Does anyone out there know of any angled diagonal cutters which are the sharpest and keep their edge. I have been buying Kliens but if you pull a few staples the become dull pretty quickly. I don't want any junk and I'm willing to pay for a good product.

Uh, I don't think it is the products fault.

... I have one crappy angled pair of Klein "dykes" that I use for staple pulling, cutting nails,brads, even toe-nails...and my good Journeyman pair that I use only for cutting copper.. and nostril hair..
Russ

Knipex, Induction hardened, I cut everything with them and they never seem to dull or rust like the Kleins do. IMHO the German made tools like Knipex and Wiha are better tools and less expensive than Klein.

The Blue handle Klien Dikes are harder than the red handle ones. I cut fish tapes and bolts with my blue handle klien dikes all the time.
IMHO If you use your dikes to locate breakers it will ruin them, Blows a nice little hole right in the middle of the jaws

I'm in the keep two boat, one for copper, one for steel and other.

have to agree on the knipex,finest cutters available in the uk,though i dont buy them anymore,blown too many up,and they're quite expensive....tend to stick to neweys own brnd.

I cannot get used to carring two sets of tools. Every time that I get a new screwdriver, I put the old one in my tool bag, for chopping or chiseling, but I always end up using the new one that is in my pouch. LoneG, I'm going to give those Knipex a shot. Electricman, you are a dope!

Really?

Who is the one chopping or chiseling with a new screwdriver.

LMAO....

I also attribute tool failure to operator error :P

First- if you want to be treated as a professional- can the name calling!

Klein has done quite a bit to cause this confusion. Their "200" series tools....tools with part numbers such as "216" are not particularly hard, and will be damaged by steel.
Klein's "2000" series, on the other hand, have harder jaws, that ought to stand up to staples. Dito for the "Journeyman" series.

C'mon, you know everybody does that. I'm not talking about chopping brick or block.

[This message has been edited by electure (edited 01-02-2006).]

Also aggree that Knipex are the bees knees, just better made than Klien IMO. Lighter in the pouch and such.

And, also agree with Electricmanscott, right tool for the job and such, et cetera.

Has anyone used a cats paw lately? Usually I can get a staple out pretty easy, with no damage to the cable with one.

Why not? I chisel soft brick with an old screwdriver.

Either the Klein 2000 series, or better yet Knipex.
I like Knipex much better, only thing I don't use is their linesmans. They do not offer any version with a crimper. At least one I can find.
I also use mostly Wera, Witte, or Wiha screwdrivers. They are FAR superior to Klein or most any others.
German made tools rock!

[This message has been edited by Speedy Petey (edited 01-02-2006).]

Speedy, I agree on the screwdrivers. Everytime I replace one of my Klines it gets replaced with a Wiha or Wera.

Yes. My experience with Klein's Phillips screwdrivers has not been good.

The iron they're made out of seems to be too soft and they strip out pretty quickly. And yes, guys, I do use the properly sized driver for the screw.

Amazingly, I replaced my stubby #2 Klein with a #2 Stubby branded Husky - also made in USA.

The finish seems to be quite precise and the point hasn't stripped out on me yet.

And yes, it does get quite a lot of use.

Y'know, at my shop we have a mandatory safety meeting every Friday AM and the most frequent subject is tool selection and the proper use of proper tools. I don't meen Klein vs. Knipex or like that, but rather things like chisels are chisels and screwdrivers are.. well, you know. The point is, just because everyone uses a screwdriver as a chisel doesn't make it a good argument for doing so. There are many photos of guys doing ridiculous things with ladders and scaffolding in the Violation and Photo forums too, but that doesn't mean those things are recomended. If you pull staples with non hardened dykes you get dull dykes. That's operator error no matter how many people keep doing it.

We use THESE for pulling staples, you just grab one leg of the staple with the blades and pull down or up to remove it, it works great! and since they don't have to be sharp to pull the staples it doesn't matter if they get dull since they don't have to be sharp to do their job. I also agree with E.M. Scott

(edited to remove comments not dealing with thread topic)

[This message has been edited by Elviscat (edited 01-03-2006).]

