Just as everyone should own at least one pocket knife, everyone should also own at least one pair of diagonal cutters. You may call them dikes, side cutters, wire cutters, or diagonal cutters, but they all point to the same tool. Just having a pair (one) is nice, but having good pair is priceless. I just thought that I’ve owned good dikes before, but now I know what I’ve missed since I received the Knipex TwinForce diagonal cutters, model # 73 71 180. My Knipex cutters came with the comfort grip on the handles that make a huge difference for ergonomics and stability.

The TwinForce name comes from the double joint providing superior leverage through the cutting stroke. With the double fulcrum, the Knipex TwinForce diagonal cutters cut 50% easier than a standard single fulcrum. In other words, they are twice as strong. Not only are they good for heavy-duty cutting, but they are great for fine cutting as well. From cutting through nails with ease, to cutting cotter pins and stranded wire, the Knipex TwinForce design is a real winner and a brute.

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Knipex TwinForce Diagonal Cutters Features

The patented double-hinged design cuts all types of wire, including steel tape, nails and even screws. With the perfect transmission of force, they are not only remarkably strong, but they also deliver low cutting impact. The Knipex TwinForce are easier on the muscles and tendons, allowing for more comfortable cutting. A great fit for the TwinForce cutters would be jobs where you have repetitive cutting, such as upholstery hog-rings.

Auto Upholstery and Hog Rings

Removing Hogrings

My father worked in Auto Upholstery since he was in high school. He bought a glass business in 1981, but he also moved his auto upholstery business in there as well. The grunt job in auto upholstery, at least in eras past, was removing or cutting hog rings from seats (this was my job). If you were strong enough, you would put the jaws of the dikes on the hog ring and squeeze until you cut through. If you weren’t strong enough, then you had to grab the hog ring with the dikes and twist the hog rings out. My dad is and was a tall and skinny man, but he could put the strongest man on his knees with his handshake. Forty years of cutting through hog rings will give you some pretty strong hands.

Features Continued

With all this cutting force, it’s easy to overlook another very important feature. My Knipex TwinForce diagonal cutters came with the multi-component grips added. The grips not only add a larger diameter that is much easier to grab, but they also have a non-slip finish. A ridge around the top, or where your forefinger will ride, keeps your hands from sliding up the handles. These grips add much more comfort to an already outstanding tool.

Knipex achieved a high degree of stability with the TwinForce design. In addition, the diagonal cutters have zero-backlash due to the precision of milled forged axles. Chrome vanadium heavy-duty steel sets that base of the tool, and the steel has been forged and oil-hardened. These tools will not only perform well, but are built to last for decades.

Knipex TwinForce Comfort Grips

Knipex TwinForce In Use

To test the Knipex TwinForce diagonal cutters, we drove some assorted nails in a 4×4 and then added a few screws as well. The TwinForce cutters didn’t even hesitate to cut through all of these with very little effort. After making this so easy, I decided to grab a much larger nail that was about 3/16” in diameter. By reapplying the tool, I was still able to cut through the nail with the Knipex cutters.

Single Hinge vs. Knipex TwinForce Double Hinge

Cutting larger diameter materials takes at least one extra step, due to the limited movement of the TwinForce double hinge design. Because of this, the cutting jaws don’t open as far as a set with a single fulcrum; however, they are still more capable. For the larger diameter, place the material as far back in the cutting jaws as possible and squeeze, this will create a cutting mark on the material. Now, this should enable the user to move the material back closer to the base of the cutting jaws. This may take reapplying more than once, but the user can cut material that is impossible by standard cutters.

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Conclusion

There is no doubt after using the Knipex TwinForce diagonal cutters that these are some of the most powerful cutters available. Especially, when you take into account the compact size of the cutters, they pack a lot of bite in a pair of cutters that fit easily into one hand. At a street price for around $70, these cutters are not cheap; however, this may be the last pair of cutters you ever have to purchase. The build quality and attention to detail make the Knipex Twinforce cutters a tool you will be proud to own, but reluctant to loan or share.

To get the Knipex TwinForce diagonal cutters now, click here.