How to Use a Wire Cutter?

Imagine you’re close to completing a project, but the final step requires a wire cutter, and you’re unsure how to proceed. It’s common to mistake a wire cutter for just another tool like pliers, yet knowing how to effectively use this specific tool can be the key to finishing your task smoothly and efficiently.

You wouldn’t want to use scissors for simple electrical maintenance, home improvement projects, or removing slack from a bicycle brake line, but wire cutters are perfect for these and other jobs (or even worse, a kitchen knife).

In the same way that the best wire cutters may vary greatly in material, thickness, and function, so can the wires themselves.

The distinctiveness of wire cutters largely lies in their cutting edges. Flush cutters create a clean, even cut, ideal for precision work, whereas beveled cutters might leave a slightly rougher edge, which can be suitable for certain tasks. Understanding these variations can guide you to choose the right tool for your project.

However, a flush cutter, which lessens the spike and the required power, may be preferable if you’re handling sensitive wiring. The robustness of flush cutters is the cost. When compared to bevel cutters, they are not as long lasting and tend to dull more rapidly.

Shear cutters are even more effective than flush cutters in making a clean cut, but they also wear out much faster. Sharpening requirements tend to increase with increasing cutter flushness.

The Tool

Wire cutters are shaped like a pair of scissors and have two levers hinged at a fulcrum that, when pressed together, may sever a wire. The required effort is proportional to the wire’s diameter. Wire cutters’ levels and specialized blades concentrate force in a small region for maximum efficiency.

The three most common styles of wire cutters are beveled edge, semi-flush, and flush. The wires are snipped cleanly in half with a beveled edge, making the cutters more long-lasting. These semi-flush wire cutters are made for trimming thin wires to a nearly level surface.

Even though this is better than a chisel point, it is fragile and shouldn’t be used on steel wire. A sheer-faced cut is possible using a flush cutter, but these tools are often rather pricey and offer a degree of accuracy that is rarely needed.

Choosing wire cutters with a grip span of 2.5–3.5 inches is crucial to avoid pinching or injuring your fingers. Ensure you grip the handles properly, keeping all fingers away from the space between them, to maintain safety and control during use.

It is important that the wire cutters be in good condition, with sharp, clean, and oil-free cutting blades. When using blades that are dull or unclean, cutting and holding the workpiece in position might require significantly more effort. Possible results include wear and tear on muscles or even injury from overuse.

When working with live wires, it is imperative that protective eyewear be worn at all times.

The Cutting

Make sure all electrical devices are turned off or the breaker is flipped before doing any work on the existing wiring. When you cut into live wires, you risk starting a fire, getting electrocuted, and blowing out the circuit. Cushioned handles on wire cutters are not designed to prevent shocks from occurring. In particular, wire cutters with insulation are commercially available.

Take care to avoid skewed cuts. Frayed edges can be caused by rocking the wire cutters or twisting the wire back and forth over the cutting tool. In addition to being dangerously sharp, the frayed ends of the wire significantly reduce its ability to carry electricity. Cut electrical wires and cables quickly and firmly at right angles to reduce the risk of sparking, arcing, and other hazards.

The wire cutters should be pulled on to make the cut. Applying pressure on the wire cutters by pulling away from the body shifts the body’s center of gravity. Accidental slippage of the tool or workstation might throw off balance, which can lead to hand or bodily injuries.

Wire Cutter Uses

Anyone who works in the hardware industry knows how important it is to have high-quality wire and cable ties on hand for quickly and cleanly severing wires, metal, and aeronautical cables of varied sizes. Hardware aficionados, contractors, and engineers in the building, maritime, telecommunications, aerospace, and locomotive sectors all rely on these important items on a regular basis. There is a wide selection of kinds, each with its own set of pros and cons depending on the nature of your project.

Different Types Of Best Wire Cutters

Hakko CHP170 Flush Cutter

This little wire cutter is ideal for cutting wire as thick as 16 gauges (1.3mm). This cutter is ideal for do-it-yourself electronics and jewelry projects because to its nonslip handle.

Having a spikes on the wire is undesirable when working with jewelry, flowers, or electronics. It is recommended that you use a flush-cutter with rounded edges in these scenarios. It aids in smoothly cutting the edges rather than forcing the wire to break at the point of the cut.

Xuron Micro Shear Cutter

Shear cutters are the most efficient and gentle of all the several types of side cutters. Care must be used during cutting, however, because excessive force used during the cut will dull the blades.

