I received quite a few requests to review Husky’s new 6-in-1 multi-functional electrical pliers, and so I picked up a pair earlier in the month when prepping for our Husky Tool Gift Guide.
We currently have a paid partnership with Husky and Home Depot, where they supply a sampling of tools for review consideration several times over the course of the year.
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I bought this one at Home Depot for $13 for expediency, but it’s included in our Husky-Home Depot partnership coverage.
Described as multi-functional pliers, this Husky tool is designed to handle common electrical and wiring tasks.
Here are its features:
- Wire cutting blades
- Long nose gripping jaws
- Wire stripping holes
- 8-18 AWG solid
- 10-20 AWG stranded
- Conduit deburring grooves
- Machine screw cutter
- Crimping jaws
Additionally, the pliers have comfort-grip handles and a loop for use with a lanyard or tethering accessories.
For the price, I am really liking these new Husky pliers.
So far, I’ve used the wire stripping holes, wire cutter blades, and the pliers jaws. I rarely trim machine screws, and the crimper anvils look well-shaped.
Should You Buy These Pliers?
The Husky electrical pliers feel well-made, and comfortable to use as well.
Are these the best-performing wire cutters and strippers I have ever used or keep in my tool box? Of course not. But, each of my dedicated go-to tools costs more than this single tool.
You don’t buy x-in-1 multi-functional pliers for top performance, you buy them for good performance, maximum versatility, and the convenience of only having to carry a single tool.
These Husky pliers check off all those boxes – they’re versatile, they’re convenient, and they work quite well especially for the price.
I like this Husky pliers so much better than my older Stanley multi-purpose electrical tools. Not only is it a little easier to use, I’ve been using its pliers jaws outside of electrical and wiring tasks. The Husky handle grips are also comfortable and give the tool a more premium feel.
What’s the Compromise?
The wire cutting jaws aren’t as sharp as another multi-functional pliers I’ve been using, or on my favorite dedicated wire strippers that have curved cutting blades.
But to put things into context, my wire strippers don’t have the pliers jaws that make these Husky pliers more broadly useful, and the other multi-functional pliers retail for $35 to $38.
As a result, the Husky wire cutting blades tend to crush and deform wires before cutting them. Most wire cutters will do this to an extent, and you have to pay a lot to find ones that don’t, but the Husky does this to a greater extend on thinner wires.
It’s by no means a deal-breaker, in my opinion, especially if you’re working with larger wires.
I should also point out that I compared the cutting performance against that of my favorite wire strippers. The wire cutting performance is on-par with that of my favorite full-sized diagonal cutters, and probably on-par with that of side-cutters.
I don’t think it’s a big deal, but I would be remiss if I didn’t mention it.
Overall
These Husky pliers offer a very good user experience, and I think they’re a very good value.
The pliers lack more premium features, such as spring-action handles, but that’s something I’ve not found myself missing.
Chances are I won’t use these for my electronics projects, but they might go into my household electrical work bag. Wiring projects that involve lamp cord or speaker wire, for instance, aren’t as easily affected by cut performance in the same way as signal wires.
Husky’s 6-in-1 pliers offer most of the features and performance of most premium models, but at a fraction of the cost.
Price: $13-15
fred
For what its worth – Hangzhou Great Star (China) is the OEM – telltale is a UPC code starting with 820909
Tom D
Those “multipurpose electrical tools” are the bane of my existence and I will NEVER purchase another – they never work well and immediately become loose, especially if you crimp.
The Husky style (Milwaukee and others make similar) are the way to go.
Corey Moore
Are you calling these the multipurpose style? Because I’d tend to agree with you, whole heatedly. But the only mirror Milwaukee ones I know if are also 6-in-1 and pretty much identical to these, and I’d still call the same terrible design. Seems like everyone and their grandmother makes this exact tool these days, but it’s always a “jack of all trades, master of none” situation.
Albert
Do the grooves on the outside of the jaws (near the gauge numbers) serve any purpose?
fred
Maybe internal reaming of EMT (conduit) ??
AC
Yep
Stuart
Conduit pipe reaming and deburring.
fred
Klein makes conduit pliers that they saw can be used for reaming insde and outside:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Klein-Tools-7-3-4-in-Conduit-Locknut-and-Reaming-Pliers-D333-8/100647874
but I think I’ve seen theis “drill reamer” in greater use:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Klein-Tools-Conduit-Reamer-Drill-Head-with-2-Square-Recess-Bit-85091/203745561
fred
Here’s how Home Depot describes it:
The Husky 8 inch 6-IN-1 Multi-function pliers … It also has a file on the sides.
Tom
I bought the Milwaukee 6 in 1 when they were on sale for $20. Seemed like a big improvement in quality for $7.
Jim Felt
“Klein”. Made in the USA. Even though I’ve got both German and Japanese versions that a in there ways great I still stick with several specific Klein’s.
Boom.
joseph w kay
in love with my milwaukee version… wonder if these are up to snuff…
Dave
The much larger compromise is the lack of actual dedicated crimpers for 12 and 24V wiring jobs using butt connectors, etc.
