Archived from the Tools In Action forum (Hand Tools). This thread is read-only.
Does anyone have an opinion or suggestion on bolt cutters? I don’t need anything too crazy, but I am looking to add something for my toolbox on my truck. I hear Ridgid is good, but I figured I’d get some additional information prior to making a purchase.
Thanks,
FB82
I use a mastercraft maximum pair of 30″ cutters. It hasn’t ran into anything it couldn’t handle; no shortage of locks, etc.
A compact pair of Knipex cobolts are on my wish list. 8″ compacts seem handy and I’ve heard positive things.
Cool thanks. Pretty expensive?
Bremon wrote:
50 minutes ago, Bremon said:I use a mastercraft maximum pair of 30″ cutters. It hasn’t ran into anything it couldn’t handle; no shortage of locks, etc.
A compact pair of Knipex cobolts are on my wish list. 8″ compacts seem handy and I’ve heard positive things.
I keep 24″ Armstrong bolt cutters on my truck. Anythig bigger I just use my cordless grinder.
I recall reading somewhere that Ace hardware had USA made bolt cutters really reasonably priced. I couldn’t tell you what brand or ho good they are/were, I really only have experience with Knipex mini bolt cutters…Every other time I’ve used bolt cutters they belonged to someone else and I didn’t really care what brand they were.
@FrosBros82, the Knipex is usual pricing for them; around $75CAD. Probably $50-60 USD I would guess. My 30″ were cheap. Around $35 USD I believe.
i use and sell HK Porters good brand we have been using the same 36 inch one for years cutting rebar and you can get replacement teeth
I keep these on the van. Don’t need something this size too often so wasn’t worried about the best there was….I was more concerned about it being compact. These fit the bill perfectly. i’ve cut a bunch with them, they’re pretty decent, priced right and fold away for storage.
Plus they’re black and yellow. 😎
If you need a reliable and extremely high-quality tool, then of course you should look in the direction of KNIPEX 71 72 610. It has 62 HRC cutting edge hardness and able to cut metal rod up to 48 HRC and diameter up to 3/8 inch. Of the minuses-twice the higher price compared to the closest analogues of other brands.
If the price is more important, then try WorkPro W017006A or Maxilla FB-24 Folding Bolt Cutter. At a cost within $50, they have good tech specs.
If you are interested in the minimum weight and compactness — the best choice will be Fuller Tool Pro Series 18-Inch. It weight only 3.45 pounds. While analogues weigh between 5 and 9 pounds.
There are of course other good bolt cutters, which you can read in detail in this review https://toolslaboratory.com/best-bolt-cutter-buyers-guide-2019/