In order to keep the blades from contacting each other after a cut, the high-quality instruments of this type use adjustment or set screws. When searching for a new pair of shear cutters, this is the first thing you should check for.

Whizzotech Diagonal Pliers (Side Cutter)

These cutters, as the name implies, make a cut on the diagonal and are widely used by professionals all over the world. Many names have been coined for these blades: side-cutters, diagonal cutters, dikes, and diags, to mention a few.

These cutters are commonly used in the electrical industry to slice through copper or aluminium electrical cables with ease. Side-cutters, on the other hand, are employed in every industry where flexible wire needs to be cut.

End Cutting Pliers

The jaws of the end cutting pliers are semicircular, and the cutting edges are perpendicular to the tool’s body. Consequently, you may remove fasteners like nails, screws, and rivets from a workpiece without damaging the surface.

Using the radius of the jaws as a fulcrum, you can pry nails and screws out of wood, thanks to the jaws’ rounded form.

Insulated Wire Cutters

Insulated wire cutters provide essential protection against electric shocks, featuring specialized insulation beyond the standard rubber or silicone handle covers. It’s crucial to differentiate true insulation from mere comfortable grips to ensure safe operation.

Soft-grip handles, included on most wire cutters to improve their use, do not protect the user against electrocution, however.

Lineman’s Wire Cutters

This instrument, which may also be referred to as a combination cutter, is the workhorse of the wire-cutting family. These tools, in addition to having broad, flat jaws for grasping, have cutting blades like to those on side-cutters located just in front of the pivot point.

The leverage provided by the longer handles makes short work of steel fence wire, heavy nails, and steel screws.

Needle-Nose Wire Cutters

The highly tapered jaws of a pair of Needle-nose wire cutters make it simple for electricians to bend wire and put it into a switch-gear in electrical components. There usually isn’t enough room for you to use regular pliers or cutters.

Ultra-Flush Side-Cutters

Cutting with these cutters is a breeze because the blades have practically no bevels, making them ideal for use in industries like jewelry design and electronics assembly.

This sort of cutter uses even less force to cut than a standard flush cutter, but its blades are extremely delicate, therefore it’s important to only use it to sever sensitive copper or aluminum conductors.

XURON 2175 Maxi Shear Flush Cutter

Useful for making jewelry or wrapping wire, this cutter is of great quality. Flush cutting is possible with bronze, fine silver,  gold, and platinum wire. This cutter is not designed to cut titanium, steel, or memory wire.

Never use regular wire cutters on iron, steel, or other hard wires unless they are labeled as such. Also, never bash wire cutters with a hammer or any other instrument in order to cut a wire. The force of the wire breaking, or the wire cutters themselves breaking, might disseminate dangerous debris.

Conclusion

In conclusion, wire cutters, akin to scissors but with a specialized design, enable precise cutting with minimal effort. They vary in material, design, and function to suit different wires and tasks. Understanding these variations helps you choose the ideal cutter, ensuring efficiency and effectiveness in your projects, whether you’re dealing with wires, metals, or cables of various sizes.

Make sure all electrical devices are turned off or the breaker is flipped before doing any work on the existing wiring.  Most wire cutters come with a soft-grip handle, but this does not protect the user from electrocution. Larger, tapered jaws make it easy for electricians to bend wire and put it into switch-gear in electrical components. Ultra-Flush Side-Cutters are ideal for use in industries like jewelry design and electronics assembly. Flush cutting is possible with bronze, fine silver,  gold, and platinum wire.

Content Summary: 

