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What do you use to cut SS wire?

ImYou

Member For 3 Years
Looking for wire cutter to cut staggered clapton, fused clapton and those complex builds. Any links for a wire cutter will do.
 

Synphul

Gold Contributor
Member For 4 Years
It probably depends on how much wire you're cutting. If looking to turn coil building into a hobby, art or something to sell on the side like raymo does then a high quality pair will most likely pay for themselves in the long run. If you're more of a basic user just trimming wire for your own use and only need to clip coils a couple times every couple of weeks it may not require an expensive pair.

For stainless steel 316L, 26g-30g or for half staggered fused clapton I've used a pair of cheapo $5 southwire cutters. Mostly because I had them laying around from diy electrical and auto shop type stuff (wire snipping/stripping). The hsfc wire I mentioned is a 26/32g clapton alongside a 24g ss316L wrapped with 32g. The southwire's snip through it pretty easy with the back of the cutter (behind the stripping slot).

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Southwire-Wire-Cutter/50081548

There's a tiny portion near the tip of the nose but not so great for snipping ss wire. The cutters flex a little and the two halves spread just slightly which pinches the wire rather than cuts it. They're not great for snipping up close, they're basic cutters not specialty side or flush cutters. Right tool for the right job sorta thing so I don't fault them for failing a task they weren't intended for. For flush cuts or something besides basic snipping of wire off a spool you may want to check out different pairs.
 

Zamazam

Evil Vulcan's do it with Logic
VU Donator
Platinum Contributor
Member For 5 Years
I use a good set of hardened flush cutting dykes, meant for electronic board work.
 

raymo2u

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Platinum Contributor
Member For 4 Years
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You can find a set of the Lindstroms on ebay for cheap, I recently replaced mine for $28 bucks new...

Origin Story of Why....
I was buying new flush cutters every 2-3 days and at $5-$13 bucks a pop, it got expensive...just to have sharp cutters. After a day or 2 the Flush Cutters would dull, break jaws off them, or have large gouges out of them and then you could only use small parts of the jaws to cut wire with, most of the time this would cause issues with larger wire-destroying some of the wires I finished.

So I got a pair of Lindstrom Cutters for $70 and I was reluctant to try them but I did end up getting them. They are made from Ball Bearing Steel hardened to HRC62....which is stronger then raw tungsten...It will last much longer and is extremely wear resistant...there still isnt a mark on the jaws of my dull set and Ive cut 4 metal coat hangers to prove their cutting power....not a scratch.

Ive had the Lindstroms for over a year before I thought they could be sharpened and I tried sharpening them myself following a tutorial and I made them very dull, useless....so I had to get a new pair.

The thing is, these things lasted me a entire year and you guys know how much I build...all the cutting with my normal routine on top of the Wholesale Aliens I was doing for AVS for almost 6 months...So 20-30 Staggerton Variants + 3-400 Aliens and other wires per week for a straight 6 months. They would have probably lasted a couple more years before they couldnt cut a piece of Ribbon or thinner wire easily or feel dull like normal cutters did in days....

You can get Tin Snips or other larger cutters for cutting wires and leads before install but if you want a real flush cutter that cuts through just about anything like butter with a satisfying "clip" feel and sound then the cutters Im obsessed with are in order.....If you want to sve about $10 over the Lindstroms on Ebay then buy some Tin snips.

The Page I got my cutters from for $28: LINK
 
Last edited:

ImYou

Member For 3 Years
You can find a set of the Lindstroms on ebay for cheap, I recently replaced mine for $28 bucks new...

Origin Story of Why....
I was buying new flush cutters every 2-3 days and at $5-$13 bucks a pop, it got expensive...just to have sharp cutters. After a day or 2 the Flush Cutters would dull, break jaws off them, or have large gouges out of them and then you could only use small parts of the jaws to cut wire with, most of the time this would cause issues with larger wire-destroying some of the wires I finished.

So I got a pair of Lindstrom Cutters for $70 and I was reluctant to try them but I did end up getting them. They are made from Ball Bearing Steel hardened to HRC62....which is stronger then raw tungsten...It will last much longer and is extremely wear resistant...there still isnt a mark on the jaws of my dull set and Ive cut 4 metal coat hangers to prove their cutting power....not a scratch.

Ive had the Lindstroms for over a year before I thought they could be sharpened and I tried sharpening them myself following a tutorial and I made them very dull, useless....so I had to get a new pair.

The thing is, these things lasted me a entire year and you guys know how much I build...all the cutting with my normal routine on top of the Wholesale Aliens I was doing for AVS for almost 6 months...So 20-30 Staggerton Variants + 3-400 Aliens and other wires per week for a straight 6 months. They would have probably lasted a couple more years before they couldnt cut a piece of Ribbon or thinner wire easily or feel dull like normal cutters did in days....

You can get Tin Snips or other larger cutters for cutting wires and leads before install but if you want a real flush cutter that cuts through just about anything like butter with a satisfying "clip" feel and sound then the cutters Im obsessed with are in order.....If you want to sve about $10 over the Lindstroms on Ebay then buy some Tin snips.

The Page I got my cutters from for $28: LINK

Good looks! Ima buy Lindstrom Cutters later in the future. When I start building coils as of right now I'm just buying pre built ones cutting with hakko.
 

Whiskeywarrior

Silver Contributor
Member For 3 Years
Member For 2 Years
Member For 1 Year
I use harbor freight flush cuts for most things. When they get dull or get a nik in them I just take them back and have them replaced, lifetime warranty. For bigger stuff with lots of ribbon in it I use lineman's.
 

Whiskeywarrior

Silver Contributor
Member For 3 Years
Member For 2 Years
Member For 1 Year
The first pair of red ones. But the lineman plyers I already had and are a nice set not harbor fright.
 

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