Best Bolt Cutters? Knipex, Klein Tools, Kobalt, Tekton, Gedore, NWS, Porter, Workpro, Capri Tools
14 Bolt Cutters: Knipex, NWS, Gedore, Klein Tools, Porter, Capri Tools, ARES, Kobalt, Workpro, KC Professional, Great Neck, Tekton, Performance Tool and Jendfert. Bolt cutters tested for efficiency cutting through 16 penny nail, deck screw, drill bit, and hex allen key. The cutting knives on the bolt cutters were evaluated for durability. All of the bolt cutters were tested until failure.
Short Story
| Simply the Best | Perform well and affordable | Perform well and affordable | Will last long time |
|---|---|---|---|
  |   |   |   |
| Capri Tools | ARES | WorkPro | Knipex |
Long Story
Miniature bolt cutters are competent and a must-have tool in my shop. So, the question is, is that $7 set of bolt cutters just as good as a pair that costs $60? Let’s find out. In the first test, we’ll see how much squeezing force it takes to cut through a 16-penny nail.
Then we’ll see how the bolt cutters perform cutting through a deck screw. Unfortunately, not all bolt cutters will survive cutting through a drill bit. Things fall apart when bolt cutters attempt to cut through an Allen key. At a bargain price of only $7, the least expensive brand we’ll be testing is made by Jendfert.
All the miniature bolt cutters we’ll be testing are eight inches long and made of high quality, 55 alloy steel, integral heat treatment, and high-frequency quench hardening. It claims to be well-designed.
Durable can cut hard and soft metals very quickly. We’re going to test. The Jendfert is made in China. The Jendfert bolt cutters weigh 274 grams. In the first test, We’ll see how much squeezing force it takes to cut through a 16-penny galvanized nail using a tester I put together.
Once the bolt cutters are clamped onto the holder, I’ll slide the front piece with the two bolts toward the bolt cutters. The two bolts will hold the nail against the bolt cutters for maximum leverage. To keep the nails from becoming projectile once cut, I’ll attach locking pliers to the very end of the nail.
The hydraulic press will apply force to the handle’s very end. And the Jendfert needed 120 pounds of squeezing force to cut through the galvanized 16-penny nail. At $10 or just $3 more than the Jendfert is this Performance Tool brand, precision mill and drop-forged steel jaws, rubber hand grips for comfort and control drop-forged treatment, alloy steel construction handle durable, protective enamel paint.
The performance tool bolt cutters are made in China. Performance Tool is quite a bit lighter than the Jendfert at 235 grams. And performance tool bolt cutters perform slightly better than the Jendfert cutting through the nail at 114 pounds. At $15, Is this Tekton brand?
Fortune-hardened alloy steel jaws compound cutting action requires less effort, rolled steel handles with cushion, and non-slip rubber grips. It cuts bolts, chains, threaded rods, and heavy gauge wire. The Tekton bolt cutters are made in China.
Tekton bolt cutters weigh 265 grams, and Tekton bolt cutters move into the lead-over performance tool by cutting through the nail at only 88 pounds of squeezing force. At $18 is this Great Neck brand, drop forged hardened alloy steel jaws, compound cutting action, cuts all sorts of things, including chain-link bolts, screws, fencing wire, and brads rolled steel handles made in China.
The Great Neck bolt cutters weigh 248 grams. The Great Neck bolt cutters performed the same as the performance tool at 112 pounds to move into the second position. At $20 is this KC professional brand, manufactured using state-of-the-art forging techniques, head riveted to steel handles.
They use the finest machining processes, heat-treated tools, and steelhead. The packaging has no information regarding where these bolt cutters are made. The KC professional is the heaviest yet at 290 grams. And a KC professional moved into a two-way tie for second place with the Great Neck bolt cutters at 112 pounds.
Also, for $20, the same price as the KC professional is this Work Pro brand. Classic lever fulcrum design powder coated jaw, efficient cutting, long life drop forged chrome molly, steel ergonomic buy material anti-slip grips. They are ideal for cutting wires, bolts, rods, and rivets.
