsorships these days, and it's so refreshing to see an honest man putting forth some honest work to speak an honest truth. God bless ya bud, subscribed and all notifications on.
I bought a pair of nipex players about 20 years ago. I paid 75 bucks from the tool truck . I thought man I've got a problem! 75 bucks for a pair of players?? But those dang things are awesome! They paid for themselves within the first month! 20 years later they still work as good as new!! Definitely worth the money!
THIS WHY THE U.S. WILL WILLINGLY BE IT'S MONOPOLISTIC SELF WILLED EXECUTIONERS. ZERO U.S.COMPETITION YIELDED A PLETHORA OF LOOKA-LIKES FOR PROFIT. NO CHOICES STEADY EXTORTIONS FROM LAZY LABORERS! GERMAN COMPETITION TAKES USABLE LONGEVITY IN VALUE-RETAINED, FOR THE CHOICES OF LABOR TO ACQUIRE DIFFERENT AND MORE EFFICIENT TOOLS, FOR THEIR PROGRESS TO SELF SUSTAINABILITY.
As an apprentice, I was taught that wire strippers were for stripping wires, even if they have wire cutters. Dykes were for cutting wire. Same goes for the NM-B Strippers. 22 years later I avoid the “multi tool” gimmick. Give me a set of T-Handle Strippers, Angled Dykes and Lineman Pliers (Electricians Hammer). As an aside, I will say that the Knipex is a totally different kind of wire cutter, built more like Dykes or Lineman Pliers. When manufacturers include wire cutters on the same tool as Wire Strippers, the cutter is an after thought. It shares the same base as the strippers, which doesn’t require much beef, and isn’t built up for it.
Thank you, this is the real answer right here. I was in communications in the army and we used linesman's pliers every day. I picked up soldering as a hobby over the last few years, and that just reaffirmed my position that I would NEVER use wire strippers to cut wire unless I was willing to damage them. I don't think the cutting edge is even there for cutting wire, but rather for trimming jacket insulation. This whole video, while including good testing, is starting from a false premise based on using the wrong tool for the job.
"upgrading using common household tools" Rockwell hardness tester, anvil, and a kiln etc.. Man I need to up my basic tool game XD Love the video as always!!!! Would love to see you upgrade some common household scissors
You can do this with a blow torch and a bucket of oil and a grinder from Walmart. The only reason he is using the hardness tester is to prove his point.
@redgator7250 The kiln helps provide precise temperatures for hardening and tempering. Especially for the tempering you need a precise temperature to provide a quality temper while maintaining high hardness.
DAMNED THE ANTI COMMUNISMS GRADE SCHOOLED BY GUMMIT SKOOLS! SOCIETIES POOR METHODOLOGIES OF EXPIRATIONS OF PATTENTS YEILDED THE DOMINANCE OF TYRANNIES, BUT OVER TOO LONG THE DELAYS WERE OVERCOME TO THE WORLD USES OF ALL FOR PROGRESS.
@@discoeur true... that's why I appreciate videos like this... he just showed us which products to boycott and which one is worth our money (for now; that's why trustworthy "pro-consumer" content like this is worth supporting. And keep a skeptical eye on him/ his content too "to stay aware of the possibility of him selling out and then shilling so he can cash-in on the good faith he's earned... it's a never ending challeng "that's economics/ life."). 🤔
@@discoeur Klein technically makes the majority of their products in the US in their own factory. It does not mean they don't intentionally engineer them to fail for profit.
1:06 Shrinkflation doesn't just affect package sizes, it also affects product quality. How crappy does that steel have to be to get ruined from softer copper wiring????
"Shrinkflation" doesn't exist. It's Biden propaganda. What you have here is just crappy chinesium products that people buy anyways because they have no standards.
@@johanmetreus1268 Ohhh. I didn't even consider that the wiring was impure. I thought copper wiring was pure copper. Again, shrinkflation. I wonder what this copper is mixed with.
He "re-made" the original poor quality cutters and they were fine. He highlighted in the video that it was a "process" issue rather than a materials issue. The cutters were made poorly to a poor design.
@@MrAdopado Yeah. That's why I always time stamp my comments, so I don't have to delete them. Comments give impressions to a video just as a like does.
4:25 Oh. My. God. How many times have I seen someone be like "why pay money when you can make it yourself?" before rushing off to their fully kitted out, possibly multi-generational shop with all the bells and whistles to "do it yourself cheaper." So, thank you for actually addressing the fact that completely normal people also watch these videos.
My first thought when I saw the thumbnail was, "They must not have hardened the edge" and my second thought was, "I bet I could make a hardened set of wire cutters" and then I saw your comment xD The mill, lathe, anvils, hammers, and lab furnace are indeed much more expensive than simply buying a good brand of cutters xD
I don't consider you a knife channel, I consider you a sharpening channel. So glad that you did this I really appreciate you looking into other avenues of sharpness. I really appreciate how you took it to the next level and made the tool even better! Really awesome video thank you so much!
Dear Reviewee, I am writing to inform you that while your initial testing and correction of manufacturing errors was solid, you promptly forgot about and disregarded the last step you took to acquire your desired results. The step in question was surfacing the mating faces and securing the pivot point tightly. A well engineered pair of scissors will have the cutting edges always in contact with each other at and only at the point of incise with the paper. Scissors can and do cheat by making the halves slightly curved so that when closed, only the tips are in contact. Tangent>> This is also where you get the sound scissors make as the point of contact changes as you close them, thus a changing pitch as the length of the fork gets shorter until the click when the tips pass each other and come to rest in contact but past the cut edge. To further point to the importance of this we can look at metal shears where the cutting edge is just two 90 degree edged passing at microns distance with near zero play. Unsurfaced mating faces and a loose pivot will cause the sharpest of edges to fold over a stranded wire. I would posit that this uneven mating and "wobbliness" is at fault for the damage to the cutting edge. A common theme with the samples you chose that performed badly is that they are all stamped, the cutters are machined, some paint, then they just get riveted together. Look at how solidly the Knipex's hinge is built with its heavy duty bolt, and the perpendicular machined faces in cast steel. I can personally attest that tightening the pivot is always the fix when my 35 year old Craftsmans are not performing. I am not saying hardness and angle are not important, I just believe you are overlooking the importance of the above reasonings. Best Regards Peer
Very well. That you have to maintain the tool, to use it, is the issue. We use tools to maintain complex constructions, so asking us to maintain the tools(sans an Apocalypse) is egregious use of someone else's patience. Buy the better strippers, and be $$$ ahead.
What a cringy text wall. On top it's uninformed. First of all he didn't forget anything, you didn't even watch the video. He did improve the surface contact on the "DIY product". And it had the desired results. For the Knipex he didn't have to - the manufacturer did it - and ithad the desired results. So what are you talking about? That was exactly the point: the blade angle for the other brands is bad, the steel treatment is bad, the pivot is crap! Secondly - you seem to not understand how physics work. THOSE ARE NOT SCISSORS. They don't have a self sharpening blade. Not even the blade angle is similar! That was one of the takeaways of the video mate! You can't repair permanent blade deformation with tightening the pivot for a product that already is hard to cut with! Nor would it be necessary to even tighten it because it will only loosen up if it doesn't CUT properly and instead the force acts tangentially to the pivot joint by rolling over the blade and forcing it apart. But sure, keep buying tools just to repair them. Apparently time is worth nothing for you.
Here in the U.K. all the electricians I know use Knipex. So do all the shutter joiners who cut and tie all the steel work for concrete forms. If you know, you know.
Knipex and Garant in Switzerland. Besides Milwaukee drills, American brands rather compare to Chinese brands... Accountants and shareholders will tear down any quality for profit I guess.
Really you cant go wrong with any German brand as far as tools go. I have tons of Knipex, Wera, Wiha and some Weidmuller tools and they are by far lightyears ahead of anything we make here in America. Thats because Klein sold out to china for a lot of materials and the Germans typically havent done that. Although some do, have parts made in china, the tools are still 10x better and more reliable
From my vantage point, Knipex is forged. The others are stamped. Forging gives a refined grain structure. During forging, material flashes (squirts) out the parting line in a direction always 90 degrees to the cut edges. This material flow becomes the grain direction. It's 90 degrees everywhere, in fact. You always want grain direction to be 90 degrees to the cut edge. Knives are stamped incorrectly with regard to grain direction. They are stamped to facilitate stock utilization.
Stamped or forged? Incorrectly, that depends on what task one is most interesred in, edge perfection, or tool mechanical integrity (one can compromise for "task adequacy".)...
@@kadmow no, it depends on whether they are interested in a cheap tool they can abuse and discard or an expensive tool that will last forever if properly cared for, but must be properly cared for.
Klein strippers/needle nose are are offered in forged, and they are MUCH better, i have a pair nearly 10 years old now... but, they are also the same price as the Knipex ones
Or simply acknowledge that Wire Strippers are the only "disposable" tool in an electrician's tool pouch ...as they are an inexpensive die cut steel, purpose design tool, not a forged steel "multi-tool" design...and that the cutting edge is simply an 'add-on' feature, not their primary purpose.
The K is not silent in Knipex. I've been told that germans do not have silent letters at all. I have been using that exact Knipex electricians tool since it was first released. As a professional electrician working in the automation sector I often need to trim very small stranded wire to millimeter precision. The Knipex electricians tool is the only one i found that can do it consistently.
Pretty sure ''knip'' is German for ''cut'' At least it means ''cut'' in Dutch And those languages are very similar so I'd assume it's the same in German
i love how there's people who think you're complaining about a "non-issue" in regards to their ability to cut, but I've only ever used them a few times, as I'm not a professional by any means, nor do I do any hobby that requires i do this regularly, and I've only ever gotten 1 good cut out of them (assuming new or near new), and all other times they're complete garbage. It really doesn't take much, for even an average person who rarely, if ever, touches these things to figure out if something is even halfway decent. So, I'm glad youtube randomly recommended this video, and I'm glad that you figured out how to solve this issue once and for all. I'll have to remember this for the next time i mess with any wire cutters (whenever that'll be, lol), so as to get them in a better shape for cutting.
