Electronic Flush Side-cutters: Review & Shootout - Hakko vs Xuron vs Engineer vs Knipex
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- Опубликовано: 29 мар 2016
- Hakko CHP-170 vs Xuron 170-II vs Engineer NZ-12 vs Knipex 78 61 125 vs MTC NO-20
I bought a bunch of side cutters to find out which was the best for the job!
Amazon Buy links below (click show more)
Hakko CHP-170: bit.ly/hakkochp170
Xuron 170-II: bit.ly/xuron170II
Knipex 78 61 125: bit.ly/knipex7861125
Engineer NZ-12: bit.ly/engineerNZ12
Just a brief follow up - I have actually been using the Engineer NZ-12 a lot more than I expected - the very sharp and very compact pointy head is FANTASTIC for getting into tight corners. That being said, I would definitely grab one of the others or some side cutters for heavy gauge wire cutting.
![Every maker should have…[Pt.8] a good side-cutter/flush-cutter/wire-cutter](/img/1.gif)
Overall summary of thoughts at 12:00
If you cut a lot of header pins get the Hakkos, $15 for 3 of them or 5 for $25. We use them in the circuit board plant I work at and they do not get chips in the blades like the more expensive ones. And you get 5 for the price of 1 when they do wear out. Which takes 9 hour days for the better part of a year.
Thanks
Thank you for the time you've dedicate in preparing this useful video.
hi kindly provide information about 1PK-20 Semi-flush Side Cutter pro's kit how they fix both arms
Thanks for the detailed comparison! Guided my purchase and saved me some money in the process :-)
If you want the “ultimate” have a look at the version of the Knipex with carbide cutters such as the 77 32 120 H ESD. Rated significantly high cutting power.
Nice review! I recently bought my first pair of side cutters and having quite some tools from knipex I went with them. However I paid very good attention to the specific specs of each model of the tool, as you said they have a wide range of side cutters and the one you have (78 61 125), have a rating for 0.2-1.6mm soft steel, 1.2mm mild steel and NO hard steel rating, I picked the 78 81 125 one and that one can cut harder steels up to 0.6mm on top of the capabilities of the other models.
I hope that explains why you might have damaged yours on the paperclips!
I've used the Hakko and Xuron extensively. I liked the Xuron much better than the Hakko. They seem to cut with less effort and cut zip ties without the slightest bit of tag sticking out. My only complaint about the Xuron is the handles eventually get loose and slide off easily. I just ordered the Knipex and am looking forward to seeing first hand how they compare. The great thing about the Xuron, other than they work well, is it isn't a big deal if you loose them. I have several other Knipex tools in my bag and I try very hard to make sure I have all of them in my bag before leaving a job site. Cheaper tools aren't as big of a concern.
I second everything you said. My experience long term has been the same. The Knipex are nice, but I baby them too much 😆
so are the blues Xuron good for nipping of resistors wires or capacitors wires?
great comparison, there is other knipex for hard stuff imo they are the best but pricey.
i wonder what camera did you use for the close up? the focus is quick!
Showed me everything I needed to know. Thanks.
Re the ENGINEER NZ-12....not a fair comparison - they are intended for cutting fine electronic component leads extremely flush to the PCB ...they are not designed for cutting plastic tie wraps (you mentioned at the beginning of the video about making sure you use cutters for their intended purpose...and then used the NZ-12 for cutting something they weren't intended to be used for!)....a better comparison for this particular video would have been the NP-05 cutters from ENGINEER's range...they are meant for cutting plastic tie-wraps & do so like a hot knife through butter :-).
Nice review! Thanks
Very nice review. To me, the Hakko's are the overall winner... especially when taking price into consideration. They are only 5 bucks and the only one not damaged by the paper clip. I've got a pair in the mail now.
BrewCityRider wow, that’s a lot cheaper than I can get them for! Thanks, and happy snipping 😉
Useful video. Thanks
Just bought some Xuron cutters for $14 including shipping. Thanks!
I like this video. Just bought the Xuron one :)
The Knipex is the Koenigsegg Gemera out of the cutters you were testing and the bent Japenese set is more like a VW Bettle, looks bizarre, and barely useful.
I always heard good things about Knipex but their price was discouraging. Two months ago I won a set of Knipex needle-nose pliers 2612200 on eBay for $28 I am amazed how much lighter and more durable they are to any other comparable set. The amount of abuse they can endure with twisting and even using a vise to clamp them is astonishing. (I should have recorded it) The teeth keep their shape and still, no wobble in the hinge.
Knipex doubles the carbon in the steel alloy they produce to 0.8% (an expensive prosses) compared to 0.45% that other high-end brands use. I have become a fanatic overnight and if you want a tool that lasts go for Knipex they are called the Pliers Company for good reason.
The engineer one you got is more for PCB cutting with the angle required and small blade, they have normal flush cutters that are similar to the Hakko/Knipex.
