I have been using small flush cutters from sears, craftsman brand. I
didn’trealize why I wasn’t able to cut through 16 ga copper wire
until my husband pointed out the cutters I was using. duh. Now, to
invest in cutters…
I have found these options:
flush cutters, semi flush cutters, razor flush cutters and super
flush cutters and, oval vs tapered
So how does one know what to purchase? I am cutting wire between 16
and 14 ga nickel and copper at this time.
Brenda, I love my Xuron double flush-cutters, which yield two
parallel faces on a piece of wire. It will cut 16 and 14 gauge copper
and nickel silver wire. I have a few plain flush cutters, one of
which has a gizmo on it to prevent small pieces of wire from flying
into your eye (or elsewhere).
Of all of the wire cutters on the market, I find the Xuron
Maxi-shears the best. The micro-shears are excellent, but needs to
stick to 16g-26g. on those. On the Maxi-shears, I can cut up to 10g.
sterling, but I try to limit to 12g. for cutting wire, and use small
cable cutters for 10g, to 6g. Harbor Freight has cheap microflush
cutters that are great for wire solder, thin wire, but 18g. is the
limit.
Amazon has the Xuron flush cutters, both maxi and mini, and just
about all jewelry supply companies.
A very economical set of flush cutters, one side flush the other
not, are believe it or not square faced toe nail cutters.
Will cut up to I mm no problems in silver or gold. Last for ages.
But for wire I like best my little wire guillotine flush cuts both
sides of wire up to 1.6mm wire and has a stop. Use this to cut
lengths for earwires, I use.8mm sterling for the earwires.
Xuron maxi flush cutter shears slice through up to 16 g. material
easily. The retainer isn’t necessary- in fact on every plier I have I
have removed them. They tend to get in the way rather than catching
bits as they are supposed to. The Xuron and Lindstrom have both got
adjustable screws that are a good thing down the road when
adjustments are needed or they need a dent cleaned up (other models
have a riveted set of blades), and both have anti-glare finish. I can
never rationalise the cost of Lindstrom or the Swiss made Ideal-tek -
it’s just too much for a tool that cuts wire when Xuron’s are in many
ways as good or better in some instances (the grips for instance on
some Lindstrom lines is too rigid for my liking) and when factoring
in the cost, Xurons excel. The only drawback in some Xuron models is
the rivet in place of a screw to hold the pair together- but if you
take care of them, it shouldn’t be a problem. Keep any cutters, (or
any tooling for that matter) clean and dry. If you buy a carbon steel
tool (i. e.- carbon steel blades on your cutters) or store in a humid
area a light coating of oil will prevent any rust. A light machine
oil (like sewing machine oil) is best. rer
Hi Orchid, I just happened to be about to buy a new pair of
Swanstrom flush cutters when i saw this thread, and based on what
everyone said here I decided to try the Xuron maxi and mini flush
cutters instead. Unfortunately they are really poorly made. The
blades don’t even come close to meeting up and the rivets are loose
so that the blades separate when i try tocut with them, which nicely
damages the wire but does not cut it. Maybe both pairs just happen
to be defective but I wish I’d just spent the money onthe
Swanstroms. My last pair of Swanstrom cutters has lasted for many
years and I’m not really very careful with them. Lindstrom is good
as well but I find the handles uncomfortable. Sometimes cheaper
tools are just as good or almost as good but most of the time you
get what you payfor. If you don’t plan on cutting anything but your
fingernails i recommend the Xuron cutters, otherwise just spend the
extra money and get the Swanstroms. Douglas @ Eclipse Designs