This is the reason that I, even as a non-professional or even daily user, tend to buy good quality tools, like Knipex and Wera, even if they're more expensive. It's worth a lot to just grab them when you need them and know they'll work without a fuss.
MUCH LIKE THE POTENTIALS FOR CITIZENS,. TELEVISIONS HAD THEIR DAY UNTIL MEDIA-GREED USURPED! NOW THE PLAY-IT-AGAIN-SAM OF HISTORY SHEDS IT'S GLIMMERS OF COMMUNISMS ANTI INDOCTRINATIONS ARE RE-EXAMINED TO THE PROGRESS OF SOCIETIES METHODS OF PAYING IT FORWARD GENERATIONALLY, AS MENTALLY STANDING ON THE CREATORS SHOULDERS OF THE LAZY MEN WHO THOUGHT! ! ! ! DAMNNED! THERE MUST BE A BETTER WAY! AND INSPITE OF NEIGH SAYERS...... DID!
I have Knipex tools that are over 20 years old and they're still totally fine. Just decent materials and solid tool engineering. Thanks for researching this.
Electrical Engineer working in all aspects of assembling high-performance computers since 1981 and this is one of the best technical videos I've seen on YT. Thank you
Keep in mind this was 40+ years ago, In college they told us to only use those for stripping not cutting. If you want to cut wire only use diagonal wire cutters. No combination tool will do as well as a single use tool. I've used diagonal cutters my whole career and carrying one more tool wasn't that difficult.
a cheap diagonal cutter from the same brand will beat up and destroy these silly things for the same cost, and do a decent job stripping wires too once you know how.
@@tsm688 this guy wires lol. I still prefer proper strippers to avoid knicking strands especially if you are running closer to ratings for wire or doing wiring non human craft...
When I started watching this video, I thought "he forgot to test the Knipex". Of course you eventually did! I expected Knipex to excel, because every Knipex tool I've ever owned has exceeded in quality and performance over any other brands I've used. Thanks for yet another informative (and entertaining) video!
One of my very first tool was a small pair of Knipex bolt cutters to make chainmail. It was far more expensive but highly recommended, and the minute I used it I knew I made the right choice. Cuts hardened aluminum like butter and steel quite easily. After thousands of cuts they still look brand new. When I started the video I was surprised the K-brand was failing so badly because I really like Klein screwdrivers and go the two brands confused. The minute I saw the red and blue pair I knew it wouldn't disappoint. Great video, love that you could modify the small pairs so easily.
This shouldn’t be an issue with any company that’s been in business for more than a couple years. That’s pitiful and should be embarrassing for all the companies!
I have always hated using the wire strippers for anything but wire stripping. Sure, it would be convenient to cut and strip all with the same tool in just two easy motions. But I've pretty much always used lineman pliers, or more often, diagonal cutters. And recently, I finally upgraded to Knipex diagonal cutters and needlenose. Soon I'll get their lineman pliers and probably their wire cutters too. I've loved Knipex Cobras for a while, but I'm so glad to finally be getting more of their tools to round out my toolbox with the best quality tools.
My father is an electrician. He's had Knipex for decades that have never failed to cut any wire cleanly and smoothly like butter. And it is pronounced with "k" like "knipex" one not "nipex". It's a German brand, hence the sounding is hard.
@@TheLongDonif you listen carefully, the Germans don't pronounce the 'W' as a 'V' either. They do pronounce it differently from English, but there is a distinct difference between a German 'W' and an English 'V'. Germans do sometimes have very typical pronunciation when speaking English with a German accent (like most non-English speakers), so maybe that's where the confusion comes from.
@@macvos My point is that we are English speakers and not German. We are not obligated to follow German pronunciations or Greek pronunciations or whatever language any other words is from, we will follow whatever is comfortable for our tongues
Knipex tools are amazing i love all of them. Never regretted any of the one i bought. I cut spring steel with their cutters and 16 years later they barely show any sign of wear on the cutting edge.
@@abundantharmonyThe idea is that you buy something more expensive and cry over the price ONCE, but never have to replace that thing. In contrast, buying cheap garbage will have you crying many times because they'll wear out/break and be a pain in the ass and you'll have to buy many of them over your lifetime. I've been trying to follow this more, you support generally better companies, have better stuff, things go more smoothly for you, you create less waste, throw fewer bullshit reciprocating saws through your garage window, etc.
Honestly noticed this with a lot of scissor style tools like this. Between heat treat and alignment issues you'll see a lot of problems. They just don't have tight enough tolerances which allows the gapping so they don't consistently cut and results in folding. It's like an old worn out pair of scissors that you have to apply pressure so the blades intersect better.
yeah. its a “problem” that doesnt need 13min of video. anyone who has been a human for more than 6 years understands how scissors work and why they need sharpening or better design to function longer. This doesnt need to be a video. At all. Next video…how to stop your car from running out of gas using this life hack-getting gas!
DUH! THE KNOWLEDGE OF SHARPENINGS CUTS THE BULL BY THE BALLS! THE DULLARDS TO COMMERCE ARE THE STABLES OF NOT HORSE SENSES THAT PROFIT FROM THE CAN'T FIX STUPIDS!
FWIW I use Knipex flush cutters for 3D print cleanup all the time. I also have some cheaper Hakko flush cutters that work well for the task. Flush cutters are a life saver for removing supports from SLA/resin prints.
From Kinpex: Why is there so much confusion about how to pronounce KNIPEX? In order to answer this question, we have to look back to the 15th century. Until then, the k in words like knight, knee and knot was still pronounced, as it was in all Old Germanic languages. But then, the English decided that it was simply too much trouble to pronounce /kn/ in a syllable onset. They were not completely unjustified to do so as it is a tricky consonant cluster: to produce the /k/ you have to move the back of your tongue to the back of your throat; to produce /n/ you then have to move the tip of the tongue to the roof of your mouth right behind your teeth. That’s a big distance to cover between only two sounds. The easy way out was to simply drop the /k/ and from then on knight, knee, knot and KNIPEX have been pronounced without it. In other Germanic languages, like Dutch, Swedish and German we still find /kn/ as a syllable onset today. So in German, Knie, Knoten und KNIPEX are pronounced with the /k/. The proper German pronunciation of KNIPEX is k-nee-pex [knipɛks], but phonetically speaking, it is very reasonable to pronounce it nee-pex in English.
There's this little blue wire cutter, a real staple used by Swedish electricians. Originally made by Nelco, model CC22. It's called a "blåtång" (blue plier). It cuts, it strips, it twirls and flips. Cutting with it is like cutting through butter. It's the bee's knees! Oh, and it crimps too.
It is great at times. However if you work in power plants etc it is not an allowed tool to use as you might damage the wire. Then you need to go with tools like schneider electric etc.
THERE IS A VERY IMPORTANT FACTOR, THAT YOU LEFT OUT: -I don't agree with your reasoning that Rockwell HARDNESS and cutting EDGE ANGLE are the only factors in getting a good, clean and perfectly SHEARED wire cut: ANOTHER LARGE difference between that Knipex and all the other cheapos, lies not only on the cutting angle and Hardness, but equally critically in the THICKNESS, and RIGIDITY of the "hinged scissor halves": The Knipex only can maintain the ALIGNMENT of the cutting edges in close sliding contact because the cutting edges cannot separate as easily as the extremelly cheapo stamped sheetmetal halves of the garbage ones... Having thick halves, that keep truly flat, and hinged by a stout pin that keeps the halves closely together, like in a good pair of scissors, is what allows the cutting edges to keep one against the other without separating and "rolling" the wire strands instead of cleanly shearing them. Thus, the Knipex, FORGED instead of cheaply stamped halves, in addition to the edge angle, and (as it appears) lastly followed by a proper Hardness, is what gives the much better cutting and long lasting effectivity.
@@PioloQuiboloythe talk, talk, talk was informative and logical, therefore valuable to me. Kinda weird that you’d expect random commenters to have completed data analysis and then publish it somehow for you.
I about lost it watching you write the numbers on the white board 😂 On another note, absolutely loved the information from this video. This would explain why all my wire cutters with hundreds of cuts seem like they suck at their one and only job.
Chinese factory workers is terrified at the price tag of those wire cutters in the US. Previously they thought they were making low-quality stuff for under-developed markets, guessed retail price gonna be $3-4 max. They also shrug at your message at the end. The "tool makers" will not allow their factory to changes the specs.
This explains why I see so many professionals using the Knipex. They may cost twice as much, but it the half price tool starts failing on the first use, how many of those cheap tools will you be buying over and over again.
Knipex is actually so popular in Germany- I have often heard people use the brand name as a name for every pair of side cutters. Like Americans use xerox for any photocopier
Fun fact: in Leroy Merlin (european Home Depo or Walmart) there are quite heavy duty wire cutters, which earned bad reputation in a funny way. For a long time they've been reasonably heat-treated, and negligent people have been writing bad reviews on them after trying to cut fences and barbed wire and seeing the cutting edge shatter. Some years ago they've seemd to have stopped heat treating these cutters so aggressively, and now reviews are full of angry professionals saying that the working lifetime fell from two months to three weeks at best. So, ratings are abysmal, but the most absurd thing is that I've had both the older and the new pair for casual usage, and found no difference in behaviour whatsoever. These things just cut. And strip. And do both quite decent. Without failing miserably. And they share a common trait with the Knipexes - quite thicc of the jaws.