I have the Milwaukee ones and they’re fine but I should have paid more attention when I bought them and kept my $20 in my pocket.
Dave
I see they have it down below by the handles—an almost impossible place to use / get up under the dash, etc.
Michael Triggs
The lack of a crimper on the Milwaukee 6 in 1 was my only disappointment with those. However, this crimper looks more like the “crusher” on the Milwaukee Linesman pliers. “Good enough” for 14/12 gauge, I guess, but definitely won’t do it on the small gauge stuff.
Ian
I use Milwaukee’s similar version daily and I love them. However, I wish Milwaukee had incorporated the crimping feature in theirs. May have to try these out
Luke
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00C3IC6R2/?tag=toolguyd-20
Amazon has the channel locks version on sale for $39.50 right now, $5.00 off the lowest price from June? Usually in the $45-50 range. Made in the USA with US forged steel from Stuart’s original post. Represents about 11% off the lowest price. Not a great deal but maybe enough to swing you one way or another.
I’m so screwed in January when the credit card bill posts. Keep up the great work Stuart!!
Also, not exactly on topic but I’m trying to consolidate my posts. The Dewalt 60v chainsaw with the 18” bar upgrade and Oregon advance cut chain is a beast!
Spent all weekend using it. Cutting up some serious trees that fell into the water along the shoreline and cleaning them up, it performed exceptionally well. Battery run time was about an hour or so continuously before it would start to die down, handled all the cuts with ease and did not bog down. I am actually thankful I got the kit with the extra battery (and charger, cheaper by $48 then the same kit/battery size without the charger and just the battery).
So far, thumbs up on the Dewalt 60v Chainsaw. Maybe the 20v is next for some lighter tree work, but honestly my Dewalt sawzall handles those chores pretty easily so I may just save my $100 for some sweet Knipex for pliers for $73 and have a little cash left over to spend on something else.
fred
Still $33.31 at Summit Racing – but shipping brings it to $40.31 – unless you bundle it in with other items to optimize the shipping cost
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/cnl-968
Vic
Husky also has a new smaller version of plier. Maybe 6 inch. I got one for $10 and feel more handy.
Charles
honestly, from a contractor perspective, this style is absolute garbage. You will never ever ever ever see these on a jobsite. There’s a reason. Look at what electricians actually use.
Corey Moore
They’re actually fairly popular. Don’t like em myself, got the Milwaukee gen 1’s when they came out and hated em. But they are popular with mostly our newer guys, and at least one older fella I’ve met.
BKNY
I had bought the Milwaukee 6in1 when it first came out, with the original in frame sliding latch, and matching diagonal cutters. GREAT tools.. both.
Was just looking to pick up a 2nd set.
They’ve since changed the lock on the 6in1 to some stamped piece of sheetmetal you rotate out of the way. Seems like a blood blister waiting to happen, but don’t know, don’t have that version.
BKNY
Found the PN for the original version..
48-22-3069
Bob Channell
First, the idea of a multi tool is good. I work HVAC and these tools are great, one less thing to carry. I’ve tried them all from Klein, HF, Milwaukee, Husky, etc. The Milwaukee work the best of any of them, while the Kleins feel the best.
As to Husky, the quality is really hit or miss. More so than HF by a long shot. If you buy Icon, Quinn, or Doyle at HF, you’re getting much better QC. I’ve never seen one of these tools with loose pivots, or misaligned jaws, or actually any flaws at all. Husky is a completely different matter indeed. Crooked grinding, misalignment and general shoddy work is rampant. Now, if you look through the tools and pick one that is made right, it’s a really good tool, but you cannot just grab one off the shelf. I’m not too impressed with the quality of Husky, and it’s a shame, as they make some good designed tools, but execution needs a lot of work. I would however, rate them right along with Craftsman sold at Lowe’s, so I guess in the competition arena, they compete. But what a shame this is where we’ve come to.
I would look at HF if I wanted decent tools at decent prices. I’m hate to bash anyone’s tools, but there is a huge difference between what you’ll see at Lowe’s or HD and what HF is selling. I have pliers, ratchets, screwdrivers etc from HF and they are fantastic. I could tell stories of how tough their PP screwdrivers are and still going strong.
Jared
I’ve a slightly different view of Husky’s quality. I think the quality varies a lot between different types of tools, but they have some categories where the quality is pretty consistent.
E.g. ratchets – they all seem pretty consistent to me. The cheap ones are good, the 100-tooth models are better. Husky seems to offer good value in this category – albeit nothing market-leading.
Pliers on the other hand, and this seems to line up with your example, can be a bit hit or miss. I don’t think it’s poor quality control across ALL the pliers though. Some models seem consistent (albeit I’ve never been super impressed with Husky pliers), while others are kinda junky.
There’s lots of “holiday special” Husky products too, which can include some real turds.
Bob Channell
These are not too bad at all. The hinge on almost all of them in the store was fairly loose, but not loose enough to cause the jaws to bind. Makes you wonder how they’ll wear over time. The grinding and shaping of the jaws was pretty uneven over several examples. All in all, I’d stick to Milwaukee, Klein or Doyle, as they are much better made.