Skeletool Wire Cutters

In the modern world, we are almost as likely to encounter wire as we are screws, during the course of almost any kind of work. Billions of miles of wire have been created during the past century, and since it is convenient as a construction material, fastener, and connecting agent, it is found nearly everywhere. The fences around a farm pasture where elegant Arabian horses graze, their silky coats gleaming in the sun, are likely to be made of wire; and wire is to be found in as different an environment as an aerospace lab or high-tech assembly plant.

The Leatherman Skeletool line includes relatively few tools – to save weight, it incorporates only those onboard tools which are certain to see frequent use. And, in recognition of the universality of wire, the needlenose pliers head includes a wire cutter and a hard wire cutter.
 
Having two different types of wire cutter in a single tool makes it easier to spare wear and tear on both. The soft wire cutter can be used for snipping most types of wire, which prevents the edge of the hard-wire cutter from being slowly worn down by inappropriate use – the hard-wire cutters would be “overkill” in this case. The hard-wire cutters can be brought into play when you are confronted by a tough or resistant piece of wire, or an exceptionally thick one.

Although the wire-cutters are well-made, they do suffer from one drawback – they are fairly small. This may make it somewhat harder to snip cleanly through wire unless your hands are quite strong. Of course, it also means that the wear from cutting is concentrated on a narrow section of cutting surface, too – you cannot use different areas of the wire cutters for sequential cuts in order to spread out the wear. It is not impossible to create a small notch or bump in the cutters with a tough piece of wire, although this likely to ‘wear out’ after a while.

The needlenose pliers, of course, complement the wire cutters, since as anyone who has worked with wire will know, the slender gripping surface of a pair of needlenoses is what is needed for many kinds of wire manipulation. The dexterity of needlenose pliers is extremely useful for making the loops, ties, twists, and other wire forms that many kinds of wire work need.

Overall, the wire cutters on the Leatherman Skeletool line are passably good, but could potentially be better. Indeed, they are probably the weakest point of what is otherwise a very well-engineered tool. Those who make extremely intensive use of wire cutters would probably be well-advised to look elsewhere, but for those who cut wire only occasionally or moderately, these wire cutters will be quite sufficient and should not counterbalance the other positive features of the Skeletool line.