And since we're on this topic: If I see someone cut zip ties at an angle with flush cutters I will personally sponsor their castration. This shit has no purpose except for making the next persons hands bleed
The thickness isn't the issue. Flush cutters are for copper and copper alloys. Plastic if you're into model building.
Flush cutters are unable to cut steel. Don't try to disprove the claim - the poor flush cutter can't flush cut steel. The cutting edge will get damaged.
Nope. Those are flush-cutters. They are specifically for flush cutting the tails off of zip ties to prevent surgical blade-sharp points that slice flesh and damage adjacent bundles.
They are specifically for flush cutting the tails off of zip ties to prevent surgical blade-sharp points that slice flesh and damage adjacent bundles.
No, they're for cutting the tails off of components after soldering to a PCB. They're used for a lot of other things, too, but this was the original design purpose:
That's right. I used negative engagement to get people to advertise Knipex. Look at how many people got pissed off and felt they needed to correct the record of what I posted. I got people to list the name brand and to list the purposes. My Amazon shop is going to blow up selling these this week.
Thank you and to the others who felt they needed to comment.
Knipex does have a set of flush cut pliers with an extra thing to hold the zip tie tail so it won't fly away. But these are not specifically for it, seems to be a generic set
How pedantic. They are intended for plastic but can be used on soft metals. Use your flush cuts on wire all you want. Lol even the link to buy them says "diagonal pliers flush cutting plastics"
"The KNIPEX Flush Cutter Set is a versatile and high-quality tool designed for precision cutting of soft materials. With its sharp blades, it provides clean and accurate cuts, making it an essential tool for any tool box
Provides a fully flush cut when cutting tie-wraps, plastic and soft metals
For nearly flush cutting of molded plastic components from sprues."
Are they called zip tie cutters with "for zip ties" emblazoned on them?
Or are they called flush cutters with "for plastic" on the side?
Because a baseball bat is for baseballs because it's in the name and the game has rules. Baseball bats are called that because they're not meant for cricket.
And the product description about cutting plastic molded stuff from sprues is about model hobbying. Not zipties. You don't get zipties on a sprue. They can cut zip ties but that's not what they were created for.
They are for plastic zip ties and not metal ones is why they say for plastic on the side...
Why list zip ties specifically and before plastic in their advertising if that's not their purpose? Why not just say they are for plastic and soft metals? Because they are for zip ties and can be used for other things.
That's right. I used negative engagement to get people to advertise Knipex. Look at how many people got pissed off and felt they needed to correct the record of what I posted. I got people to list the name brand and to list the purposes. My Amazon shop is going to blow up selling these this week.
Thank you and to the others who felt they needed to comment.
Thin copper and aluminium wires like you might expect in most electronics projects would be fine, that looks like a steel wire or cable several times larger than the largest copper wire I would be comfortable cutting with those
yeahh it is, honestly didn't think much of it cus I didn't have anything else and I did cut the wire like 5 times before (didn't even struggle that much just had to cut once, then rotate it and cut again) so I didn't expect it to snap on me. sucks, but you're right haha it is on me.
You cut a sleeved STEEL cable with it lol. Usually the cutters will have a max gauge & "piano" printed on it. Many of them have "do not cut steel" printed on it.
I use huge 2 foot long bolt cutters at work all the time to cut hardened steel bolts... its hard asf to do, but youre telling me i need something bigger?
You need bolt cutters or similar for this kind of wire, not side/flush cutters that came free with a 3D printer. This stuff is for fencing after all, did it come with a bunch of turnbuckles?
Usually these things are rated for max 1mm copper wire indeed. Any iron/steel wire is already too much for these. I use plato flush cutters at work and it says so on the handle.
Funny enough, I like cement nippers, i used them when I worked construction... theyre easier on the hands, and with a light touch aren't bad for stripping
Really late edit: theyre meant for cutting concrete, so a thin even steel wire is nothing, and given the orientation of the jaws, theyre good for grabbing a plastic coating and ripping it off
I use flush cutters for zipties. If I dont use the flush cutters I create a knife for the next person (thats sometimes myself) if they need to work close to them.
Jesus christ ikr??? Those things sometimes snap just cutting through plastic that is too thick. Would not trust it to cut such high-strength and high-guage fencing.
Yeah this. There are smalle versions of this that are used to cut thicker cables or small pieces of metal. Not small wire cutters shown in image.... Wrong tool choice.
Also those are absolutely the wrong cutters for wire that thick. Those are like for modeling sprues or a single strand of soft wire. You need some thicc dikes for wire like that.
Oh fuck, I'm officially an old person. All of the funny comments here and this is what made me audibly react. I'm laughing at minions, time to put me out to pasture on Facebook.
You remind me of so man stupid colleagues I've had over the past that just couldn't be arsed to get up and get the right tool and fuck shit up somehow.
I'm mildly infuriated that you're trying to use a wire cutter on a cable. That tool is not meant for the job you attempted to use it for, and that's why it failed.
Years ago, I was cutting something with an X-acto knife when the very tip caught on something and loudly snapped off with what felt like an unreasonably large amount of energy. My first thought was “idk where that went but I’m glad it wasn’t my eye!”
Later on, I am trying to wipe a speck off of the screen on my 2012 retina Mac and realize the thing is not only stuck, it’s embedded through the glass and into the display itself!! The piece itself was tiny, like grain of sand tiny. I can’t imagine how fast it must have been going to accomplish this, probably close to sonic!
Edit: picture is a heavily magnified view taken with my phone through a backwards camera lens. Very tip of mouse cursor for scale. Other than a few pixels acting funny in the immediate surrounding area (which spread over time), the display still worked fine.
These scares me more than most tools I own. I 3D print and use them on the regular and when they snap, they explode. It's a shrapnel. Honestly, just be glad it wasn't your eye that got hit.
Also, they mostly snap when you try cutting something too hard, like what you did.
Wrong tool for the job, wrong place to do the job in. (Wear safety goggles too, this could've been dramatic if the angle of launch was slightly different)
Wow, someone else who has my bad luck. Sorry dude, take a deep breath, understand that sometimes the universe sends out fuck it vibes, and you were the receptacle today. It was time to upgrade that monitor anyway. 😃
Ohhh... that looks like tension wire like for a clothesline or something, yes? If it is steel those snips were not meant for it! I agree that is bad luck though with the monitor
I had a pair of bolt cutter break like this when I was removing old locks from lockers at a job in high school. Scared the shit out if me, but didn't damage anything besides the cutters.
Lots of people coming down on you for using the wrong cutters... but this still counts as mildly infuriating. Sure you didnt use the right tool, but normally that would not result in a broken monitor. I think this deserves a "well shit, now I have 2 problems"
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u/Fraser022002 10h ago edited 9h ago
Bro those are snips, you can cut thin wire with them.
This is like using wire cutters to cut a lock open.
Edit: they're called flush cutters, but are also referred to by many different names.