Cable Cutter (8")

The blades are the reason. Cable cutter blades are shaped as opposing crescents with a shearing action, and they are designed to gather a stranded conductor and slice cleanly through it while holding the strands together. That produces a clean, round, unsquashed end — which matters, because a cable end that has been crushed flat will not enter a lug, will not seat in a terminal, and cannot be crimped properly. Cut the same cable with a bolt cutter or a hacksaw and you get a flattened, splayed end that has to be trimmed back and started again.

The trade for that shape is that the blades are ground fine and are not built to shear hard material. Steel wire, armoured cable, steel rope, nails or chain will chip them, and a chipped cable cutter tears cable rather than shearing it from then on. If you need to cut steel, use a bolt cutter; these are for copper and aluminium.

At eight inches this is the small one — a one-handed tool for a pouch, suited to the flexible cable and smaller conductors an electrician meets constantly: appliance and equipment leads, flexible cord, smaller stranded conductors, and general electrical cable.

The blades are hardened high carbon steel, with a steel handle and PVC dipped grips. A dipped grip is a coating applied by dipping the handle rather than a slip-on sleeve, so it stays put.

The buyers are electricians and electrical contractors, panel builders, auto-electricians, appliance and equipment technicians, maintenance staff, and hardware dealers supplying the electrical trade.

One safety point that belongs on any cable cutting tool. These grips are not insulated to any tested standard — a dipped PVC coating is for comfort and grip, not for electrical protection. Never cut a live cable with them. Isolate, prove dead with a two-pole tester, and then cut. Message us on WhatsApp for a price, or for the larger sizes if your cable is heavier.