Two months ago, I had been looking to buy some offset aviation snips when I came across Midwest’s new Kush’N-Power models. I bought a full set of left, right, and straight snips, and boy are they comfortable to use.
I’m calling this a secret upgrade because, four months later, you can still only buy these through Midwest directly. I have yet to find any other online retailer that sells these snips with the updated handles.
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As of now, it looks like you can only get the new handle style on the offset snips, but maybe there will be additional models and styles of snips available with these new handles in the future.
The model numbers for the new snips are MWT-6510R (offset right), MWT-6510L (offset left), MWT-6510S (offset straight), and MWT-6510C (left and right set).
The offset blade design allows for easier cutting and knuckle clearance when cutting into larger sheet metal panels, and the jaws feature the same strength, toughness, and quality that Midwest’s other USA-made aviation snips and other cutting tools are known for.
There’s not a world of difference between the Kush’N-Power handle grips and the older style ones, but they do seem to be more comfortable, and are textured differently to provide a better grip.
Buy Now(via Amazon)
Midwest ships quickly, and offers free shipping on $50+ orders, although I must warn you that their website needs a redesign and can be a chore to browse through.
Update: Midwest’s purchase page went missing, but these pliers are now available at Amazon. Make sure that the model number starts with MWT.
SteveR says
Stuart–You can’t find them at Grainger (a big industrial seller of their tools) or MSC? The new grips’ appearance leads me to think it’s a different composite material that is softer, more comfortable and conforms more to the user’s hand. Probably what Sears’ Craftsman would hawk as a “New, innovative handle set for 21st Century tool users!”
The other (obvious) question is: Can you buy just the grip set? There haven’t been too many, if any, changes in the design of this tool that I can recall. If you can purchase the grips, remove the current set and install these, you’d be good to go, n’est-ce pas? My guess is the company, realizing that, doesn’t offer them, and probably won’t anytime soon.
SteveR says
I just looked on Amazon for these; currently, they appear to offer the left- and right-cutting versions (green and red handles), available through a vendor named MyUSTools. I don’t know why they don’t show the yellow-handled (straight-cut) model, but perhaps it will be available soon. There’s probably a savings if you can purchase all three at once.
I have purchased versions of the three types over the years (by different manufacturers), but I never use them. I just don’t spend time cutting sheet steel or making repairs that would require them. But, that’s just me.