KNIPEX71 32 200 Comfort Grip High Leverage CoBolt Cutter with Notch and Spring

I live on a suburban street with a grass median, so after an election, my street is littered with election signs that have outlived their value to inform our choices. To beautify my neighborhood, I collect signs to my house, where I cut their steel wire stakes into short lengths that I put in a cardboard box, tape shut, and discard safely with my regular trash pickup.Some wire stakes are 5/32" ≈ 0.156" ≈ 3.97 mm in diameter. Cutting these is easy, with one squeeze of one hand. The spring speeds one-handed operation.Some wire stakes are 11/64" ≈ 0.172" ≈ 4.37 mm in diameter. Cutting these is more difficult. I bought model 71 32 200 with the notch. The notch helps me get the wire farther into the jaws for more leverage on the wire. The "Comfort Grip" keeps my hands from slipping when I squeeze with both hands.Also, when I bought my house, it came with a roll of 4 foot tall wire fencing in the shed. After I bought this cutter, I finally got around to cutting up the roll, boxing it, and putting it out with my regular trash pickup. My photo shows my second, smaller box that I used to finish the job. Maybe I did this the hard way, but each cut was easy with the notch and spring. Just lots of cuts!This professional quality tool is a delight for my occasional use as a homeowner. Made in Germany. 🇩🇪

1. Sturdy2. Coated for rust prevention.3. Easy swivel locking mechanism.if it fits it cuts. What more do you need?

These wire cutters work very well. I found them both effective and easy to grip when cutting both thin and wide wire products. I frequently use them to shorten faux greenery and flower stems and they work well. They sever the wire easily and result in a clean cut. They cost more than some lower priced versions, but I found the value to be worth the cost.

Before this tool, I was having to use a Dremel to cut screws to the length I needed. Which was always a messy, frustrating, and time consuming project. Now I can cut through 12.9 grade steel screws like butter and there is practically no mess. These are purely for making cuts, these are not intended to be used as angle cutters (to cut flush to the material), there is another model of Knipex for those applications.The 8" size is perfect for your pocket and the craftsmanship and durability of the tool is by far some of the best of what German engineering has to offer.The notch feature on this tool is ideal when cutting objects of larger diameter, however, you can just avoid it when cutting smaller material.. I would still recommend this version over the no-notch, one.even if you never plan on needing the notch.I do not need to use two hands to be able to lock or unlock the spring clasp.Because every 1 pound of pressure placed on the end of the handle is transferred into 20 pounds of cutting pressure, you want to make sure that you always keep your hand at the very butt end of the handles so that you are transferring as much energy as possible. While your main hand is holding the handle, you can use your free hand to cover the cutting end of the tool to keep any shrapnel from flying off, it does not hurt, just be careful not to cut yourself.You get what you pay for, and $50 is nothing for tools that can last a lifetime if you don't go beyond their range of operation and if you just respect and maintain them properly.This is an amazing 8" tool that is perfect for anyone's arsenal.

I actually haven't used it yet but expect durability to be very good based on other recommendations. I'm beginning a fencing project and cutting many tough wires very close to the end of a set of diagonal cutters was going to be a chore. I saw these on a Youtube fence stringing video and realized they would make the job so much easier. I'm an avid DIY'er and over many projects have come to realize that I can afford to purchase good quality tools that help me do the job as a little reward to myself for not hiring someone else.

I was skeptical about the performance claims, so I put it to the test as soon as I got it. I cut some solid aluminum rods, 9gage steel wire, some discarded remnants of a chain-link fence, and some miscellaneous bolts & screws. It cut thru them all easily. Then I went to my stranded insulated copper wire. It sliced clean thru every last tiny fiber. It's really hard to find a tool that will work as both bolt cutters AND razor-sharp wire cutters, but Knipex does it.The spring is a must-have feature (in my opinion). It makes it easy to do lot of repeated cuts fast. If the spring gets in the way you can take it out. The notch to hold it closed is very ergonomic. It stays closed in my pocket or bag, but I never have trouble trying to get it open, even with heavy work gloves on.The short length is excellent because you can keep it on a belt holster or in cargo pants - easier to grab than crossing the workshop when I got my hands full of wire.My only concern is that the plates on the side are so wide that for an artist/craftsperson like me, it's hard to get near a workpiece without scraping the cutter's rivets. I thought it would work for cutting protruding wires on 'rounded' pieces - not so. It's great for cutting the source material - not so much for cleaning up loose ends. Get the angled blades instead so you can make flush cuts and get close to flat surfaces.Also, the company video shows the fireman swapping his heavy long-handled bolt cutters for this knipex model. This is of course a dramatization. I would not recommend this as a rescue worker's tool - at least not as a substitute for big bolt cutters. This model has blades that only about 5mm, so it won't got thru thick locks or thick chain.

Purchased for the dreaded hook in skin disaster I've experienced before. Tested this cutter out on the strongest largest bass hooks I have. Cuts clean with little effort--amazing. Hoping that now these are in the bag I'll never need to use them.