As a RV tech I used my tools every day. I can, indeed vouch for Knipex toughness. Anything they make is a step above. Hope things are going well with your recovery. Your content is excellent!
Man... After this I want to send you all my hand tools to harden/sharpen. I used an apprentice's brand new linesmans the other day and I was blown away by how noticeablythey were sharper/easier to cut with.
As far as I'm concerned, you are in the same category as channels like AvE, Paul Harrell, and DrDaveBilliards. Just a dude who seems genuine and is enthusiastic about sharing what he knows and interacting with like-minded viewers. Love your content, dude! Keep it coming.
In electronics manufacturing industry, these cheap tools are primarily used for stripping insulation, not cutting. We use dedicated cutters for cutting. Many different kinds depending on the wire gage and type of cut, beveled, flush, etc.
Knipex really does make the best cutters/ plyers. Ive owned them all and although the knipex are a little more expensive, they are worth the extra, if you use them every day! I carry their mini chanel locks as part of my edc
Have an old pair of Klein wirestripers that have a dent in the middle of the cutter from cutting copper wire. Stranded copper. So bad the spring won’t even open them anymore.
The Solid/Stranded markings on the stripper are for indicating which positions to use with which gage wire, since stranded wires have a larger diameter than solid for a given gage, but you're certainly correct that the cutting section should be suitable for cutting anything it claims to be suitable for stripping. In practice I use flush cutters almost exclusively to cut wire.
I got my Lindstrom 8160 cutters more than thirty years ago. They still cut 12 gauge solid and 24 gauge stranded cleanly. Admittedly, I don’t use them all day every day but I do use them a lot and more for low voltage cables. Apparently hardness is 63-65HRC Rockwell cone.
Global tool manufactures being schooled by a guy who 5-6 yrs ago pulled his riding mower out of the shed to make knives with a few hundred $$$ in hand me down tools. I appreciate everything you do here Alex. Many have learned so much in your masterclass of "how to make all things metal -sharp" Godspeed on future projects.
Those tool manufacturers know exactly what they're doing. The shorter a tool lasts and the cheaper it is to manufacture, the more profit they can squeeze out of it.
10:07 isn't it amazing that a thing called "knife channel" exists? I learned so much (my knives are very sharp now) about steel, carbon content, hardening and angles. Thanks my guy ✌🏻😄
@@puffinjuiceno no no. You see a brand that was great several decades ago must also be great nowadays. Brand loyalty exists for a reason. Because ones great always great. And that's why I always recommend my favorite brand, even though I haven't bought a tool of them in a decade.
Honestly I'm surprised that just going from 45 to 50 degrees makes such a difference. Trig does say it's got 20% wider base, but it's wild that even that makes the edge probably 500% more durable atleast
Outstanding and very needed video! I have similar problems nipping steel guitar strings--very hard to find end cutters that will hold up long. I'm honestly shocked at the degradation in response to copper wire. Manufacturers should know better!
In my experience (25 years doing industrial electrical work) that type of stripper has pretty much been useless because of what you noted. Add in fine stranded flexible wires, and the problem gets worse. Good to see Knipex got them right though! They do make solid tools.
Wow, that's really interesting to see you have this issue with a pair of Klein's! I have an pair of Klein D2000-28 Angled Diagonal Cutting Pliers, and I use it often to cut solid and stranded wire, along with small nails, bolts and screws. I have never had any issues with them, or with the blade becoming damaged, despite abusing them. My Channellock diagonal cutters and my Klein D2000-9NE Lineman Side Cutter Pliers have also been holding up exceedingly well. HOWEVER, as you pointed out this seems to be solely an issue of geometry because all my pairs of diagonal cutters are made of D2 tool steel. So funny enough, THEY HAVE MULTIPLE VERY GOOD WIRE CUTTERS, BUT THEY JUST DON'T USE THE DESIGNS THAT WORK?!?!?! Great video as always! (P.S. I think you meant to say COMMERCIAL electric, not general electric, but I could be mistaken)
Klein dikes are gtg. These strippers I only see used for the actual stripping, mainly automotive style stranded cable. In residential/commercial wiring everyone just uses their dikes to strip
The dikes have blades that meet and pinch to cut as opposed to the scissor bypass style of blades being the subject of this video. The bypass blades are very sensitive to numerous problems whereas the dikes are much more forgiving.
The offset hole type wirecutters are the best, cheapest pressed plate steel wirecuttes one can buy, anything trying to do knife edges without knife steel is a joke.
I bought a set of Milwaukee wire strippers for $30. And they actually chipped with the first wire I ever cut with them. It was less than 1 mm. I bought another pair at Harbor freight. And they've been working just fine for a year.
As an axe guy, I also found out that a thicker edge will have longer life than a really thin one which will roll. Not all tools need to have a thin edge (looking at box cutters).
@@no-ic5gw brainrot moment. usually the best quality product will be picked over poor quality products. what incentive exists to manufacture better quality products, other than money?
@@razmetrez then why does sh*t keep getting worse, under CAPITALISM? Companies want more money for less. Its obvious that this would happen if you take a second to think about it.
@@razmetrez >best quality product will be chosen? Lol no. The best quality product won't even be PRODUCED! Companies want the most money for the lowest cost. Thats why your boss will always want the most work out of you for the least pay. This is elementary school levels of observation
The cutting edges on the Knipex are actually induction hardened separately. Would be interesting, if you could measure the hardness right where it counts.
Great video! The problem I have with the Knipex is that the stripping holes are too far from the hinge, and if you use them all day long to strip wire, your hands will take more than a day to recover from the soreness. Personally, I just resharpen the edge on my Kleins and tighten up the hinge with a hammer and they work fine for years after that. Also, I use a different model number from the ones you bought so that all the cutting and stripping parts are closer to the hinge to give more leverage and produce more cutting power with less effort. There is no reason they can't just do this from the factory, though.
@@tommihommi1 If you are talking about one of those automatic ones, remember that you also have to carry it in your hands on in a toolbelt while going up and down a ladder a few hundred times per day as well. Every extra bit on unnecessary weight makes a big difference.
@@azrobbins01 The Knipex 12 40 200 are extremely light, and strip quite a lot (AWG 32-7). I deal with electronics, not power electrical systems, so I've not tried to strip Romex with them, so I can't say how well they work on something that wide.
I’m a union electrician in Chicago. Apprentices come out of school with a bag of tools the school requires them to buy. They are mostly Klein brand. Upgrading/throwing away the Klein strippers is usually one of the first things they do.
What a very interesting study. Thanks a lot for sharing. Very excellent. Also, A++ and 11 out of 10, for the mirror writing. That was the cherry on top of the cake, set abobe the pie, enveloping the ice cream. Serve shaken, not stirred.
After having bought a awful lot of shitty tools, I've seen a test two years ago, from that point I've exclusively bought Knipex, they're amazing... The wire stripper is AWESOME... The tiny cobra xs pliers are also outstanding... It's expensive but it's really really worth it.
I've seen wire cutters with a nearly flat apex. As in it's like two rectangles passing each other. I'm kind of surprised there is an apex at all on wire cutters. Seems unnecessary if all you're cutting is soft metals like copper and aluminum.
Because they shear the metal rather can cutting it, so they don't really rely on sharpness. Sadly the video doesn't mention this despite the fact you can clearly see the solid wires are sheared in the middle and not cut all the way through.
Yeah, the blunter the apex the thicker and stiffer the tool has to be. So that would add to the cost. I really only touched on some of the engineering issues with these. Theres a lot we could go over 🙂
@@hattfnattenFor what reason should it be mentioned, when you can see it happening perfectly?! Do you need to know at what angle to sharpen your wirecutter?! 😂 50 seems better than 45, stillt not enough info??
@@PM-wt3ye The issue with cable shears specifically is, that they must deform the cable as little as possible, they can‘t be too thick behind the edge.
For the longest time, I had gotten used to the fact, that when I bought new wire cutting tools I was just going to have to resharpen them at a shallower angle before use... Until I too discovered Knipex made some! I had been so incredibly happy with the quality of the first couple pair of Knipex pliers I bought, particularly the smooth jaw adjustable jobs and mini bolt cutters, that I eventually bit the rather expensive bullet and replaced all my pliers with them. Why I didn't figure at that time that they must make wiring tools too I don't know, but I was thrilled when I finally got em!
i love this video so much but you're wasting your breath. Those tools are built to a cost where the manufacturer DOESNT want them to last more than a few hundred uses. Why would they make their tools better for basically free only to halve their sales in the long term? They want you to keep coming back and buying a new set every few months. Plus given how similar all those cheap tools looked, i'd be willing to wager they were all built on the same street or even same building in china and imported and rebranded.
Knipex counts on some Joe Schmoe use the knipex to cut a steel wire or bolt 😂 Anyone who is in electronics or electrician has probably had this happen at some or more points. 😑 - moment
@@kyfho47 sure, but how many avg joe home diy guys are there for every professional? they're catering to the largest market first. pro grade tools are out there, but not for $30-$50
Best wire strippers hands down → amzn.to/3YMOTPQ
Absolute worst → amzn.to/4dk1LkX
Sorry not sorry, if you disagree, let me know ⬇
Affiliated links
As an Amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Those tool manufacturers who "might be watching this" are not going to do anything. What you found out here is most basic form of planned obsolescence. Wire cutters have been around for ages and manufacturers know exactly how to make a good tool if they want to. Instead, they push the price down, so you are more likely to buy their tool, but they also design it so that it breaks faster, so you have to buy them more often. That simply makes them more money.
Just out of interest, your title is "wire CUTTERS", but this pinned comment is "wire STRIPPERS". I have two different tools for the two different jobs. In the comments I suggest the C.K. VDE Cable Cutters (for cutting), but if the issue is wire "stripping" (i.e. taking back the insulation), then - sorry because it is the same make - I have C.K. Wire Strippers.