The Work Pro brand is made in China. The Work Pro is the heaviest yet at 333 grams. And the Work Pro bolt cutters perform nearly as well as the Tekton at 91 pounds to move into the second position. Also, at this price, the $20 this Kobalt brand.
Ideal for cutting rods, bolts concrete form ties in fencing wire, drop-forge chrome mo steel blade strengthened durability, over-molded comfort grip hassle-free lifetime guarantee. The Kobalt bolt cutters are made in China. The Kobalt weighs 280 grams.
The Kobalt brand needed quite a bit of force to cut through the nail at 131 pounds to move into the last position. At $22, these ARES brand induction heat and cutting blades are rated over 58 HRC, have heavy-duty chrome molly construction, and have a leverage system designed to cut heavy-duty wire bolts, nails, and rivets. There’s no information on the packaging where this product is made.
The ARES weighs 294 grams. And the ARES bolt cutters made easy work of the 16-penny nail at 77 pounds, moving into first place over the Tekton brand. At $27, this Capri tools brand easily cuts through wires, threaded rods, bolts, and chains; double heat-treated Chrome Molly blades cut through materials with a vengeance, high leverage design gives you more force with less force effort, ergonomic grips, make cutters comfortable, and secure.
The Capri tools bolt cutters are made in Taiwan. The Capri bolt cutters are the heaviest yet at 357 grams. And the Capri tool bolt cutters made awe-inspiring straightforward work of the 16-penny nail at only 61 pounds to take the lead from ARES. At $28 is this HK Porter brand, induction challenging and cutting edges for ultimate durability recess notch blade holds cutting material very close for extreme cutting power cuts, tough steel.
We’re going to test that—easy-to-clean industrial plastic dip handle grips. The HK Porter bolt cutters are made in China. The HK Porter weighs 343 grams, and the HK Porter bull cutters needed 77 pounds of squeezing force to cut through the nail and move into a two-way tie with the ARES brand.
At $31 is this Klein tools brand; the Klein tools are a diagonal cutter and a bolt cutter. This will be interesting to see how they compare.
The Klein tools Diagonal cutters can cut ACRS screws, nails, and most hardened wire, high leverage design with 36% greater cutting power than other plier designs, short jaws, and bevel cutting edges permit close cutting of wire induction hard and cutting knives for long life—the Klein tools pliers are made in the USA.
The Klein tools weigh 292 grams even though the diagonal cutters made by Klein tools don’t offer nearly as much leverage advantage as the bolt cutters.
They still perform very well at 102 pounds. At $33 this Gedore brand, the Gedore brand advertises these cutters as bolt cutters induction hard and cutter two one-sided micro-grooves prevent cutting material from gliding made of a special hardened and tempered steel—ergonomic, beautiful handle design for repetitive fatigue-free use.
The Gedore brand is made in Austria. The Gedore bolt cutters weigh 262 grams. The Gedore cutters needed 127 pounds or 25 pounds more than the Klein tools to cut.
At $44, the NWS brand power transmission with optimal leverage for effortless work, precision cutting edge for bolts, nails, and rivets is inductively hardened made of special tool steel forced in oil-hardened, cutting—edge, cutting—edge, cutting—edge tool steel hardness to approximately 62 HRC. The NWS brand is made in Germany.
The NWS weighs 305 grams, and the NWS cutters perform at 82 pounds to move into the third position. For $59, the most expensive brand that will be tested is made by Knipex. Applies up to 20 times more hand force for superior cutting power forged from Chrome vanadium steel.
This mini bolt cutter can easily cut through more than you ever thought possible, up to a quarter-inch diameter. The Knipex brand is made in Germany and is designed to cut soft and hardened steel. And the Knipex is the heaviest yet at 369 grams.
And the Knipex performs very well at 62 pounds finishing just one pound behind the Capri tools brand. So, the Capri tools bolt cutters came out on top at 61 pounds. But the Knipex performed nearly as well at 62, ARES and HK Porter tied for third at 77 pounds, and NWS at 82.
