Klein Tools has come out with a trip of new aviation snips, featuring integrated wire cutters.
The new snips can handle sheet metal up to 18 gauge for cold rolled steel, and 22 gauge for stainless steel. They’re spring-loaded, color-coded, and have contoured comfort grips.
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- Straight-cutting: 1202S
- Left-cutting: 1200L
- Right-cutting: 1201R
Klein designed the new snips based on customer feedback, after realizing that HVAC professionals sometimes damage their snips when cutting wires. So, they added a wire cutter notch on the outside of the blade. This allows users to cut sheet metal, ducting, and suspension wires with the same tool.
Pricing: $18-$24 each
Buy Now(via Amazon)
Update: They’re cheaper at Home Depot:
Straight | Right | Left-Cutting via Home Depot
First Thoughts
Klein hasn’t gotten back to me about whether these new snips are made in the USA or not. I mention this because you can usually find Midwest snips for $18-25 each, and Wiss for ~$12+. $24 each for these Klein snips? I’d hope they were made in the USA at that price. If not, Stanley FatMax, Dewalt, and Milwaukee offer good quality imported snips for less.
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It does seem convenient that there’s a built-in wire cutter. I had wondered how someone could damage aviation snips by cutting wires, until I read a quote in the press release that mentioned suspension wires. That makes sense.
What are suspension cables made from – wire rope? Yep, steel wire rope will quickly destroy cutting edges of anything not specifically intended for cutting hard wires.
So, what do you think? To me, it seems like a convenient expansion of Klein Tools into a less traditional market for them, although I wish the country of manufacturing origin was a little more transparent.
Klein makes other tin snips, and from the user reviews, they seem to be pretty well regarded.
fred
Klein – once 100% USA-made seems to be now sourcing some of their items from Taiwan (some multi-bit screwdrivers) and China (some drill bits and knives). Their ratcheting bolt cutters (like the 63RBCHD) were being made in Japan.
For wire rope and steel cable cutters we had very good luck with ones from Felco (Swiss Made) and Hit (Japan). The Felco CDO barbed wire cutter is just the right tool for that job. It is also hard to beat Felco pruners – and their hand pruners come in both left and right handled models.
Sparkys Apprentice
Funny you mentioned the multibit screwdriver because i had one of their “heavy duty” types get a gouge in the bitholder out side casing part that pulls out. It only fits back into the handle one way now. This thing looks brand new but is useless to me now. Still like klein tools, but it seems clear that this multi tool screwdriver was likely made with cheap material. Really a let down for me actually.
Jim Felt
Thoughtful innovation.
However. Why did no one else think of this? Is it a compromised design that’s already be rejected? And isn’t a stand alone tool like fred mentioned (I use Knipex) almost always better as it’s truly purpose built?
And the fly in their marketing ointment: where the heck is it made? It surely isn’t beyond their in-house manufacturing area of expertise is it? Hmmm.
Wait. Maybe it’s made in the US by one of the other tinsnip manufacturers? A second hmmm.
God'O'sheetmetaL
klenk’s have had this feature for a while the problem can be that as it wears the smoothness of the snips can be comprised.
Corey
Flexible ductwork also has a wire that maintains it’s slinky like form. It’s a solid core wire and it looks like exactly what they’ve got in the image.
I don’t know how many guys cut flex duct with snips, so I’m not sure it’s really designed for that; but having a cutting surface for that wire would help save some other tools.
fred
The Malco flex duct cutters are said to have a built in wire cutter:
https://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=malco+flex+duct+cutter
Sam
I did a lot of ceiling grid and these would be great for that. Use the snips for the T’s and use the cutters for the hanging wire
Mike
I’ve got the Left cutting red handle pair, they are very solid, and the grid wire cutter works pretty well. They are made in Taiwan though. Got them for $18 at the supply house.
fred
BTW – Amazon’s $25 price probably has that “free shipping” cost built in. They are $17.81 at Home Depot
Stuart
Thanks! I didn’t see them before, but found them now and updated the post.