Thank you for the insight, good to know! :-)
Are the xuron's sharp enough to cut the plastic/rubber insulation on reasonably sized wires without cutting the wire strands?
Good vid 👍
Yes! Definitely sharp enough.
Even after 3 years, this is great info. I've been trying to find a replacement for a ~10 year old(edit: probably older actually) pair of Citadel flush cutters, but I'm not one to cheap out on tools. This video is just what I needed, straightforward, and pushes the limits of each tool.
Thanks Caleb! Let me know if you have any other questions - I've been using them all for a while now. :-)
Great review, only thing you missed is comfort rating of the pliers. By the sounds of it, it would probably be a good idea to buy several pairs of Xuron pliers so you dont have to worry about damaging them so much rather than buying 1 $25 set of Knipex pliers. The handle didnt look that comfortable to use though compared to the Knipex.
how do these compare with the cheapies like "Plato 170"?
I have one now - 100% equivalent to the Xuron. Note, that most available on ebay are clones/counterfeit made in china now.
can the hakkos work with model kits? thanks
Should be perfect for that.
Nice review. Where I live in Canada I can buy 3 or 4 Hakko flush cutters to the 1 Knipex flush cutter. I am not cheap when it comes to buying tools but honestly, I am sure Knipex are great. I just can not see myself spending $60.00 - $70.00 on Knipex Flush cutters that could get damaged by my son cutting the wrong material. I actually ordered the Hakko CHP-170 and I am really excited to try them when they get delivered. If they work as intended then I will be ordering a few more just in case. The Xuron 170-II are $20.00can, the Knipex are $60.00can, and the Hakko CHP-170 are $15.00can for 1 or $30.00can for a package of 3.
wow, didnt realize Knipex is that expensive over there. In Germany, I pay somewhere in between 15 and 20 Euros for a knipex flush cutter, depending on the model....
@@jpv9653 Yea, Knipex is crazy expensive here. I would love to try some but I refuse to spend that kind of money on a flush cut cutters. And that is Canadian prices. It is highway robbery. I need to make some friends over there so they can get them cheaper for me.
I always heard good things about Knipex but their price was discouraging. two months ago I won a set of Knipex needle-nose pliers 2612200 on eBay for $26 I am amazed how much lighter they are to any other comparable set. The best part is the amount of abuse they can endure with twisting and even using a vise to clamp them. I should have recorded it. The teeth keep their shape and still, no wobble in the hinge.
Knipex doubles the carbon in the steel alloy they produce to 0.8% (an expensive prosses) compared to 0.45% that other high-end brands use. I have become a fanatic overnight and if you want a tool that lasts go Knipex they are called the Pliers Company for good reason.
Was the hakko damaged by the paper clips?
Hakko passed. Very minor wear on the black oxide coating.
very nice comparison
I am in India and here the knipex costs exactly twice the price of the hakkos is the knipex worth the investment?
mostly component leads and small wires
nice vid the only one really comparing.. i think for my use case cheap is good enough.. i was looking to compare PierGiacomi TR-58-RA and the TRR-58-G...for anyone looking to buy from EU.. tme.eu has a few of them and you can combine it with your order i'm going to do the same.. and ad the PN-2005...After giving it sum thought.. i would say the TRR-58-G would be the better choice just because you can cut thicker copper up to 2.59mm vs 2.05mm for the TR-58-RA..down side is that they are wider 16mm vs 13,5mm...one thing i did notice was the high price..compared to Xuron and other flush cutters you can get from china.
PierGiacomi costs around €20 (58-RA) and around €23 for the 58-G... vs €2,33 for the Xuron..it all depends on use case like everything in life.. i think i'l stick with the cheaper ones for now and if i stick with this hobby i'l grab the TRR-58-G just because it makes more sense to get something that cuts thicker wires 2.59mm cooper....if i'm wrong please let me know.
Try the Knipex 78 81 125. They're designed for harder wires (but are not as flush)
I fucked up my Erems using them to cut a push pin. Didn't realise how much harder the metal was :'(
I learnt from your review and enjoyed your focused presentation.
The comparison should be equal all new . Instead the two cheap ones were already battered which does not make a fair comparison . However I understood why.
Thanks Denno - I really appreciate all feedback and constructive criticism is always helpful.
What other flush cutter is recommended for harder material?
Can you specify which material you are trying to cut?
@@SamPinchesMakerShop maybe t50 staple or thin wire rope, I am just curious.
@@mytube2013 You may want to look at diagonal cutters as they will stay sharp for longer -- more 'meat' at the cutting edge. E.g. Knipex 75 02 125 would be better for staples, or even 74 01 180 for heavy duty (or even more extreme precision cutting, 77 02 120 H)
@@SamPinchesMakerShop thanks for the recommendations!