The nails are pretty soft compared to deck screws. So let’s see how the bolt cutters perform cutting through this number 10 deck screw. And it took a lot of squeezing force for the Jenfert to cut through the number 10 deck screw at 166 pounds.
Unfortunately, the Jenfert experienced a small amount of damage to the cutting knives, but they’re still in decent shape. The Performance tool bolt cutters are the lightest at 235 grams and couldn’t cut through the deck screw.
Unfortunately, the pliers are badly bent. The cutting knives also experienced quite a bit of damage. The Tekton performs nearly as well as the Jenfert bolt cutters at 168 pounds. Like the Jenfert, the cutting knives experienced a small amount of wear and tear, but they’re still in good shape.
And the Great Neck bolt cutters move into first place over the Jenfert at 152 pounds. The cutting knives looked the best yet with very little wear. And the KC professional needed 181 pounds or 29 more pounds of squeezing force to cut compared to the Great Neck bolt cutters.
The cutting knives are still in good shape, but they appear to have more wear than the Great Neck cutters.
The Workpro cut 127 or 25 pounds less than the great neck cutters to gain first place. The cutters experienced a small amount of wear. The Kobalt cut through the deck screw at 158 pounds or 31 more pounds than the Workpro to move into the third position.
The cutting knives held up well with very little visible wear and tear. The ARES bolt cutters perform nearly the same as the Workpro at 128 pounds. The cutters held up better than most other brands, with very little visible wear.
The Capri tool bolt cutters easily cut through the deck screw at only 89 pounds, which is impressive. The cutting knives are still in great shape. The Porter bolt cutters perform very well, cutting through the deck screw at 122 pounds. Comparing the Porter to the Capri tools, the cutting knives did experience a little bit more wear and tear.
Once again, the Klein tools diagonal cutters outperformed some bolt cutters at 162 pounds. The cutting knives still look nearly as good as new. The Gedore cutters needed 25 more pounds as squeezing force than Klein tools, finally cutting 189 pounds.
The cutting knives still looked nearly as good as new. The NWS made easy work of the deck screw, cutting 113 pounds to move in the second position. The cutters are still in great shape.
Like the NWS, the Knipex also needed 113 pounds of force to cut. The cutting knives of the Knipex are still in great shape. Once again, the Capri tools came in at 89 pounds doing straightforward work with the deck screws.
NWS and Knipex tied for second at 113 pounds, HK Porter at 122, and Workpro at 127 pounds. Assessing where the damage is is highly subjective, but about half the brands see the best possible score of one for very little damage.
And most of the other brands are rated as two for minor damage. Cutting through three 16-gen drill bits will put the bolt cutters to the test. And the drill bit was just way too much for the Jendfert.
The Jendfert reached 178 pounds before one of the jaws on the bolt cutters broke. The cutting knives are pretty blunt, but they held up reasonably well, with only minor damage to the cutting knives. Tekton performed nearly the same as the Jendfert on the deck screw.
And it performed nearly the same as the Jendfert on this test, with the handle bending at 190 pounds. Just as it did with the Jendfert, the drill bit did cause minor damage to the cutting knives.
And the Great Neck bolt cutters have done their best so far, reaching 268 pounds before finally giving up. And the Great Neck just about made it through the drill bit.
Subjective Damage Rating From Screws Before the jaws became bent, the cutting knives also held up slightly better than the Jendfert and Tekton. And the KC professional gave up 220 pounds and couldn’t cut through the drill bit. And the KC professionals did make a lot of progress cutting through the drill bit.
The handles are badly bent, but the cutting knives are still in good shape. So, none of the previous five brands could cut through the drill bit. But the $20 Workpro bolt cutters did easy work with a drill bit at only 168 pounds.
The cutting knives in the Workpro are still in great shape. And the Kobalt costs about the same as the KC professional and the Workpro. Unfortunately, the drill bit was too much for the Kobalt bolt cutters. The handle became bent at 198 pounds.
