Diagonal pliers (also known as wire cutters or diagonal cutting pliers, or under many regional names) are

pliers Pliers are a hand tool used to hold objects firmly, possibly developed from tongs used to handle hot metal in Bronze Age Europe. They are also useful for bending and physically compressing a wide range of materials. Generally, pliers consi ...

intended for the

cutting Cutting is the separation or opening of a physical object, into two or more portions, through the application of an acutely directed force. Implements commonly used for wikt:cut, cutting are the knife and saw, or in medicine and science the sca ...

wire file:Sample cross-section of high tension power (pylon) line.jpg, Overhead power cabling. The conductor consists of seven strands of steel (centre, high tensile strength), surrounded by four outer layers of aluminium (high conductivity). Sample d ...

or small stock, rather than grabbing or turning. The plane defined by the cutting edges of the jaws intersects the joint rivet at an angle or "on a diagonal", giving pliers their name. They are also adapted for use in inaccessible places.

Action

Instead of using a shearing action as with

scissors Scissors are hand-operated shearing tools. A pair of scissors consists of a pair of blades pivoted so that the sharpened edges slide against each other when the handles (bows) opposite to the pivot are closed. Scissors are used for cutting var ...

, diagonal pliers cut by indenting and wedging the wire apart. The jaw edges are ground to a symmetrical " V" shape, thus the two jaws can be visualized to form the letter " X", as seen end-on when closed. The blades are made of tempered steel, and inductive heating and

quenching In materials science, quenching is the rapid cooling of a workpiece in water, gas, oil, polymer, air, or other fluids to obtain certain material properties. A type of heat treating, quenching prevents undesired low-temperature processes, suc ...

are often used to harden the jaws.

Jargon

In UK English and

Irish English Hiberno-English or Irish English (IrE), also formerly sometimes called Anglo-Irish, is the set of dialects of English native to the island of Ireland. In both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, English is the first language in e ...

, diagonal pliers are commonly referred to as snips, nippers or side cutters. The term snips commonly refers to larger items, not to those used for cutting electrical wiring etc. In Canada, Australia and New Zealand too, the items are often referred to as side cutters. Diags, dykes or dikes is

jargon Jargon, or technical language, is the specialized terminology associated with a particular field or area of activity. Jargon is normally employed in a particular Context (language use), communicative context and may not be well understood outside ...

used especially in the US electrical industry to describe diagonal pliers. "Dike" can also be used (but only colloquially) as a verb, as in the phrase "when in doubt, dike it out". This slang has fallen out of favor due to its association with usage as a slur to harass

lesbians A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homo ...

, but will still be used occasionally despite the negative connotation.

Insulation

The handles of diagonal cutting pliers are commonly insulated with a dip-type or shrink fit electrically insulating material for comfort and some protection against electric shock.

Uses

Diagonal pliers are useful for cutting

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

brass Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion, generally copper and zinc. I ...

iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

aluminium Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...

and

steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

wire. Lower quality versions are generally not suitable for cutting tempered steel, such as

piano wire Piano wire, or "music wire", is a specialized type of wire made for use in piano string (music), strings but also in other applications as Spring (device), springs. It is made from tempering (metallurgy), tempered high-carbon steel, also known ...

, as the jaws are not hard enough. Attempting to cut such material will usually cause indentations to be made in the jaws, or a piece to break out of one or both jaws, thus ruining the tool. However higher quality side cutters can cut hardened steel, such as 2 mm piano wire.

Variations

For electronics work, special diagonal cutters that are ground flush to the

apex The apex is the highest point of something. The word may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional entities * Apex (comics) A-Bomb Abomination Absorbing Man Abraxas Abyss Abyss is the name of two characters appearing in Ameri ...

of the cutting edge on one side of the jaws are often used. These flush-cutting pliers allow wires to be trimmed flush or nearly flush to a solder joint, avoiding the sharp tip left by symmetrical diagonal cutters. It is common for this type of diagonal cutter to be referred to by another name, such as ''flush cutter'' to distinguish it from symmetrical cutters. For easier cutting of larger gauge wire, a compound action can be employed to increase the mechanical advantage. Some pliers for electrical work are fitted with wire-cutter blades either built into the jaws or on the handles just below the pivot. Other variations are made to create high leverage specifically to cut through hard wire, such as electrical fence wire, dental wire, and piano wire.

Gallery

File:Diagonal pliers 2017 - A1.jpg File:Diagonal pliers 2017 - A2.jpg File:Knipex Kraft-Seitenschneider-7743.jpg File:Nipper for Electronic Wire (Old).png, Wire cutting with a shearing action File:Nipper for Electronic Wire (New).png

References

{{Cutting and abrasive tools Pliers Cutting tools