Your knife videos are superb, but by branching out, it seems to have introduced confusion.
Do you now do your own electrical (mains) work? I can't think why else you have gone down this road.
These are both wire cutters AND strippers. If you look close in this video you will see a dedicated pair of cable cutters made by kline also failing.
@@JohnPreston888 I've been watching this guy's channel for several years. He seems to do his own housework or remodels. It was probably just a topic that piqued his interest when doing electrical at his house so he made a video about it. However, I don't know that all electricians have a separate tool for each task but, I have seen electricians use diagonal cutters for cutting wire and strippers (like the ones in the video) for just stripping wire.
@@OUTDOORS55 Yes, but I have two different tools for two different tasks (although the stripper does have a cutting edge). Your title seems limited to cutting wires, the video examines both cutting and stripping, and the pinned comment suggests that stripping is the object.
I don't disagree with the assessments, just the terminology. (And I am sorry for seeming to ignore both of the makes in favour of C.K. which you might not have on that side of the Atlantic.)
Also...having two tools might be a pain for some, but there is a very good logical distinction that gives superior results.
Thanks.
Yup, learned this lesson years ago. Buying Knipex is cheaper because you don't need to buy new ones after every use.
Knipex is good so are NWS, Wiha, Fujiya, Merry, Keiba or 3.peaks among lots of others. who can afford to throw 30 bucks down the drain every time they need to cut a couple copper or aluminium wires? 🙄
Tin snips are much cheaper and can cut 8 AWG or even thicker.
And here in Europe you get them in every big box store. 😂
Jokes aside, I am always astounded on how shitty American tool have become.
@@kurtkurt3626 Everything is made to fail.
@kurtkurt3626 Boomers selling this country down the river to chinese takeovers deserve a special place in hell for what they've done to a half dozen of good ol American brands. Craftsman springs to mind
Recently retired after 50 years as a pipe fitter and process gas equipment technicisn. Once Knipex showed up Klien and Channelock were tosssed into the garbage. All Knipex cutters, strippers, and compound leverage pliers perform incredibly well. In pipe wrenches NOBODY, NOBODY has ever matched the performance and reliability of RIDGID. I retired with 3 pipe wrenches that were with me every day of my career. I once had an apprentice that I explained each tool in my kit and why it was there. 2 weeks later we were together again and he had an identical match of my kit. I laughed and said that my tool selection was a personal choice. He said that it had taken me 40 years to draw these conclusions and he fully intended to take advantage of that knowledge.
Smart kid. 😊😊😊😊😊😊😊
So... What's in your kit? I'm trying to find a good one as well
I learned about the Knipex pliers-wrench a few years ago and it's one of the handiest tools in my bag. I'll probably be replacing all my pliers and cutters with Knipex brand one by one from now on
Hopefully they keep quality up, normally once sales go up the quality goes down.
@@ggrthemostgodless8713
Knipex has been around for almost 150 years and is a well known and often bought hand tool manufacturer in Europe.
It's also a family business, which means they don't have to worry about share holders. So... I don't think there is any cause for concern regarding overreach or sell outs.
Knipex does a second hardening run using induction heating on the actual cutting edge. That's why the overall hardness isn't that high and still a bit more flexible, preventing damage to the handles or other parts.
The actual cutting edges are harder and feature a optimized angle of attack for Individual materials.
Knipex does use a really high grade of steel.
They are just worth it..
How i know? From a two day visit of their factory from the actual forge, to finish, quality control etc.
You better not be lying, coz I'm sold.
@@Stratos1988 I am not. If you really want something relieable you can count on Knipex. If they brake, you have the wrong tool for the Job. Right now i have needle nose pliers laying beside me manufactured in West Germany. That means the pliers are at least 34 years old.
Surely they are pretty beat up, you can see light through the cutting edge, the pliers dont close properly because they are a bit bend BUT it's still working like a charm and the most damage dealt to them is probably due to corosion, because they were stored in a wet basement or half open Garage for most of the time.
I'm a salesman but not for knipex directly, we just sell their products and i would have no benefit by lying to you..
@@Stratos1988 My long comment disappeared somehow.. Be sure im not lying. If Knipex breaks on your Job you picked the wrong tool.
I have old needle nose pliers that are more then 35 years old.. Still working but of course heavily beat up due to corosion and heavy usage. Even cut some thick steel nails with it, wich of course destroys the cutting edge but atleast it holds up better then the rest.
I wish they would do that with their pliers wrenches. They're soft compared to my old crescent and yield easily
@@T-Ball-o But it's the whole point of them beeing soft. If you tighten or loose nuts you put a lot of stress on them and the material needs to flex or else it will break at sometime. Never had Problems with them either but haven't used them much.
Klein knows. They also know they sell more wire cutters doing things their way.
And that's a problem, before we as a country didn't allow such shit to succeed. If it wasn't good the product would fail and not be sold, kinda like video games we get trash full of bugs and hope for updates to fix them while paying full price. That never use to be a problem they released functional games or they'd go under, and like government we allow tyrants to go unpunished and tyrants keep on doing what they want.
@@mortem-tyrannis ... never used* to be
@@einundsiebenziger5488 im glad that's what you took from the comment, a spelling fuck up while typing in a hurry. Thanks you're apart of the problem.
Online reviews were supposed to help solve this. But they got hijacked by the store/websites "curating" the reviews. Ostensibly to remove "obviously" fake reviews. But in all likelihood they're just taking bribes to remove bad reviews at the behest of bad product manufacturers. Don't believe me? The top-performing Knipex has a 4.6 rating on Amazon. While the worst-performing Klein has a 4.8 rating.
No warranty on those Klein tools?
People can't gaslight me that companies aren't doing this on purpose to 1. Save money on manufacturing and 2. Force you to buy CONSUMABLE hand tools (as insane as a concept as that is).
The amount of cope like "this is how things have to be" "why do you expect better" is honestly pathetic and exactly why this exists.
Things weren't always this bad, you just accepted things going to sh*t and instead of speaking against it you decide to gaslight everyone else that it's actually acceptable or even that this is how it's always been.
If you don't expect better, then you'll never get better, and tbh you don't deserve better.
You can easily buy better-quality tools that last. It just costs more is all.
@@keithklassen5320 You have to find out what company is good first.
It must be all about point number 2, because if you think about it, sharpening at a larger angle should save them money, the amount of material being removed would be less, which is less wear and tear on their grinding equipment.
Yup its what gest me worst. Not just that things are horrible, but instead the number of people who try and shame me for wanting the world to be better. Which that is where the real damage is being done: so many people now will actively try to shut down any call for improvement, I've lost all hope the world will do anything but decline into absolute ruin. Civilization cannot recover if nobody is allowed to EVEN WANT it to be better.
Sure tools here and the discourse around them are micro example, but the exact is happening on the mega macro global scale. People are shutting down anybody who tries to make things better or improve anything. Its like the world is now filled with rats that crave the sewer.
I'm happy I don't have children. I don't have to feel guilty that I bought new life into a world devoid of hope and on its way to ruin.
What every handyman and -woman needs to learn (hopefully quite early) is that there are two categories of tools: those for people who think they know what they're doing, and those for people who know what they're doing. The first kind is made by companies with tech-CEOs, who brought over the concept of planned obsolescence, focusing on stock price. The second kind costs more, but also gives you peace and lasts 30 years.
As a man with multiple Knipex tools stamped W. Germany it warms the cockles of my heart to see people recommending them in comment sections.
The world figured it out eventually 😊
German tech has always been top quality.
german engineering is best in de world
Yes, unfortunately their pliers wrench is made of warm butter
@@T-Ball-o ? I have a pliers wrench quite literally in my hand right now that I've been using for about 12 years daily and it's as good as the day I bought it, might be a you problem.
Cockles? ....I don't dare google that
I'm saving this for a time when I inevitably have to explain why I own so many knipex pliers
Most underrated comment I have read here.
I only have one pair of Knipex wire-cutters (for tying rebar together with steel wire) and they were hella-expensive, but they're 16 years old now and still cut everything like they did when they were new, except that the pivot's pretty loose now and a few minor dings in the blades from pulling nails with them.
Knipex are *The Daddy* of cutters, and one day I'll have the full set...
Thanks for another amazing video Alex 😎👍
No one should ever have to explain why they have so many Knipex tools.
It looks like Klein ain't mine now.
Once you go german tou never go back to😂
I lost a pair of knipex cobras in the snow one year, left them on my bumper. Found them that spring in the ditch of my driveway. Minimal rust, right back in the bags onto the next job. I was using a pair of kliens to wire a pressure switch in a boiler room. some water got on them while pressurizing the system and they rusted overnight. There's no beating the Knipex German steel.
You reminded me of my current old reliable wire cutter, found in a trunk hollow left there since no one knows why, and is yet to have a dent.
Meanwhile the same sized pliers at work are used only for cat6 cables and look like they were used to break gravel.
TYRANNY VIA MONOLOPIES SLOW THE GROWTH OF SOCIETIES WHEN COLLECTIVELY WE HELP OTHERS TO STAND ON THEIR FORE FATHERS SHOULDERS.
CON-GRESS IS NOT PROGRESS!
@@MordecroxYou found it in a-- oh, I've read enough fairy tales to know how this is going to end.
Yep. Knipex all day.
My experience: I steer clear from "shear" wire cutters - what I mean by that is that the claws of the cutters move side by side - I choose that they instead move "edge on edge". The force of cutting in the shear type moves the claws apart and so changes the geometry of cutting, which is pretty evident with the stranded cable cutting, where the strands just "ride" in between the claws. So an important reason why Knipex are so much better may be that they are made much more substantial, which prevents this moving apart. Edge on edge design prevents any diagonal action. But edge on edge is very susceptible to any blade damage and demands much more accuracy in manufacturing.