However, the cutting knives are still in great shape. And the Workpro and the ARES had been before warming nearly the same throughout the showdown. And they perform nearly the same this time at 166 pounds for the ARES or just two pounds better than the Workpro to move into the lead.
And the cutting knives on the ARES are still in great shape. And the Capri tools have finished in first place in the previous two rounds of competition. And it just moved into the lead again, with an imposing 134 pounds to cut. So, 32 pounds less than the ARES to cut.
The cutting knives are still in great shape. And the HK porters perform well, cutting through the drill bit at 177 pounds to move into the fourth position behind the Workpro bolt cutters. The cutting knives are still in good shape but appear to have more wear and tear compared to the Workpro, ARES, and Capri tools.
The Klein tools advertise their product as wire cutters and offer less leverage than other brands. However, they still perform very well at 177 pounds. The cutting knives are still in good shape with very little visible wear and tear.
And the Gedore cutters require quite a bit more squeezing force than the Klein tools brand, but they held up just fine. They are finally cutting 228 pounds. The cutting knives on the Gedore are sharp and still in excellent eighth condition.
The NWS has a significant leverage advantage over the Klein tools and the Gedore brand, and it helped 190 pounds to cut through the drill bit. The cutting knives are still in great shape.
The jaw opening on the Knipex is a little bit smaller than some of the other brands, and the drill bit just isn’t able to rest as close to the pivot point as several of the other brands preventing it from having the same leverage advantage. And the Knipex cut 217 pounds.
The cutting knives in the Knipex are still in great shape. Once again, the Capri tools bolt cutters came out on top at 134 pounds. ARES finished in second at 166, Workpro at 168, HK Porter at 177, and Klein tools at 179 pounds. Allen keys are made of tough tool steel.
Let’s see if any bolt cutters can cut, and the Workpro bolt cutters made it to 336 pounds before finally giving up. Unfortunately, the lower jaw on the Workpro broke when trying to cut.
The cutting knives were just way too soft to cut. And there’s quite a bit of damage. And the ARES held up even longer than the Workpro, finally snapping at 417 pounds. Just like the Workpro, the lower jaw on the ARES broke.
However, the ARES made more progress in the Workpro at cutting through the Allen key. Like the work pro, the cutting knives on the ARES I experienced tremendous damage.
The Capri Tools performed well throughout the testing but couldn’t the Allen key. The lower jaw finally broke at 346 pounds. However, it seems to have made the most progress cutting through the Allen key; just like the Workpro and the ARES, the Capri tools experience quite a bit of damage.
And the HK Porters reached 419 pounds, the most yet, before finally giving up. The HK porters left a pretty large gouge in the Allen key. However, the cutting knives experience tremendous damage, and the Klein tool’s diagonal cutters are built to take a lot of hard use and abuse.
Still, they finally gave up at 421 pounds, or just two more than the HK porters. The rivet on Klein tools broke, but the cutting knives are in slightly better shape than the bolt cutters.
And the Gedore brand made it to 433 pounds before they finally broke. The main body on the pliers broke near the pivot point. The cutting knives in the Gedore experienced the same damage as the Klein tools. And the NWS has a significant leverage advantage compared to most other brands, but they didn’t take nearly as much abuse giving up at 232 pounds.
Like the Klein tools and the Gedore, the cutting was slightly better than average. And the Allen key was too harsh for the Knipex, but it reached 338 pounds before the lower jaw snapped. Of all the bolt cutter brands, the cutting eyes on the Knipex held up by far the best, with minor damage.
Suppose you’re looking for bolt cutters that can take the most pressure. The Gedore came in on top at 433 pounds. Klein tools came in second at 421, Porter at 419, ARES 417, Capri tools at 346, and Knipex at 338 pounds, while assessing damage is highly subjective.
The cutting knives of the Knipex seem to be the most durable and experience minor damage; the Klein tools, Gedore, and NWS also perform very well.
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