8 or 9" Lineman's?

[KnurledNut]

And if an electrician says, "yes I have a hammer", he is talking about his 9's.

 

[Hakeem]

Well now you know what we use them for. If you see an electrician in the US and he doesn’t have linesman’s. Well, he probably isn’t an electrician.

Bingo. You can make the argument that wire nuts/marrettes are primitive and obsolete, and I wouldn’t really disagree, but those are still the industry standard here in the US. Even using 8” pliers to twist wire splices together is challenging, as the plier ends will want to come apart.

Linemans pliers are used to splice wires, pull fish tape/wire, cut all sorts of things beyond wire, and for various light hammering. They do a LOT for American electricians. Anything short of a big, beefy pair will just make the job harder than it needs to be.

 

[Wamsutta]

Ironworker foreman who also has to occasionally tie rebar. Klein D9 2000 FTW!

You must mean the D201-7CST

 

[Fly Fishing Rick]

You must mean the D201-7CST

I assume he means the D2000-9 Lineman's. They're the better choice in my opinion because they're heat treated to cut harder wire. The ones you linked are only for cutting soft, annealed rebar wire.

 

[jeffmoss26]

I have the, now discontinued?, Klein Tools J2000-9NECR. They live in the Veto on top of my toolbox, for many applications the first pair of pliers I will grab. Got some very stubborn nails/fasteners out with them, as well as used them to crimp an eyelet to a pull cord/string and it performed very well.

Had a minor accident with a blue steel/hardened nail and the cutters, but that was my fault for not realizing early enough. Minor dent, de-burred with a file, all good.

I really like how smooth they run and how heavy duty they are overall. Serious pair of pliers, happy to have/ use them!

So, my vote, go 9”.

(Everything else will come anyway at some point. … )

Kind regards,
Olli

Don’t think they are discontinued https://www.kleintools.com/catalog/...ting-pliers/linemans-pliers-crimping-9-inch-0

 

[dscheidt]

And if an electrician says, "yes I have a hammer", he is talking about his 9's.

I have an honest to goodness electrician’s hammer— it has a really long head, for hitting nails in the back of electrical boxes. A buddy gave it to me, he’d bought it a garage sale knowing I had lots of hammers. (Not by GJ standards…). He forgot to bring it, so he told me he’d gotten me an electrician’s hammer and I figured he was talking about a pair of linesman pliers or a rock. So I was pleasantly surprised when he finally gave it me.

 

[Beerhippie]

I have an honest to goodness electrician’s hammer— it has a really long head, for hitting nails in the back of electrical boxes. A buddy gave it to me, he’d bought it a garage sale knowing I had lots of hammers. (Not by GJ standards…). He forgot to bring it, so he told me he’d gotten me an electrician’s hammer and I figured he was talking about a pair of linesman pliers or a rock. So I was pleasantly surprised when he finally gave it me.

What kind of effete and over-privileged electrician would even feel like showing a real electrician's hammer on the job? We used rocks and pliers and they were plenty good enough for us!

 

[dscheidt]

What kind of effete and over-privileged electrician would even feel like showing a real electrician's hammer on the job? We used rocks and pliers and they were plenty good enough for us!

I've had the walls of my bathroom open recently, and the original rigid conduit and boxes were exposed. no way you could use a regular claw hammer to drive the nails in the back of the boxes. So apparently local 134 didn't think it to effete in 1925.

 

[Wamsutta]

I assume he means the D2000-9 Lineman's. They're the better choice in my opinion because they're heat treated to cut harder wire. The ones you linked are only for cutting soft, annealed rebar wire.

They have a D2000-7CST also.

 

[Beerhippie]

I've had the walls of my bathroom open recently, and the original rigid conduit and boxes were exposed. no way you could use a regular claw hammer to drive the nails in the back of the boxes. So apparently local 134 didn't think it to effete in 1925.

That's what they make socket-wrench extensions for.

 

[dave*99]

I've had the walls of my bathroom open recently, and the original rigid conduit and boxes were exposed. no way you could use a regular claw hammer to drive the nails in the back of the boxes. So apparently local 134 didn't think it to effete in 1925.

Perhaps the cordless impact and the current selection of screws impacted the demand for such a hammer. Of course you can still drive in a screw with nines.

 

[impactims]

I'm a homeowner and I also do residential handyman work and I'm looking to get a pair of good Lineman's pliers but can't decide between sizes... Do you prefer an 8" or 9" version for general purpose work? I have it narrowed down to either the Klein D20009NEGLW or the D2000-8 models. They're more or less the same price with the 8" version having significantly lower ratings on Amazon for some reason. Thought it might be useful to get some feedback here before I spend $35-40 on a pair of pliers.

When you can’t decide between 2 sizes (8”, 9”) get both. You will find that they both have they both have their place and you have a back-up if one gets broken. This is a win-win situation.

 

[tiredoldironworker]

7's and 8's aren't nearly as strong as 9's. Show up in a rebar patch with 7's and you will be laughed off the job. And yes I meant the D2000-9's. Try cutting rebar chairs with anything below 9's and it will destroy the edges.

 

[sayn3ver]

Why the New England style? Just curious.

The new England style nose allows you to ream emt conduit 1/2"- 1" in a pinch. They punch out k/o's. Its just a good shape for twisting wires, both solid and stranded.