Or simply acknowledge that Wire Strippers are the only "disposable" tool in an electrician's tool pouch ...as they are an inexpensive die cut steel, purpose design tool, not a forged steel "multi-tool" design...and that the cutting edge is simply an 'add-on' feature, not their primary purpose.
Klein makes a much better wire stripper/cutter with forged arms and a compression type cutter rather than a shearing type cutter. No one who is making a ton of cuts uses one of those cheap stamped-metal ones. Those are intended for a homeowner who might replace an outlet every couple of years.
Thank you for holding manufacturers responsible with your own quality control testing, and more importantly informing us the consumers.
That would have to be complete lack of QC.
My brother in law is an electrician in his early fifties and he's still using the same pair of wire strippers he was using during his apprenticeship over thirty years ago.
Yes, it's a Knipex.
Agree. I'm not an electrician, but my Knipex tools also never let me down. Things you buy for life.
@@hansdietrich1496 While I love Knipex, I can't say they never let me down. The Knipex cobra quickset pliers just don't work... I mean, they work as regular knipex cobra pliers, but the quickset system is flawed and doesn't work most of the time. Regular cobras are still amazing so I still use them for everything, but that was a bit of a letdown.
wanna bet they make less money than whever factory is cranking out the garbage ones?
@@hansdietrich1496 only knipex tool that has broken 2 or 3 times on me is their ziptie cutters. But my god are they worth it as long as one of the snippers doesn't break of (which for me is always the same problem)
I've an electrician that long too and have tools that old. Channel Lock, Klein and Ideal. Something must have hanged.
Top notch video - damn few channels are little more than paid sponsorships these days, and it's so refreshing to see an honest man putting forth some honest work to speak an honest truth. God bless ya bud, subscribed and all notifications on.
Dude cuts sooo many cables that he can sell the copper by the pound. Love the channel. Information plus humor.
the price of mongo might pay for the wire cutters
word is that he has crashed worldwide scrap copper prices ;
HERE TH' DEAL! PAY ANYTHING FORWARD!
... I'm just realizing I've been putting all my cuttings in the recycle bin and how that's probably been a mistake...
I bought a pair of nipex players about 20 years ago. I paid 75 bucks from the tool truck . I thought man I've got a problem! 75 bucks for a pair of players?? But those dang things are awesome! They paid for themselves within the first month! 20 years later they still work as good as new!! Definitely worth the money!
it's.. it's pliers...
@@david7384 I know ! Damn spellchecker!
THIS WHY THE U.S. WILL WILLINGLY BE IT'S MONOPOLISTIC SELF WILLED EXECUTIONERS. ZERO U.S.COMPETITION YIELDED A PLETHORA OF LOOKA-LIKES FOR PROFIT. NO CHOICES STEADY EXTORTIONS FROM LAZY LABORERS! GERMAN COMPETITION TAKES USABLE LONGEVITY IN VALUE-RETAINED, FOR THE CHOICES OF LABOR TO ACQUIRE DIFFERENT AND MORE EFFICIENT TOOLS, FOR THEIR PROGRESS TO SELF SUSTAINABILITY.
@@david7384good pliers.
@@david7384 And also KNIPEX
As an apprentice, I was taught that wire strippers were for stripping wires, even if they have wire cutters. Dykes were for cutting wire. Same goes for the NM-B Strippers. 22 years later I avoid the “multi tool” gimmick. Give me a set of T-Handle Strippers, Angled Dykes and Lineman Pliers (Electricians Hammer). As an aside, I will say that the Knipex is a totally different kind of wire cutter, built more like Dykes or Lineman Pliers. When manufacturers include wire cutters on the same tool as Wire Strippers, the cutter is an after thought. It shares the same base as the strippers, which doesn’t require much beef, and isn’t built up for it.
Thank you, this is the real answer right here. I was in communications in the army and we used linesman's pliers every day. I picked up soldering as a hobby over the last few years, and that just reaffirmed my position that I would NEVER use wire strippers to cut wire unless I was willing to damage them. I don't think the cutting edge is even there for cutting wire, but rather for trimming jacket insulation. This whole video, while including good testing, is starting from a false premise based on using the wrong tool for the job.
"upgrading using common household tools" Rockwell hardness tester, anvil, and a kiln etc.. Man I need to up my basic tool game XD Love the video as always!!!! Would love to see you upgrade some common household scissors
he said 4,000$ worth of tools, to fix that issue...
Alex made a joke and didn't even flinch. 😏
You can do this with a blow torch and a bucket of oil and a grinder from Walmart. The only reason he is using the hardness tester is to prove his point.
@redgator7250 The kiln helps provide precise temperatures for hardening and tempering. Especially for the tempering you need a precise temperature to provide a quality temper while maintaining high hardness.
UP GRADE YOUR BIG-BOY PANTS TO COMPREHEND THE WONDERFULNESS AND THE TYRANNIES OF THE INTERNET.
Nice review , been a electrician 45 years and always hate when strippers wont cut stranded wire
DAMNED THE ANTI COMMUNISMS GRADE SCHOOLED BY GUMMIT SKOOLS! SOCIETIES POOR METHODOLOGIES OF EXPIRATIONS OF PATTENTS YEILDED THE DOMINANCE OF TYRANNIES, BUT OVER TOO LONG THE DELAYS WERE OVERCOME TO THE WORLD USES OF ALL FOR PROGRESS.
usually for me it is enough when they dance and take off some clothes but if you insist on that quality too... all power to you! 😜
i absolutely lol’d at the insane upside down angle numbers 😂😂😂 great video thanks for this
Videos like this make me *SOOO HAPPY!*
Hold manufacturers accountable for selling us Junk; boycott Crap! (vote with your $).
hard to vote with your £ when every product is made in the same factory but with a different logo slapped on it
@@discoeur true... that's why I appreciate videos like this... he just showed us which products to boycott and which one is worth our money (for now; that's why trustworthy "pro-consumer" content like this is worth supporting. And keep a skeptical eye on him/ his content too "to stay aware of the possibility of him selling out and then shilling so he can cash-in on the good faith he's earned... it's a never ending challeng "that's economics/ life."). 🤔
THE TYRANNY OF MONOPOLY BY OLIGARCHY IS TYRANNICALLY REDUNDANT!
@@discoeur Klein technically makes the majority of their products in the US in their own factory. It does not mean they don't intentionally engineer them to fail for profit.
1:06 Shrinkflation doesn't just affect package sizes, it also affects product quality. How crappy does that steel have to be to get ruined from softer copper wiring????
Combine that with the fact that impure copper not only is cheaper but also harder...
"Shrinkflation" doesn't exist. It's Biden propaganda. What you have here is just crappy chinesium products that people buy anyways because they have no standards.
@@johanmetreus1268 Ohhh. I didn't even consider that the wiring was impure. I thought copper wiring was pure copper. Again, shrinkflation. I wonder what this copper is mixed with.
He "re-made" the original poor quality cutters and they were fine. He highlighted in the video that it was a "process" issue rather than a materials issue. The cutters were made poorly to a poor design.
@@MrAdopado Yeah. That's why I always time stamp my comments, so I don't have to delete them. Comments give impressions to a video just as a like does.
Got all my Knipex tools from school like 20yrs ago...still working like they are brand new.
4:25 Oh. My. God. How many times have I seen someone be like "why pay money when you can make it yourself?" before rushing off to their fully kitted out, possibly multi-generational shop with all the bells and whistles to "do it yourself cheaper."
So, thank you for actually addressing the fact that completely normal people also watch these videos.
That's why you make tool collecting your hobby
My first thought when I saw the thumbnail was, "They must not have hardened the edge" and my second thought was, "I bet I could make a hardened set of wire cutters" and then I saw your comment xD
The mill, lathe, anvils, hammers, and lab furnace are indeed much more expensive than simply buying a good brand of cutters xD
I don't consider you a knife channel, I consider you a sharpening channel. So glad that you did this I really appreciate you looking into other avenues of sharpness. I really appreciate how you took it to the next level and made the tool even better!
Really awesome video thank you so much!
Dear Reviewee,
I am writing to inform you that while your initial testing and correction of manufacturing errors was solid, you promptly forgot about and disregarded the last step you took to acquire your desired results. The step in question was surfacing the mating faces and securing the pivot point tightly. A well engineered pair of scissors will have the cutting edges always in contact with each other at and only at the point of incise with the paper. Scissors can and do cheat by making the halves slightly curved so that when closed, only the tips are in contact. Tangent>> This is also where you get the sound scissors make as the point of contact changes as you close them, thus a changing pitch as the length of the fork gets shorter until the click when the tips pass each other and come to rest in contact but past the cut edge. To further point to the importance of this we can look at metal shears where the cutting edge is just two 90 degree edged passing at microns distance with near zero play. Unsurfaced mating faces and a loose pivot will cause the sharpest of edges to fold over a stranded wire. I would posit that this uneven mating and "wobbliness" is at fault for the damage to the cutting edge. A common theme with the samples you chose that performed badly is that they are all stamped, the cutters are machined, some paint, then they just get riveted together. Look at how solidly the Knipex's hinge is built with its heavy duty bolt, and the perpendicular machined faces in cast steel. I can personally attest that tightening the pivot is always the fix when my 35 year old Craftsmans are not performing. I am not saying hardness and angle are not important, I just believe you are overlooking the importance of the above reasonings.
Best Regards
Peer
Very well. That you have to maintain the tool, to use it, is the issue. We use tools to maintain complex constructions, so asking us to maintain the tools(sans an Apocalypse) is egregious use of someone else's patience. Buy the better strippers, and be $$$ ahead.
Just doesn't matter though! The tool is still shite.
What a cringy text wall. On top it's uninformed.
First of all he didn't forget anything, you didn't even watch the video.
