kctyphoon
Banned
Just posting this to display how the increased leverage comes at a cost of increased hand movement vs max jaw opening.. these are some of the more common diagonals talked about, with the exception of my 8" Knipex I keep at work.. I'm not posting ALL the ones I have, just the more discussed models on here.. they are arranged from the 10" Knipex, and gradually change from standard high leverage to the more drastic increased leverage models. They are all placed here, fully opened. You can see how standard high leverage pliers like the Knipex, Klein, and Channellock 338 give you the widest opening, with the least amount of hand work. You can also see how the 10" Knipex don't give most people an advantage. You'd never be able to open your hands so wide, and you will be keeping your hands placed in the same position as you would an 8" model. Yes, they give you increased reach, but you'll need to reposition your hands at the back of the handles halfway through your cut to take advantage of all the leverage the handles offer. Same goes for some of the increased leverage models. To compensate for a small jaw opening, the Crescent compound cutters incorporate some extremely wide opening handles. I actually really like those. They are the only spring loaded model other than the Dewalts (which are horrible btw. They barely open up at all, and both tips are broken on mine) and imo have the best designed head out of all of them. The longest part of the head is actually the cutting surface, which protrude out further than any part of the head. I used these for a few years. They are not perfect, the spring will eventually break, but they are light, work very well, and at $11 on sale IMO are worth it. For the record, my favorite pair and goto pliers are the 8" Knipex not pictured here. They are similar to the kliens, but offer harder cutters, and a slightly different head design over the 10" models. Also, the 10" models do have a bit more weight to them.
Order is as follows :
10" Knipex
8" standard Klein, the 8" Knipex is comparable
8" channellock 338
8" channellock E338
8" crescent pivot pro, same as gearwrench
8" Irwin, or NWS Fantastico
8" dewalt compound cutters
8" crescent compound cutters, same as Apex model
Here, you can clearly see how the more leverage you introduce, will impact how wide they open, and just how much wider your hands need to open (or work) to take advantage of that leverage. Basically, unless you have a need for the increased leverage, or are cutting smaller diameter items, most people will not benefit from some of these drastic designs.
There have been many post about diagonals on here, so hopefully this will help to answer some questions. This is just to show that there is no "one" perfect diagonal for everyone. Specific needs may call for a specific model. For most general use though, 8" standard high leverage cutters are the answer. If you're cutting very hard thin material, something like the Irwin's/NWS models may work well for you. If you need the reach, or need the wider jaw opening AND leverage than a 10" model may be your answer.
Close up view of the heads and cutter design of some of the models. You can see what I mean about the Crescent compound cutters head and cutter design. You can see how the thin head design and protruding cutter surface give some advantage for flush cutting. They also offer a lot of cutting surface, probably the longest cutters of the group, but still have the slimmest head. From the top moving left, it's the channellock E338, Klein, Crescent Compound, Irwin/NWS
Looks like Channellock has a new 8" E458 diagonal cutter too..suppose to have improved steel.
Order is as follows :
10" Knipex
8" standard Klein, the 8" Knipex is comparable
8" channellock 338
8" channellock E338
8" crescent pivot pro, same as gearwrench
8" Irwin, or NWS Fantastico
8" dewalt compound cutters
8" crescent compound cutters, same as Apex model
Here, you can clearly see how the more leverage you introduce, will impact how wide they open, and just how much wider your hands need to open (or work) to take advantage of that leverage. Basically, unless you have a need for the increased leverage, or are cutting smaller diameter items, most people will not benefit from some of these drastic designs.
There have been many post about diagonals on here, so hopefully this will help to answer some questions. This is just to show that there is no "one" perfect diagonal for everyone. Specific needs may call for a specific model. For most general use though, 8" standard high leverage cutters are the answer. If you're cutting very hard thin material, something like the Irwin's/NWS models may work well for you. If you need the reach, or need the wider jaw opening AND leverage than a 10" model may be your answer.
Close up view of the heads and cutter design of some of the models. You can see what I mean about the Crescent compound cutters head and cutter design. You can see how the thin head design and protruding cutter surface give some advantage for flush cutting. They also offer a lot of cutting surface, probably the longest cutters of the group, but still have the slimmest head. From the top moving left, it's the channellock E338, Klein, Crescent Compound, Irwin/NWS
Looks like Channellock has a new 8" E458 diagonal cutter too..suppose to have improved steel.
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