00 20 12

This is my first knipex product. For the price I just had to get this set. So do these tools live up to the hype? Well mostly. After receiving this set I immediately started my version of a quality and function test. It should be noted that since this is an insulated tool set there are different versions to the test. First the lineman pliers. The grips are wonderful and comfortable. They have the large tab at the top as a wire guard to prevent wires sliding up over the handle. The head is very functional. The small delta shape makes getting into tight spaces nice. Felt comfortable sticking them in a 4 square box with a single gang mud ring on it. The forge and finish is perfect. Not a single tiny flaw in the forging. Chrome plate finish is perfect. First test is the joint test. For this test I used only insulated tools to hold and manipulate the three 12awg wires used, i never touched the wire with my hands during the whole test. I used the needle nose to hold the wire with my left hand. I used only these lineman to strip twist and cut a joint made of 3 12awg wires. Stripping was easy. Twisting was not so great. These lineman don't have cross hatched jaws but straight line groves that line up with the direction your twisting the wires. The jaws made me have to grip harder to keep the jaws from slipping on the joint. Cutting was not bad for a smaller pair of non high leverage pliers. After that I cut 4 12awg wire and went to the light test on the cutters. Cutter were perfect. No light showed through the cutter after stripping and cutting. The jaws to grip if you pull with them but slip when twisting. Next test was the dime test. These pliers picked up a dime from a concrete floor using just the nose to do it. Next item up was the diagonal pliers. They didn't really cut 12/2 mc. They did cut 4 12awg wires. They also cut ceiling grid wire and 6/32 & 8/32 screws. Put them to the flashlight test and they were still perfect. Handles are small to my hands but still comfortable in my hands. The handles also have a large tab at the top to act as a wire guard. The forging and finish are also perfect, although they do not come with a chrome finish but a highly bright brush finish. Next up was the needle nose pliers. These pliers are the star of the whole set. These needle nose pliers are magnificent. These pliers were the real big difference from the Wiha set I had before. The long narrow jaws are perfectly shaped and precise enough to be surgical. They had no problem grabbing small screws from can lights from the bottom of a 4 square box. They are awesome for removing the duplex tab from the hot side of a receptacle. This awesome shape long nose does have a problem. It doesn't take too much to twist the jaws out of place, take caution when using them to make loops. I wouldn't really twist more than 16awg or 18awg wire with them. Tried 1 12awg wire near the tips and they instantly started to twist. If i move the wire up towards the cutters it did make a loop to big to fit in a terminal on a switch, i had to use the lineman to crimp the loop a little to fit around the screw properly. They grips also have a wire guard. The cutters cut 2 12awg wires and 18/2 wire with poly string in it perfet. When put up to the flashlight it was a perfect job. No light showed through the cutters and you could see the perfect mesh of the grips in the jaws. Only a very dim glow showed through the jaws and none at the tip of the nose. All compared to the Wiha set I had before there is a slight improvement, but not by much. The Wiha set was really nice too. To be honest if it wasn't for the price reduction I would not have bought this set, but now that I have them I'm glad it did. Since this set is an insulated set intended to save lives, this set will only be used when needed in order to maintain the integrity of the safety features of this product. These tools will not be used for daily everyday use. From now on I won't be cutting more than one conductor at a time. They won't be used as hammers or pry bars. Remember to always inspect your insulated tools before each use, your life may depend on it. I'll update this review if there is anything new to add. Update! I walked into a surprise side job putting up a ceiling fan and new switch. All I had with me was the insulated set. Alright let's see what this set can do. For the record my insulated set is not entirely knipex. My screwdriver is the klein insulated universal screwdriver. My strippers are wiha and my insulated wire stick is a voltclaw. I smiled and grinned as I worked to remove and rehang the fan and changed out switches. The whole operation went very well. The diagonal cutters clipped off the old pigtails and joints quite easily. After stripping the new ends and new pigtails the lineman pliers did pretty decent. This time in a real instal the pliers did a good job twisting the wires together. They didn't show the same problem in the first test and gripped the wires while twisting. The lineman cutter finished the job with a clean cut at the end of the joint and a quick twist to round it back out. Wire nuts went on securely and tight. The switch is where the needle nose pliers came in handy. After disconnecting the switch the needle nose firmly held the wires on the flat smooth portion of the jaws while I reworked the ends of the wires in the box with my lineman. Afterwards I used the needle nose pliers to make new loops. This part I worried about with looping 12awg wires 3 times. I did it about half way up the jaws on the threaded part. The tips didn't bend or twist when I made the new loops. After that the rest was up to the insulated screwdriver. So there is my story about using this set in a real life instal.

they are really good, stand up to their high ratings

First Knipex tools for me. I was looking for high quality set and these met my expectations. Easy action and firm grips.

everything is perfects !!!

It was everything i expected from knipex!

can cut a hair off