• You need to utilize your wire cutter to finish the project you were working on, but you have no idea how to do it.
• In your eyes, the wire cutter is no different from a regular set of pliers.
• Maybe the only thing stopping you from completing the task at hand is your inability to utilize the wire cutter.
• You wouldn’t want to use scissors for simple electrical maintenance, home improvement projects, or removing slack from a bicycle brake line, but wire cutters are perfect for these and other jobs (or even worse, a kitchen knife).
• In the same way that the best wire cutters may vary greatly in material, thickness, and function, so can the wires themselves.
• The edges of different wire cutters are where much of the variety lies.
• A flush cutter, as the name implies, produces a neat, flush cut at the end of a wire.
• However, a flush cutter, which lessens the spike and the required power, may be preferable if you’re handling sensitive wiring.
• The robustness of flush cutters is the cost.
• The three most common styles of wire cutters are beveled edge, semi-flush, and flush.
• The wires are snipped cleanly in half with a beveled edge, making the cutters more long-lasting.
• These semi-flush wire cutters are made for trimming thin wires to a nearly level surface.
• Even though this is better than a chisel point, it is fragile and shouldn’t be used on steel wire.
• All fingers should be kept on the wire cutters’ handle grips rather than in the space between the handles, where they might be pinched or otherwise injured.
• It is important that the wire cutters be in good condition, with sharp, clean, and oil-free cutting blades.
• When using blades that are dull or unclean, cutting and holding the workpiece in position might require significantly more effort.
• When working with live wires, it is imperative that protective eyewear be worn at all times.
• The Cutting Make sure all electrical devices are turned off or the breaker is flipped before doing any work on the existing wiring.
• When you cut into live wires, you risk starting a fire, getting electrocuted, and blowing out the circuit.
• Cushioned handles on wire cutters are not designed to prevent shocks from occurring.
• In particular, wire cutters with insulation are commercially available.
• Take care to avoid skewed cuts.
• Frayed edges can be caused by rocking the wire cutters or twisting the wire back and forth over the cutting tool.
• In addition to being dangerously sharp, the frayed ends of the wire significantly reduce its ability to carry electricity.
• Cut electrical wires and cables quickly and firmly at right angles to reduce the risk of sparking, arcing, and other hazards.
• The wire cutters should be pulled on to make the cut.
• Applying pressure on the wire cutters by pulling away from the body shifts the body’s center of gravity.
• Accidental slippage of the tool or workstation might throw off balance, which can lead to hand or bodily injuries.
• Anyone who works in the hardware industry knows how important it is to have high-quality wire and cable ties on hand for quickly and cleanly severing wires, metal, and aeronautical cables of varied sizes.
• It is recommended that you use a flush-cutter with rounded edges in these scenarios.
• It aids in smoothly cutting the edges rather than forcing the wire to break at the point of the cut.
• Shear cutters are the most efficient and gentle of all the several types of side cutters.
• Care must be used during cutting, however, because excessive force used during the cut will dull the blades.
• In order to keep the blades from contacting each other after a cut, the high-quality instruments of this type use adjustment or set screws.
• When searching for a new pair of shear cutters, this is the first thing you should check for.
• These cutters, as the name implies, make a cut on the diagonal and are widely used by professionals all over the world.
• Many names have been coined for these blades: side-cutters, diagonal cutters, dikes, and diags, to mention a few.
• These cutters are commonly used in the electrical industry to slice through copper or aluminium electrical cables with ease.
• Side-cutters, on the other hand, are employed in every industry where flexible wire needs to be cut.
• The jaws of the end cutting pliers are semicircular, and the cutting edges are perpendicular to the tool’s body.
• Consequently, you may remove fasteners like nails, screws, and rivets from a workpiece without damaging the surface.
• Using the radius of the jaws as a fulcrum, you can pry nails and screws out of wood, thanks to the jaws’ rounded form.
• Insulated versions of most common kinds of wire cutters exist to protect users from shocks.
• The silicone or rubber covering on the handles of common tools may look like insulation, however this should not be mistaken for actual insulation.
• Soft-grip handles, included on most wire cutters to improve their use, do not protect the user against electrocution, however.
• This instrument, which may also be referred to as a combination cutter, is the workhorse of the wire-cutting family.
• These tools, in addition to having broad, flat jaws for grasping, have cutting blades like to those on side-cutters located just in front of the pivot point.
• The leverage provided by the longer handles makes short work of steel fence wire, heavy nails, and steel screws.
• The highly tapered jaws of a pair of Needle-nose wire cutters make it simple for electricians to bend wire and put it into a switch-gear in electrical components.
• There usually isn’t enough room for you to use regular pliers or cutters.
• Cutting with these cutters is a breeze because the blades have practically no bevels, making them ideal for use in industries like jewelry design and electronics assembly.
• This sort of cutter uses even less force to cut than a standard flush cutter, but its blades are extremely delicate, therefore it’s important to only use it to sever sensitive copper or aluminum conductors.
• Useful for making jewelry or wrapping wire, this cutter is of great quality.
• Flush cutting is possible with bronze, fine silver,  gold, and platinum wire.
• This cutter is not designed to cut titanium, steel, or memory wire.
• Never use regular wire cutters on iron, steel, or other hard wires unless they are labeled as such.
• Also, never bash wire cutters with a hammer or any other instrument in order to cut a wire.
• The force of the wire breaking, or the wire cutters themselves breaking, might disseminate dangerous debris.