I bought the Knipex one, you deserve more view on your video. :)
i have a pair of knipex and handle cover soon come loose
The Xuron cutter is only rated for 18AWG.
the Xurons are sharp... but they go dull super fast. Unfortunately they handles do not come apart so re sharpening is not the easiest. I want a good full flush cutter that can be disassembled to hone.
Exactly. Even a cheap knife can be sharpened to a razor, but unless quality steel is used, they won't hold an edge. I don't know of any that can be easily disassembled unfortunately. To be honest though, the alignment between the blades is so critical, that I doubt any model that can be disassembled easily would have sufficient precision.
@@SamPinchesMakerShop Ever used these? www.amazon.com/522N-Magic-Diagonal-Medium-Cutter/dp/B000B5YANM/ref=sr_1_7?keywords=full+flush+cutters&qid=1571114500&sr=8-7
i'm wondering if those would be a big step up considering the price.
So Knopex won again. Respect to German engieneers.
It can't even cut paperclips? I don't see how that would last cutting the component legs on electronics which are not copper. I'm not sure why they couldn't just literally harden the steel a little more, especially for the premium you pay on the knipex. Maybe component leads are softer but that's still pretty stupid.
Diameter makes a big difference on tool wear. These would would all be perfectly fine on steel component legs, or trimming copper clad steel resistors lead. Thanks for the comment. Knipex premium is real though!
@@SamPinchesMakerShop Yeah that's true, although I have some components like 10A 1000V rated diodes which have very thick leads that I'm pretty sure are thicker than paperclips. Maybe the metal is softer on those leads though, guess I'll have to find a cheap pair to test it first instead of the $30 knipex ones lol. Nice comparison though, I probably wouldn't have thought twice about cutting something like a paperclip so that's good to know.
Edit: Also found a video from knipex that said they are 64 HRC, so I guess they are actually hardened
You might like to buy a tool that's cheap, but you will hate using it. However, you might hate to pay so much for the expensive tool but you will love to use it.
you should review the Tronex ;)
true that, they are some expensive tools but so beautiful and feel damn good in the hand! ooowie haha
Not a great comparison on just how flush each cuts component leads though...
Fair call! Thanks for the feedback. I have found them to all do a very close cut in practice, but it would have been interesting to compare them.
I am very, very glad you did not use the engineer cutters on that steel. That would've hurt to watch
Knipex very expensive in Viet Nam, in Viet Nam this up to 25$ (25$ is a big monney in Viet Nam)
You can not really give it a score of 7 (out of 10) for cutting paper clips when the cutting edge gets damaged on the first try. A more fair score would be no more than 1, because you can't use it for cutting paper clips.
Is anyone watching this to see which is best for trimming their rabbits teeth?
Which one seems the sharpest? The teeth are not as enamal-hard as people teeth, but can shatter and i don't want them to shatter. I need something that would cut cleanly through.
Ca-nee-pex is how you pronounce knipex
Wow, thank you, I did not know that! So its more like kah-nee---pex (kni-pex) than nip-pex. I assuming that it was "knip" like "snip", because they are known for their cutters. Regardless, I love the brand.
Your welcome
Knipex is not that good, loses edge on brass after some use, so bad.
11:00 - FOR SCIENCE .... 11:34 - *ABANDONS SCIENCE*... you deserve thumbs down, you betrayed science!
I know 😝 I’m sorry! I was confident they would be damaged, and they are micro-cutters which is a slightly different type of tool to the others I was showing. Thanks for the comment.
Science is expensive unless you have financial and corporate interests backing you.. the poor bloke had already ruined two pairs of his cutters.
there is no way you damaged the knipex on a paperclip , no way no how . I`m a professional tech and i only use knipex cutters . The Xuron are utter shite , no matter what you cut with them they will be useless in 6mths . There is absolutely nothing better than Knipex . Period.
He showed you what happened on the video, do you think he did a David Blaine magician trick?
And yes, I do agree Knipex are fantastic, the German steel is very good. But also, these aren't aren't made to cut solid steel. They are really sharp as well. Japanese knives are super sharp and thin and can be damaged for the same reason. You can't bang them on the chopping board, you need to slice with them.
The Hakko's didn't get damaged in the paper clip test because they aren't as sharp and the edge of the blade isn't as thin. You basically get to choose between a sharp thin blade, or a thicker dull blade.. it's hard to have both, regardless of the quality of steel that is used. It was pretty easy to understand what was going on here. I've seen plenty of other tests where Knipex perform super strong but those tools also tended to have a duller blade and behaved more like the Hakko did. For this specific model.. 78 61 125, it leans more towards the Xuron approach. Sharper blade, less durability. Xuron also has a heavy duty expensive version of these that are much more robust. You can't just generalize an entire brand.. each model has it's positives and negatives. Knipex is great overall but there are also some duds and some of those duds are super expensive. This model isn't a dud, it just needs managing because of it's thin sharp blade.