Cutting pliers are a large group of single-purpose pliers for cutting thin plastic parts and steel wires, including very hard wires, copper wires and multi-conductor cables.
The cutting pliers, like all pliers, have a lever construction and consist of two handles and two jaws with cutting edges. The blades can be positioned sideways, laterally offset (diagonal), diagonal or face up. They have a wedge shape with a large, small and very small outer edge, a wedge shape angled slightly away from the opposite blade and a non-angled wedge shape (the two planes of the wedge blades are at an angle of 180°) and a crossed wedge shape (the planes of the wedge blades cross each other). Wedge-shaped blades with a large outer edge and crossing blades are used for cutting hard and thick materials, e.g. steel piano wire. Depending on the type of pliers, thin plastic parts, steel or copper wires, nails etc. can be cut by hand. The handles of these cutters are exclusively made with plastic caps: PVC, 2-component, insulated handles according to VDE standards.
The cutters are made from chrome-vanadium steel or carbon steel by drop forging, heat treatment and machining. Their cutting edges are induction hardened (maximum 64 HRC for industrial versions). These pliers usually have an oxidized (blackened) or chrome plated coating. Modified versions of these pliers are now available in standard sizes, which increase the manual force by 39 times and also have a double leverage mechanism for easier cutting.
Cutting pliers are classified according to the position of the cutting edges into side cutters, diagonal cutters, angled cutters and face cutters. A distinction is made between massive pliers with long handles and double lever action which are operated 2-handed, e.g. for cutting rebar, and compact designs e.g. for electronics engineers. There are also the popular pliers (a type of nose cutter) used in carpentry and joinery and insulated pliers for electricians.
The technical parameters that characterize pliers are: overall length (mm), ability to cut wires of different hardness and multi-conductor cables (mm2), type of blades and weight (g).
Cutting pliers are used in a wide range of applications. The different types are used in industry, in the maintenance departments of all production plants, in construction, installation and craft trades, in service and mechanical workshops. They are manufactured by e.g. Bahco, Beta, Facom, Gedore, Hazet, Knipex, Proxxon, NWS, Snap-on, Stanley, Stahlwille, Wiha etc.
