What type of wire cutters do you prefer?

[moku9]

I'd like a pair that are small enough to carry in a case or a small 'possibles' bag. Searching the net just left me more confused as some seem made for only soft copper type cutting etc.

thanks for any practical advice you can offer.....

[8ch(pl)]

I use a $2 set of end nippers, made in China that I bought at the local Canadian Tire Store. They are about 4 1/2 inches long. They get in nice and close and will cut a .040 G string handily.

[Bob Denton]

Don't forget to take them out when you fly!!

Been there, done that...

[david blair]

Any small tool with a plier will work for strings, a cutter isn't needed. Simply grab the string with a plier and bend it back and forth, it will break.

[mandroid]

craftsman side cutters or those at an angle and 4 to 6" long .
ala paul's pix below ..


j pearse has a winder/ string cutter combo , cutter is
within a hole that you feed the wire thru, may be a carry-on, since edges are well hidden.
not great at either task so if the DHS siezes it its no loss.

http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif

[Professor PT]

I have a pair of Porter Cable heavy duty cutters that I bought originally to cut up some old wire fencing with. They work great on strings! I think they were pretty pricey though; they're made in Japan.

[John Flynn]

I just use a set of cheap wire side cutters, 4 /12" long, that just say "China" on the side, They came with green vinyl handles and if I remember right, they were in the discount bin at Ace hardware many years back. They have never let me down. I have matching nippers and needle-nose pliers that came with them. One thing I really like is they have a spring on them, so you sqeeze them to clip, but they open on their own.

[PaulD]

Don't forget to take them out when you fly!!

Been there, done that...
I don't think that's as big as issue as when they confiscated my wire cutters at the Phoenix airport last October... they lightened up the restrictions shortly after that. Now you have to make sure you don't try to carry on instrument polish!

A cheap pair from Harbor Freight would work fine, but I'm allergic to cheap tools so the ones that got confiscated were some old American made cutters I paid $2 for at a pawn shop.

I've since replaced them with a small Swiss made pair I found here at work. Apparently a contractor broke the tip off one of the blades and left them in our server room. I ground them so the jaws form a round tip and they can't scratch anything. The blade is only about 3/8" long, which is plenty, and the handles are maybe 3". They're nice and small and wouldn't pose a threat to any but the most paranoid airport security guards.

pd

[Bob Denton]

Interestingly enough, I was able to retrieve my small side cutters on my return.

I once had a leatherman confiscated at CDG in Paris on a flight to London. It was delivered in the States by taxi two weeks later!

Cya!

[Greg H.]

Needle nose pliers. They have the wire cutter at the base of the pliers and they're great for removing broken string ends should they break up near the tuners.

[Paul Hostetter]

These must be the perks of first class travel!

I own probably 50 pairs of side cutters: one set in every important case, and probably 20 more strewn around my shop, to save time looking. They're all 4" and look about like this:

http://www.handyhippo.co.uk/images/products/p865i.jpg

Generally you get what you pay for. Of all the ones I have ever bought, the Diamond Diamalloy have proven the best by far. That company was run out of business by the box stores, but when they were available, the 4" jobs cost $15-20. Today they'd run over $50 and be worth it.

Most 4" cutters are made of soft steel for cutting soft wire. Instrument wire is not soft wire, it has enough carbon in it to eat or dull cutting edges pretty quick. So your hardware store items will cut the first string change well, the next string change a little less well, and by ten changes, they'll barely cut at all.

This style of cutter is also quite effective at plucking out broken string ends.

Radio Shack briefly sold some Chinese ones that were pretty good, miles ahead of most in finish and hardness, but their contract must have changed and they don't carry the good ones anymore. They were too good for cutting copper electrical wire or for jewelry work, and someone else made an adequate one for two cents less. Channel, Ace and Snap-On are good prospects. This one's quite decent and easy to find:

http://ace.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/pACE-991134dt.jpg

One other tip: either get the kind like this one that doesn't have a spring opener, or if you get some designed to pop open, take out the spring. They fit in the case better.

[Yellowmandolin]

Thanks for all the ideas! I too have been interested in finding a decent set of string cutters but never asked for some reason...

[Mando-Loon]

I use a $2 set of end nippers, made in China that I bought at the local Canadian Tire Store.
Glen, many of these folks aren't Canadian. They won't be too familiar with Canadian Tire.

Personally, I like carrying needlenose pliers with a cutter. (Yes, Glen, mine's from Canadian Tire too!) When the string breaks up by the peg, it's handy for getting that last little bit that stays in there. You don't get that tiny hole in your finger trying to get it out.

Robbie

[Paul Hostetter]

No possibility of any lingering little bits if you string like this:

http://www.lutherie.net/stringing.mandolin.jpg

http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

[8ch(pl)]

Yeah Mandoloon, I know what you're saying, but there is nothing specific about these pliers. I am sure there will be something similar at Walmart or Home Depot. The cheap ones I use I have given to other musicians.. only a couple of bucks, I probably have a half a dozen pair.. I have been using them for some time and they seem to keep going.

I believe that the end nipper is a bit stronger design than the diagonal side cutter of the same length. If you hold them parralel to the string post they cut the string end quite close.

By meantioning Canadian Tire I was just trying to say a big hardware store that are found in the US as well.

Have a good weekend all and keep picking.

[F5G WIZ]

Just like fishing line, I just chew mine off with my teeth. Just kidding.

[Mandobar]

planet waves all in one. i have six of them scattered round the house. they work great and they are safer (very hard to nick the headstock) than those little pointy wire cutters (i have four or five of those too).

[danb]

Frank Ford recommended Knippex ones to me. I haven't ordered yet, but they've dilligently sent me huge glossy catalogs every month. They come in different grades based on how big the wire is

[fatt-dad]

Check out Dr. Slick (http://www.drslick.com/). They make a fishing plyer that has a small end area for gripping and a very nice cutter. They're small enough to tote around and work great. My fishing buddy gave me one, but I've never used it for fishing - just string changes, etc.

Highly recommended.

f-d

[AlanN]

For me, the smaller, the better.

Nice string winding schematic above. Does it the right way, with the post hole oriented east-west (not north-south).

[Repent34]

I just use the built-in wire cutter on the end of my string winder. What could be handier than that?

[Dan Cohen]

Check out Dr. Slick (http://www.drslick.com/). They make a fishing plyer
I use the Mitten Clamp/Cutter-Plier. #Almost perfect. #If only the cutter wasn't so far from the pointy end of the pliers. #The clamp/plier is thin enough to pick the string from between the other strings at the cast tailpiece so I can then get my fingers on the end of the string.

Good for flyfishing too.

[Martin Jonas]

I use a Knipex side cutter, 110mm. #Wonderful tool, made in Germany, great precision, made for hardened steel. #I've cut hundreds of strings with it with no problem whatsoever. #Sells at around 15 Pounds in the UK. #I also have Knipex long nose pliers/cutters (see picture) which also cut hardened steel without problems and are great if you need to grab a reluctant end of string or need to make a loop. About the same price.

Glad to see that Frank Ford also recommends them...

Martin

[fatt-dad]

I use the Bullet Head (http://www.drslick.com/products_plierswithcutters1.asp) and I really like it!

f-d

[Jim Rowland]

I've got eight or ten pair I've picked up over the years,but my fav is a set which came unordered in a shipment to the auto supply store where I used to work. The package described them as rivet cutters. I use them to clip frets flush to the board and to cut strings..and nails and stuff with nary a nick so far. After they laid around the auto store for a month or so,the boss finally agreed to sell them to me for twenty bucks and I was glad to pay it.
Jim