He did improve the surface contact on the "DIY product". And it had the desired results.
For the Knipex he didn't have to - the manufacturer did it - and ithad the desired results.
So what are you talking about?
That was exactly the point: the blade angle for the other brands is bad, the steel treatment is bad, the pivot is crap!
Secondly - you seem to not understand how physics work.
THOSE ARE NOT SCISSORS. They don't have a self sharpening blade. Not even the blade angle is similar! That was one of the takeaways of the video mate!
You can't repair permanent blade deformation with tightening the pivot for a product that already is hard to cut with!
Nor would it be necessary to even tighten it because it will only loosen up if it doesn't CUT properly and instead the force acts tangentially to the pivot joint by rolling over the blade and forcing it apart.
But sure, keep buying tools just to repair them. Apparently time is worth nothing for you.
Here in the U.K. all the electricians I know use Knipex.
So do all the shutter joiners who cut and tie all the steel work for concrete forms.
If you know, you know.
Knipex and Garant in Switzerland. Besides Milwaukee drills, American brands rather compare to Chinese brands...
Accountants and shareholders will tear down any quality for profit I guess.
Growing in Canada, there was a time when Sheffield steel tools were highly sought after. Times have changed, and not for the better.
Electronics and Jewelry people also love Lindström.
Really you cant go wrong with any German brand as far as tools go. I have tons of Knipex, Wera, Wiha and some Weidmuller tools and they are by far lightyears ahead of anything we make here in America. Thats because Klein sold out to china for a lot of materials and the Germans typically havent done that. Although some do, have parts made in china, the tools are still 10x better and more reliable
@@matthollins3806 Technically, some Swedish brands I highly regard (Sandvik and related) are now US-owned (Snap-On)....
From my vantage point, Knipex is forged. The others are stamped. Forging gives a refined grain structure. During forging, material flashes (squirts) out the parting line in a direction always 90 degrees to the cut edges. This material flow becomes the grain direction. It's 90 degrees everywhere, in fact. You always want grain direction to be 90 degrees to the cut edge. Knives are stamped incorrectly with regard to grain direction. They are stamped to facilitate stock utilization.
Stamped or forged? Incorrectly, that depends on what task one is most interesred in, edge perfection, or tool mechanical integrity (one can compromise for "task adequacy".)...
Those cheap ones are indeed definitely not forged. They look like they're made of steel plate. 😳
@@kadmow no, it depends on whether they are interested in a cheap tool they can abuse and discard or an expensive tool that will last forever if properly cared for, but must be properly cared for.
Klein strippers/needle nose are are offered in forged, and they are MUCH better, i have a pair nearly 10 years old now... but, they are also the same price as the Knipex ones
Or simply acknowledge that Wire Strippers are the only "disposable" tool in an electrician's tool pouch ...as they are an inexpensive die cut steel, purpose design tool, not a forged steel "multi-tool" design...and that the cutting edge is simply an 'add-on' feature, not their primary purpose.
I use one from a Japanese company, Vessel. It costs 20-30 USD and is still working fine.
The K is not silent in Knipex. I've been told that germans do not have silent letters at all. I have been using that exact Knipex electricians tool since it was first released. As a professional electrician working in the automation sector I often need to trim very small stranded wire to millimeter precision. The Knipex electricians tool is the only one i found that can do it consistently.
@@flyingsodwai1382 I KNOW about the pronunciation 😉👍
@@OUTDOORS55 Even better pun: "I NOW KNOW..." 😜
THANK YOU! I'm glad I want the only person to notice the missing K.
We speak English, not German. Just like Volkswagen, we pronounce it as we see it in our language
Pretty sure ''knip'' is German for ''cut''
At least it means ''cut'' in Dutch
And those languages are very similar so I'd assume it's the same in German
Knipex or nothing for me i got 20+ pairs being a career mechanic.
@@metagen77 He obviously means that he has 20+ pairs of Knipex pliers.
Came to post this. Knipex. But definitely a buy once cry once.
Yes, knipex all day. They're not cheap, but your grandchildren will inherit them😅
Got myself some for working on my car, well worth the money imo
Came here to post this as well. If it’s a tool you really need to daily drive - Knipex or go home.
i love how there's people who think you're complaining about a "non-issue" in regards to their ability to cut, but I've only ever used them a few times, as I'm not a professional by any means, nor do I do any hobby that requires i do this regularly, and I've only ever gotten 1 good cut out of them (assuming new or near new), and all other times they're complete garbage.
It really doesn't take much, for even an average person who rarely, if ever, touches these things to figure out if something is even halfway decent. So, I'm glad youtube randomly recommended this video, and I'm glad that you figured out how to solve this issue once and for all. I'll have to remember this for the next time i mess with any wire cutters (whenever that'll be, lol), so as to get them in a better shape for cutting.
This is the reason that I, even as a non-professional or even daily user, tend to buy good quality tools, like Knipex and Wera, even if they're more expensive. It's worth a lot to just grab them when you need them and know they'll work without a fuss.
MUCH LIKE THE POTENTIALS FOR CITIZENS,. TELEVISIONS HAD THEIR DAY UNTIL MEDIA-GREED USURPED! NOW THE PLAY-IT-AGAIN-SAM OF HISTORY SHEDS IT'S GLIMMERS OF COMMUNISMS ANTI INDOCTRINATIONS ARE RE-EXAMINED TO THE PROGRESS OF SOCIETIES METHODS OF PAYING IT FORWARD GENERATIONALLY, AS MENTALLY STANDING ON THE CREATORS SHOULDERS OF THE LAZY MEN WHO THOUGHT! ! ! ! DAMNNED! THERE MUST BE A BETTER WAY! AND INSPITE OF NEIGH SAYERS...... DID!
I love the way the world is most people are so greedy they don't care about waste anymore or tools that actually work as intended.
Meh, i use my wire strippers to strip wire. I use my diagonal cutters to cut wire.
When can we buy the novel? MacVos, Cutting Edge?
I have Knipex tools that are over 20 years old and they're still totally fine. Just decent materials and solid tool engineering. Thanks for researching this.
Klein has gone so far downhill. I switched to Knipex about 12 years ago and never looked back. Knipex > Klein
Channel lock, Crescent, and yes, even Klein used to make good hardened cutting tools. It's shameful the way they have let their quality slip.
Let's really hope some Chinese investor doesn't buy Knipex...
When I was in school, we always used knipex stuff, they make great tools.
The power of independent content creators!
Very nice!
Electrical Engineer working in all aspects of assembling high-performance computers since 1981 and this is one of the best technical videos I've seen on YT. Thank you
There's also a good reason why in aerospace maintenance, all pliers and cutters inside our toolboxes are Knipex.
Keep in mind this was 40+ years ago,
In college they told us to only use those for stripping not cutting. If you want to cut wire only use diagonal wire cutters. No combination tool will do as well as a single use tool.
I've used diagonal cutters my whole career and carrying one more tool wasn't that difficult.
a cheap diagonal cutter from the same brand will beat up and destroy these silly things for the same cost, and do a decent job stripping wires too once you know how.
@@tsm688 this guy wires lol. I still prefer proper strippers to avoid knicking strands especially if you are running closer to ratings for wire or doing wiring non human craft...
Diagonal cutters are quicker at stripping wire anyway if you know how to use them
@@tsm688 and the knipex diagonal cutters will outperform by another order of magnitude
In a field where time is money, nobody is ever going to reach for that second tool.
When I started watching this video, I thought "he forgot to test the Knipex". Of course you eventually did! I expected Knipex to excel, because every Knipex tool I've ever owned has exceeded in quality and performance over any other brands I've used. Thanks for yet another informative (and entertaining) video!
Knipex for the win! My favorite brand. I've done many a wiring job with their side cutters, and they never failed me.
One of my very first tool was a small pair of Knipex bolt cutters to make chainmail. It was far more expensive but highly recommended, and the minute I used it I knew I made the right choice. Cuts hardened aluminum like butter and steel quite easily. After thousands of cuts they still look brand new.
When I started the video I was surprised the K-brand was failing so badly because I really like Klein screwdrivers and go the two brands confused. The minute I saw the red and blue pair I knew it wouldn't disappoint.
Great video, love that you could modify the small pairs so easily.
Klein sucks.
This shouldn’t be an issue with any company that’s been in business for more than a couple years. That’s pitiful and should be embarrassing for all the companies!
How long before we get a hammer that shatters putting a single nail into plywood I wonder, bet Klein will make it first.
@@uponeric36I think it's more likely we get a hammer that'll get dented by the nail first.😅
People keep buying them, so they get feedback that not trying pays.
Race to the bottom, gotta cash out all of the brand value as long as it lasts. Look into the mirror if you want to know who is footing the Bill
thats why made in USA is not a guarantee for quality. A lot of times it's the opposite
I have always hated using the wire strippers for anything but wire stripping. Sure, it would be convenient to cut and strip all with the same tool in just two easy motions. But I've pretty much always used lineman pliers, or more often, diagonal cutters. And recently, I finally upgraded to Knipex diagonal cutters and needlenose. Soon I'll get their lineman pliers and probably their wire cutters too. I've loved Knipex Cobras for a while, but I'm so glad to finally be getting more of their tools to round out my toolbox with the best quality tools.
Man I should say it officially, you are the best. The master of scientific mods on edges. 🍻🔪
E true Bona fide EDGE-Lorde, if you wish =))
Ok... i'll let myself out.
My father is an electrician. He's had Knipex for decades that have never failed to cut any wire cleanly and smoothly like butter.
And it is pronounced with "k" like "knipex" one not "nipex". It's a German brand, hence the sounding is hard.
It's pronounced how he's pronouncing it. We are not Germans. Or do you pronounce the W in Volkswagen as a V?