C'mon, you guys mean to tell me that you don't pull staples with your diagonals, or chip plaster or lathe with your screwdrivers, when you are doing rehab work.

Speedy Petey,
No way would I ever use the "crimping" part of the jaws in pliers to crimp lugs.
That's what they make crimp tools for.
Nope, and I don't intend to start now either.
Part of being a professional tradesman is proper selection, use and care of the tools of the trade.



[This message has been edited by Trumpy (edited 01-03-2006).]

No, i havent used a screw driver for a chisel ever since a mechanic buddy, lost sight from his left eye, and all he could say was, how could i be so stuped.

I certainly do these things. But I do not complain about the poor quality of the tool when I am using it in such a dopey way.

Now just occured to me can anyone reccomend a good car? I have been buying Toyotas but they get all smashed up when I use them for brick wall demo.

Trumpy- you may not have the selection in the islands that we have here in "the Great Department Store"

A number of companies offer lineman's pliers that have additional features, such as a dedicated crimping die on the handle side of the hinge. This die is use for wires no larger than #10.
I think that's what the man was referring to.

Strictly speaking we can't use that crimper unless it is listed for the crimps we are crimping.

Take a look at the UL white book


This applies to the large crimps like we all expect but it also applies to crimps down to 30 AWG.




[This message has been edited by iwire (edited 01-03-2006).]

+1 for the Klein 2000 series "Journeyman" dikes. Great for trimming off the pointy tips of nails that always seem to be where youre box is going, or for trimming can light brackets.

(Of course, I haven't had a chance to play with the Knipex, but, if they're like the other Knipex stuff I've seen, as rated fr\or steel cutting, you'll be OK with either)

Reno,
Yes,
I was also referring to this.
My blue-handled Klein (#12098) lineman's pliers have a sort of a crimping die in them, but we are told here they are only to be used as a last resort.

When talking about ground crimps, the Ideal crimp sleeves are approved to be crimped with their Linemans. They have the exact same crimper as the Kleins.
The instructions say so.

Pete does the package of Ideal crimps say that you can use Kliens or is that your opinion based on how they look?

Hey I know this is extreme hog wash but I am just the messenger of the rule we should all be following.

IMO this level of 'listing' is brought on by lawyers and is really unnecessary.

Bob

"IMO this level of 'listing' is brought on by lawyers and is really unnecessary."

Here I was thinking it was the manufacturers that pushed this tripe, so they can get you to use thier tool for thier product. Not sure about this, but I believe Phillips sold a license to anyone using the phillips design for screws and thier respective drivers in the early days of them. FYI Robertson predates Phillips and both were invented for the auto industry...

I really do not know, I was guessing.

You could be right.

No, it does not say you can use Kleins. You know what, I use them every day.
Occassionally I do buy Ideal's pliers but they are like $10-$15 more than the Klein so I usually go with the D2000-9NECR.
Yes, they look exactly the same and do exactly the same job. The fact that it is impossible to remove one of those crimps tells me it is doing as good of, or better, job than a greenie.
I don't let things like this bother me. I am very conscientious in my work and if I felt at all uncomfortable with anything I was doing I wouldn't do it.

One question for the "perfect" the "safest" the "electricions who walk on water".....what tool do you use to chip brown coat out of your exterior boxes?
Do roll out 50' of cord and use your roto/chisle hammer.

The Mechanic who lost his eye would still have it if he was wearing saftey glasses! Stupid is right!

I'm not condoning unsafe practices but, either you or your employees DO usetools like this in the manner described.
I do. I keep an old square shank just for this use. So do alot of electricians.
I use my Ideal crimp tool to crimp T&B Sta-Kons.(ohhh, dont tell the T&B people)

The first thing you must realize is that there is more than one way to do a job and yours is just another way.

Rob