Joe
I appreciate new designs…..love Klein quality. Have to check where it’s made…also appreciate Stu bringing it up…because it does matter to many of us.
fred
Mike says Taiwan
NewtonsApple
As Corey said, flex duct wire is going to be the most common use for the wire cutter. The wire is solid spring temper. I wish my midwest snips had the wire cutter. I recently knowingly dinged mine cutting flex duct wire. I was in an above ceiling plenum type space that took some serious ninja contortionist moves to access and found I forgot my wire cutters. I decided the tool damage was worth the cost given the hell I was stuck in. I stoned the blades flat again and am left with one divot …worth it.
The yeti
Made in …. Taiwan. Says it all rite there doesnt it .
PatMc
It depends on what you mean by that comment. Most tools made in Taiwan are top end, the old days of Taiwan producing garbage are over. So too the issues people have with tools Made in China. When a manufacturer makes his own tool in his own factory in China, he owns the specifications and the quality of that product, refer Stanley, GearWrench, etc etc after all it’s his factory. If someone like SnapOn (who don’t make much but have others make for them)buys from China, they tell the manufacturer what quality they want. So it’s not the quality of the manufacture of the tool that may cause an issue, it’s the quality that the Brand name specifies that can be an issue, or not…..
fred
In this global economy that we live in – we should try to get over stereotypes and prejudices regarding quality associated purely with COO. Poor quality tools can be made anywhere. Post-WWII Japan was associated with poor quality goods – but many Japanese companies adopted TQM strategies associated with Deming and others – to end in producing quality goods. The issue of what sorts of jobs are created and stay in various countries is a separate issue in my opinion. The loss of manufacturing jobs in the US and Europe to Asian countries – making China a manufacturing powerhouse may have more to do with the mass market focusing on price ahead of quality – driving production to low cost areas. That same predilection for low cost goods – coupled with striving for ever increasing quarterly profits – I think has translated to some manufacturers cutting corners in design and QA/QC to cut costs. I’m all for inventiveness but designing tools to “last forever” or even be long-lasting has fallen out of vogue – replaced with a desire to innovate – constantly adding new features to sell those latest “innovations.” Furthermore, if you do not demand high quality from your OEM (or your own factory) – and tolerate a percentage of tools (either by design or lack of QC) that fail during normal use – it may not matter if the OEM is in China, the US , Germany or elsewhere.
Stuart
Where?
Chris
I prefer my bullnose snips for anything heavy gauge including wire
Lukas
I thought Klein was rebranding Midwest snips previously. I’m sure if the answer was a good one, they’d broadcast where they were made.
Bruce
I like the wire cutter. Tinners carry snips, but an extra wire cutter is a pain. That feature is cool but it better be as good as Wiss if they want market share.
Steven
Silly observation, perhaps Im not crazy.
Grab an angle grinder with a zip disk and cut a grove “wire cut slot” on your already owned aviators? Whats so revolutionary about that?
ToolOfTheTrade
There’s nothing revolutionary about these whatsoever. In fact I’ve been doing that to snips for years. I put it on both sides of it. Klein has probably been outsourcing for years and it’s pretty messed up that they still claim “proudly made in the USA” and how adamant they are about that being the basis of their high prices. If Klein’s tools are being imported, then their prices need to drop. Especially when a pair of tin snips is $25, which is ridiculous. They can no longer rely on their name because it no longer has the clout that they’ve been basing prices on for so long.
fred
The $24.44 pricing at Amazon is $6.33 more than the $17.81 that the tool sells for at Home Depot or Toolbarn. That seems more like Amazon adding in $$6.33 to cover shipping – so they can claim “free Prime shipping” . You can get it shipped for free to your local HD for $17.81 plus sales tax. At Toolbarn – shipping 1 would add $8.99.
Contrast that to $10.95 (at Zoro) or $11.97 at Amazon for a pair of USA-made Wiss snips. BTW – these were the sorts of tools we’d add to one of our Zoro orders when they were having one of their 20% or 25% off sales.
Blythe
Could always use water to figure out the volume.
I like the smooth inside of the dewalt, but worry about a loaded box sagging across the the bottom in summer temperatures because of the lack of ribs.
Just bought the ridgid set as my first modular boxes, definitely see the need for dividers of some sort, and would be thrilled if they came out with a drawer unit
Neighbor Joe
Sorry Klein…I will be buying my snips from Made in USA company like Wiss. So much for the Klein Made in USA brand. If you love globalization and don’t give a darn about American Workers and quality then buy your asian made snips at Harbor Freight save yourself a few bucks.