@@TheLongDon yes
@@TheLongDonif you listen carefully, the Germans don't pronounce the 'W' as a 'V' either. They do pronounce it differently from English, but there is a distinct difference between a German 'W' and an English 'V'. Germans do sometimes have very typical pronunciation when speaking English with a German accent (like most non-English speakers), so maybe that's where the confusion comes from.
@@macvos My point is that we are English speakers and not German. We are not obligated to follow German pronunciations or Greek pronunciations or whatever language any other words is from, we will follow whatever is comfortable for our tongues
@@TheLongDon true. I was just responding to the comment about the German pronunciation of the 'W' in 'Volkswagen'.
Knipex tools are amazing i love all of them. Never regretted any of the one i bought. I cut spring steel with their cutters and 16 years later they barely show any sign of wear on the cutting edge.
To quote an excellent machinist
*"Buy once, cry once"*
If you don't understand that.
"Buy cheap, cry many times"
The first phrase makes no sense. You can by anything once no matter it's value.
Thus, "Buy nice, or cry twice."
It is RAMpant in all pro Ducks.
Unfortunately more expensive products aren't always better or sufficiently better to justify their higher price.
@@abundantharmonyThe idea is that you buy something more expensive and cry over the price ONCE, but never have to replace that thing. In contrast, buying cheap garbage will have you crying many times because they'll wear out/break and be a pain in the ass and you'll have to buy many of them over your lifetime. I've been trying to follow this more, you support generally better companies, have better stuff, things go more smoothly for you, you create less waste, throw fewer bullshit reciprocating saws through your garage window, etc.
@@joecosta3416 I understood the idea, it's just the wording that left it up to multiple interpretations.
Honestly noticed this with a lot of scissor style tools like this. Between heat treat and alignment issues you'll see a lot of problems. They just don't have tight enough tolerances which allows the gapping so they don't consistently cut and results in folding. It's like an old worn out pair of scissors that you have to apply pressure so the blades intersect better.
yeah. its a “problem” that doesnt need 13min of video. anyone who has been a human for more than 6 years understands how scissors work and why they need sharpening or better design to function longer. This doesnt need to be a video. At all. Next video…how to stop your car from running out of gas using this life hack-getting gas!
@@threestans9096 I felt the same way about your comment as you did about this video...
DUH! THE KNOWLEDGE OF SHARPENINGS CUTS THE BULL BY THE BALLS! THE DULLARDS TO COMMERCE ARE THE STABLES OF NOT HORSE SENSES THAT PROFIT FROM THE CAN'T FIX STUPIDS!
As a plumber, I already know about knipex superiority. Best channel locks hands down. They make some of the best hand tools.
I own two types of wirecutters:
cheap crappy ones I use for 3d prints and for abusing when I know it doesn't matter
knipex for actually cutting wires
FWIW I use Knipex flush cutters for 3D print cleanup all the time. I also have some cheaper Hakko flush cutters that work well for the task. Flush cutters are a life saver for removing supports from SLA/resin prints.
From Kinpex:
Why is there so much confusion about how to pronounce KNIPEX?
In order to answer this question, we have to look back to the 15th century. Until then, the k in words like knight, knee and knot was still pronounced, as it was in all Old Germanic languages.
But then, the English decided that it was simply too much trouble to pronounce /kn/ in a syllable onset. They were not completely unjustified to do so as it is a tricky consonant cluster: to produce the /k/ you have to move the back of your tongue to the back of your throat; to produce /n/ you then have to move the tip of the tongue to the roof of your mouth right behind your teeth. That’s a big distance to cover between only two sounds. The easy way out was to simply drop the /k/ and from then on knight, knee, knot and KNIPEX have been pronounced without it.
In other Germanic languages, like Dutch, Swedish and German we still find /kn/ as a syllable onset today. So in German, Knie, Knoten und KNIPEX are pronounced with the /k/.
The proper German pronunciation of KNIPEX is k-nee-pex [knipɛks], but
phonetically speaking, it is very reasonable to pronounce it nee-pex in
English.
Nip-Ex
nipp
les
KMVP. 😂
I work as an industrial mechanic/electrician and Knipex are my go to for almost all hand tools! Money well spent and extreme quality!
7:10 please don't call me Shirley
😂😂😂
There's this little blue wire cutter, a real staple used by Swedish electricians. Originally made by Nelco, model CC22. It's called a "blåtång" (blue plier). It cuts, it strips, it twirls and flips. Cutting with it is like cutting through butter. It's the bee's knees!
Oh, and it crimps too.
SHARING IS PEOPLE POWER!
But does it slice, dice and julienne?
It is great at times. However if you work in power plants etc it is not an allowed tool to use as you might damage the wire. Then you need to go with tools like schneider electric etc.
@@Mattsson112 That's of course true.
What a professional graphical explanation😂. Love your contents.
As any @Project Farm watcher knows, Knipex is usually the only brand that gets the job done properly. Thanks for an in depth analysis!
THERE IS A VERY IMPORTANT FACTOR, THAT YOU LEFT OUT:
-I don't agree with your reasoning that Rockwell HARDNESS and cutting EDGE ANGLE are the only factors in getting a good, clean and perfectly SHEARED wire cut:
ANOTHER LARGE difference between that Knipex and all the other cheapos, lies not only on the cutting angle and Hardness, but equally critically in the THICKNESS, and RIGIDITY of the "hinged scissor halves":
The Knipex only can maintain the ALIGNMENT of the cutting edges in close sliding contact because the cutting edges cannot separate as easily as the extremelly cheapo stamped sheetmetal halves of the garbage ones...
Having thick halves, that keep truly flat, and hinged by a stout pin that keeps the halves closely together, like in a good pair of scissors, is what allows the cutting edges to keep one against the other without separating and "rolling" the wire strands instead of cleanly shearing them. Thus, the Knipex, FORGED instead of cheaply stamped halves, in addition to the edge angle, and (as it appears) lastly followed by a proper Hardness, is what gives the much better cutting and long lasting effectivity.
all you did is talk talk talk. Where is your experimental data
@@PioloQuiboloythe talk, talk, talk was informative and logical, therefore valuable to me. Kinda weird that you’d expect random commenters to have completed data analysis and then publish it somehow for you.
@@PioloQuiboloyif you've ever used a pair of scissors with the blades badly held together after a while, you know enough to understand his point.
I about lost it watching you write the numbers on the white board 😂 On another note, absolutely loved the information from this video. This would explain why all my wire cutters with hundreds of cuts seem like they suck at their one and only job.
Chinese factory workers is terrified at the price tag of those wire cutters in the US. Previously they thought they were making low-quality stuff for under-developed markets, guessed retail price gonna be $3-4 max. They also shrug at your message at the end. The "tool makers" will not allow their factory to changes the specs.
Proof that the high prices today are NOT because of inflation. It's bourgeois greed.
This explains why I see so many professionals using the Knipex. They may cost twice as much, but it the half price tool starts failing on the first use, how many of those cheap tools will you be buying over and over again.
Knipex is actually so popular in Germany- I have often heard people use the brand name as a name for every pair of side cutters. Like Americans use xerox for any photocopier
@@olik136i live in america and dont know any that do.
P.T. BARNUM SAID: A "TOOL SUCKER IS BORN EVERY SECOND" TIC-TOK-TIC
Fun fact: in Leroy Merlin (european Home Depo or Walmart) there are quite heavy duty wire cutters, which earned bad reputation in a funny way.
For a long time they've been reasonably heat-treated, and negligent people have been writing bad reviews on them after trying to cut fences and barbed wire and seeing the cutting edge shatter.
Some years ago they've seemd to have stopped heat treating these cutters so aggressively, and now reviews are full of angry professionals saying that the working lifetime fell from two months to three weeks at best.
So, ratings are abysmal, but the most absurd thing is that I've had both the older and the new pair for casual usage, and found no difference in behaviour whatsoever.
These things just cut. And strip. And do both quite decent. Without failing miserably.
And they share a common trait with the Knipexes - quite thicc of the jaws.
From the second I read the title, I was thinking "What about Knipex, what about Knipex, WHAT ABOUT KNIPEX"
As a RV tech I used my tools every day. I can, indeed vouch for Knipex toughness. Anything they make is a step above.
Hope things are going well with your recovery. Your content is excellent!
Man... After this I want to send you all my hand tools to harden/sharpen.
I used an apprentice's brand new linesmans the other day and I was blown away by how noticeablythey were sharper/easier to cut with.
As far as I'm concerned, you are in the same category as channels like AvE, Paul Harrell, and DrDaveBilliards. Just a dude who seems genuine and is enthusiastic about sharing what he knows and interacting with like-minded viewers. Love your content, dude! Keep it coming.
Dr Dave was my mechatronics professor. Small world!
In electronics manufacturing industry, these cheap tools are primarily used for stripping insulation, not cutting.
We use dedicated cutters for cutting. Many different kinds depending on the wire gage and type of cut, beveled, flush, etc.
Knipex really does make the best cutters/ plyers. Ive owned them all and although the knipex are a little more expensive, they are worth the extra, if you use them every day! I carry their mini chanel locks as part of my edc
Have an old pair of Klein wirestripers that have a dent in the middle of the cutter from cutting copper wire. Stranded copper. So bad the spring won’t even open them anymore.
The Solid/Stranded markings on the stripper are for indicating which positions to use with which gage wire, since stranded wires have a larger diameter than solid for a given gage, but you're certainly correct that the cutting section should be suitable for cutting anything it claims to be suitable for stripping.
In practice I use flush cutters almost exclusively to cut wire.
I got my Lindstrom 8160 cutters more than thirty years ago. They still cut 12 gauge solid and 24 gauge stranded cleanly. Admittedly, I don’t use them all day every day but I do use them a lot and more for low voltage cables. Apparently hardness is 63-65HRC Rockwell cone.
Global tool manufactures being schooled by a guy who 5-6 yrs ago pulled his riding mower out of the shed to make knives with a few hundred $$$ in hand me down tools.
I appreciate everything you do here Alex. Many have learned so much in your masterclass of "how to make all things metal -sharp"
Godspeed on future projects.
Those tool manufacturers know exactly what they're doing. The shorter a tool lasts and the cheaper it is to manufacture, the more profit they can squeeze out of it.
You had me at 'if space is a vacuum"! Clandestine trolling to perfection!
Your illustration shows why I always choose a wire cutter with an e2 grind over a 5th grind. Everybody knows that.
10:07 isn't it amazing that a thing called "knife channel" exists? I learned so much (my knives are very sharp now) about steel, carbon content, hardening and angles. Thanks my guy ✌🏻😄
My Klien Stripper/Cutters are Several Decades Old now and Cut Stranded Perfectly every time and I Love Em'!!!
Manufactures change their processes over time
@@puffinjuicenever for the better
@@puffinjuiceno no no.
You see a brand that was great several decades ago must also be great nowadays.
Brand loyalty exists for a reason. Because ones great always great. And that's why I always recommend my favorite brand, even though I haven't bought a tool of them in a decade.
I worked at an electronics assembly factory years and years ago. They only had Knipex. Didn't ask why back then, but I guess I know now. 👍
Writing numbers upside-down and backwards: nailed it
Honestly I'm surprised that just going from 45 to 50 degrees makes such a difference. Trig does say it's got 20% wider base, but it's wild that even that makes the edge probably 500% more durable atleast
It would be interesting to see a couple more comparisons: just retreating the steel and just changing the geometry to see which has a bigger effect.
Cutting soft (ok, half hard) copper wire can be done with a 90 degree edge quite happily. Going thin makes no sense!
Outstanding and very needed video! I have similar problems nipping steel guitar strings--very hard to find end cutters that will hold up long. I'm honestly shocked at the degradation in response to copper wire. Manufacturers should know better!
Good thing that Knipex is still giving meaning to "made in Germany"
but made in USA is better tho, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
@@jake9854 it once maybe was... Not today... If anything is even still made there...
I wish Wiha was still high quality. They turned to crap 😢
@@cannesahs Yeah, was in par fith knipex, now only some Wiha tools are good. I still like their screwdrivers.
This is great. Wire cutters have always been a headache for me and I'm not a pro. A new pair works for a while then it sucks. Now it all makes sense.
very valuable video!!!! people probably get upset over brand loyalty! keep up the good content!
Thank you for doing the job of literally dozens of design engineers better than them from your garage.
10:52 that's my favorite metal band!!
I have been using Knipex tools since 1980. My teacher at the time demanded that we use good-quality tools, and I have never regretted that.
In my experience (25 years doing industrial electrical work) that type of stripper has pretty much been useless because of what you noted. Add in fine stranded flexible wires, and the problem gets worse.
Good to see Knipex got them right though! They do make solid tools.
Wow, that's really interesting to see you have this issue with a pair of Klein's! I have an pair of Klein D2000-28 Angled Diagonal Cutting Pliers, and I use it often to cut solid and stranded wire, along with small nails, bolts and screws. I have never had any issues with them, or with the blade becoming damaged, despite abusing them. My Channellock diagonal cutters and my Klein D2000-9NE Lineman Side Cutter Pliers have also been holding up exceedingly well. HOWEVER, as you pointed out this seems to be solely an issue of geometry because all my pairs of diagonal cutters are made of D2 tool steel. So funny enough, THEY HAVE MULTIPLE VERY GOOD WIRE CUTTERS, BUT THEY JUST DON'T USE THE DESIGNS THAT WORK?!?!?!
Great video as always! (P.S. I think you meant to say COMMERCIAL electric, not general electric, but I could be mistaken)
Klein dikes are gtg. These strippers I only see used for the actual stripping, mainly automotive style stranded cable. In residential/commercial wiring everyone just uses their dikes to strip
The dikes have blades that meet and pinch to cut as opposed to the scissor bypass style of blades being the subject of this video. The bypass blades are very sensitive to numerous problems whereas the dikes are much more forgiving.
I've learned my lesson many time, only buy forged pliers type wire cutters not those plates bolted together they call "stripper"
but they are all bolted together, aren't they?
The offset hole type wirecutters are the best, cheapest pressed plate steel wirecuttes one can buy, anything trying to do knife edges without knife steel is a joke.
I bought a set of Milwaukee wire strippers for $30. And they actually chipped with the first wire I ever cut with them. It was less than 1 mm. I bought another pair at Harbor freight. And they've been working just fine for a year.
As an axe guy, I also found out that a thicker edge will have longer life than a really thin one which will roll. Not all tools need to have a thin edge (looking at box cutters).
These dirty practices do so much damage to our competitiveness and economy.
Its almost like capitalism incentivizes this behavior....
@@no-ic5gw brainrot moment. usually the best quality product will be picked over poor quality products. what incentive exists to manufacture better quality products, other than money?
@@razmetrez then why does sh*t keep getting worse, under CAPITALISM?
Companies want more money for less. Its obvious that this would happen if you take a second to think about it.
@@razmetrez how about you read about capitalism before you claim brainrot on a proven trend.
@@razmetrez >best quality product will be chosen? Lol no. The best quality product won't even be PRODUCED!
Companies want the most money for the lowest cost. Thats why your boss will always want the most work out of you for the least pay.
This is elementary school levels of observation
The cutting edges on the Knipex are actually induction hardened separately. Would be interesting, if you could measure the hardness right where it counts.
RE WATCH! EDGE SHAPE EQUALS DURABILITY WITH TESTS OVER TIME! YOU CAN'T FIX STUPIDS!
Great video! The problem I have with the Knipex is that the stripping holes are too far from the hinge, and if you use them all day long to strip wire, your hands will take more than a day to recover from the soreness. Personally, I just resharpen the edge on my Kleins and tighten up the hinge with a hammer and they work fine for years after that. Also, I use a different model number from the ones you bought so that all the cutting and stripping parts are closer to the hinge to give more leverage and produce more cutting power with less effort.
There is no reason they can't just do this from the factory, though.
if you spend all day to strip wire... use a more modern style of wirestripper than these 1800s style ones.
@@tommihommi1 If you are talking about one of those automatic ones, remember that you also have to carry it in your hands on in a toolbelt while going up and down a ladder a few hundred times per day as well. Every extra bit on unnecessary weight makes a big difference.
@@azrobbins01 The Knipex 12 40 200 are extremely light, and strip quite a lot (AWG 32-7). I deal with electronics, not power electrical systems, so I've not tried to strip Romex with them, so I can't say how well they work on something that wide.
I’m a union electrician in Chicago. Apprentices come out of school with a bag of tools the school requires them to buy. They are mostly Klein brand. Upgrading/throwing away the Klein strippers is usually one of the first things they do.
(4:20) I swear bro is bout to get sneep-snopped by big cutter
What a very interesting study. Thanks a lot for sharing. Very excellent. Also, A++ and 11 out of 10, for the mirror writing. That was the cherry on top of the cake, set abobe the pie, enveloping the ice cream. Serve shaken, not stirred.
After having bought a awful lot of shitty tools, I've seen a test two years ago, from that point I've exclusively bought Knipex, they're amazing... The wire stripper is AWESOME... The tiny cobra xs pliers are also outstanding... It's expensive but it's really really worth it.
I smell a Project Farm crossover episode!
PF voice is annoying...
I've seen wire cutters with a nearly flat apex. As in it's like two rectangles passing each other. I'm kind of surprised there is an apex at all on wire cutters. Seems unnecessary if all you're cutting is soft metals like copper and aluminum.
bike cable cutters used for cutting steel and 90' cutters and last for years
Because they shear the metal rather can cutting it, so they don't really rely on sharpness.
Sadly the video doesn't mention this despite the fact you can clearly see the solid wires are sheared in the middle and not cut all the way through.
Yeah, the blunter the apex the thicker and stiffer the tool has to be. So that would add to the cost. I really only touched on some of the engineering issues with these. Theres a lot we could go over 🙂
@@hattfnattenFor what reason should it be mentioned, when you can see it happening perfectly?!
Do you need to know at what angle to sharpen your wirecutter?! 😂 50 seems better than 45, stillt not enough info??
@@PM-wt3ye
The issue with cable shears specifically is, that they must deform the cable as little as possible, they can‘t be too thick behind the edge.
For the longest time, I had gotten used to the fact, that when I bought new wire cutting tools I was just going to have to resharpen them at a shallower angle before use... Until I too discovered Knipex made some! I had been so incredibly happy with the quality of the first couple pair of Knipex pliers I bought, particularly the smooth jaw adjustable jobs and mini bolt cutters, that I eventually bit the rather expensive bullet and replaced all my pliers with them. Why I didn't figure at that time that they must make wiring tools too I don't know, but I was thrilled when I finally got em!
i love this video so much but you're wasting your breath. Those tools are built to a cost where the manufacturer DOESNT want them to last more than a few hundred uses. Why would they make their tools better for basically free only to halve their sales in the long term? They want you to keep coming back and buying a new set every few months. Plus given how similar all those cheap tools looked, i'd be willing to wager they were all built on the same street or even same building in china and imported and rebranded.
Yep all probably built in the same place, but i cant 100% confirm.
Knipex counts on some Joe Schmoe use the knipex to cut a steel wire or bolt 😂 Anyone who is in electronics or electrician has probably had this happen at some or more points. 😑 - moment
Problem with the cheaper quality brands is that "eventually", professionals will stop buying them and go for the Knipex. I did.
@@kyfho47 sure, but how many avg joe home diy guys are there for every professional? they're catering to the largest market first. pro grade tools are out there, but not for $30-$50