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How to use high leverage side cutters

Updated: October 2026

You have a high leverage pair in your hand and a piece of thick wire, a nail, or a cable that is already dead. The usual failure is not the steel. It is seating the cut on the tips, rocking the edge when the first squeeze stalls, or forcing a diameter the listing never stated. This page is the method. If the conductor might still be live, stop and read [VDE high leverage side cutters](/hub/cutting-tools/high-leverage-side-cutters/sub/high-leverage-side-cutters-for-electricians) before any cut. The product table is on the [high leverage side cutters comparison](/hub/cutting-tools/high-leverage-side-cutters). A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.

You have a high leverage pair in your hand and a piece of thick wire, a nail, or a cable that is already dead. The usual failure is not the steel.

Our top picks

Knipex Knipex 74 02 200 high leverage diagonal cutter

Best overall

Knipex Knipex 74 02 200 high leverage diagonal cutter
9.4/10about £30.40
View offer
Sealey Sealey AK8375 190 mm high leverage side cutters

Alternative

Sealey Sealey AK8375 190 mm high leverage side cutters
9.2/10about £13.83
View offer
WORKPRO WORKPRO 200 mm diagonal cutters with stripper

Preis-Tipp

WORKPRO WORKPRO 200 mm diagonal cutters with stripper
9.0/10about £13.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Seat the wire at the joint
  2. 2.Cut once, square, and keep the offcut
  3. 3.When a second bite is the wrong move
  4. 4.Stop if the jaws do not meet

Seat the wire at the joint

The force is at the throat, next to the pivot, not at the pointed tips. High leverage geometry puts the joint close to the edge so a square squeeze there loads the hardened part of the jaw. The tips are a poor place to test 2 mm hard wire. Open the jaws fully, slide the wire back until it sits against the hinge side of the edge, keep it square, and squeeze once. Perched on the last 5 mm of the tips, the same wire still chews. One Sealey AK8375 reviewer cut 5 mm livestock wire at the joint; another returned the same model when it only marked hard wire. Those are anecdotes, not a capacity. If the listing printed 2 mm hard wire, as WORKPRO does, the throat is what that figure refers to.

Cut once, square, and keep the offcut

Do not rock the cutters if the first squeeze fails. RS Components’ UK cutters guide says: cut at right angles, do not use the pliers as a hammer, and do not lengthen the handles with a pipe. Rocking leaves a nick that catches on the next cut. A square squeeze either severs or it does not. Hold the offcut. Spring wire, nails, and fencing ends jump. Eye protection is a sensible precaution even for a single nail. Keep your fingers behind the grips. On the WORKPRO pair the stripper notch has nipped skin, so that side of the head is not a thumb rest. A shiny mark with no severance means you stop. Cushion grips are not insulation.
Knipex Knipex 74 02 200 high leverage diagonal cutter

Testsieger

Knipex Knipex 74 02 200 high leverage diagonal cutter
9.4/10about £30.40
View offer

When a second bite is the wrong move

Knipex’s TwinForce instructions say to insert the wire as close to the hinge as possible and, if it slips, to notch, slide the notch back toward the joint, and cut again. That sequence is written for TwinForce. The same sheets say conventional high leverage cutters may not cut those larger diameters. Do not copy the repeat-notch method onto a 74-series pair, a Sealey, or a WORKPRO because the first squeeze stalled. WORKPRO’s printed ceiling is 2 mm hard or 3 mm soft. Sealey states hard and soft wire with no millimetre. Knipex 74 02 200 maker figures go to Ø 4.2 / 3.0 / 2.5 mm, which is still not a licence to chew 6 mm rod. When the edge only marks the steel, change tool. A cable shear, a bolt cutter, or a hacksaw is the next step. Tensioned steel and an energised electric fence are not pliers jobs.

Stop if the jaws do not meet

Before the first cut, close the empty jaws against the light. The edges should meet along the cutting line. Tips that close first, or jaws that overlap, will not sever small wire. UK reviews reported that on the Sealey AK8374, a loose joint on the AK8375, a gap on one returned Knipex 74 02 200, and overlapping jaws on one 74 06 180. That is a return, not a grind. A nick from a rocked cut will catch forever. Do not file it back to “sharp” and put it on live-looking cable later. PUWER, where this is work equipment, wants tools that are suitable and kept in good repair. If the jaws no longer meet, the pair is finished as a cutter.

Common questions

Should you rock the cutters if the first squeeze fails?
No. Rocking nicks the edge. Squeeze square, once. If the wire only marks, the diameter is above what that pair should take, or the jaws are already wrong. A pipe over the handles is the same mistake with more force.
Can you notch and recut like a TwinForce?
Not on an ordinary high leverage cutter. TwinForce instructions allow a notch-and-slide sequence and still warn that conventional high leverage pairs may not cut those larger diameters. On a 74-style or trade pair, a stall is a stop.
When do you stop and change tool?
When the listing never stated that diameter and the edge only marks the steel, when the wire is above the printed millimetre, and when the job is tensioned steel or a cable you cannot prove dead. A bolt cutter or a cable shear is then the tool, not a second squeeze.
Do you need eye protection for a single nail?
It is a sensible precaution. Nails and spring wire throw the offcut. One flying stub is enough. Hold the waste piece if you can, and keep your face out of line with the cut.
Where do your fingers go on a cutter that also strips?
On the grips, behind the head. The WORKPRO stripper notch has nipped skin in reviews. Do not use the stripping side as a thumb rest while you cut. Strip in a separate motion, or use a dedicated stripper.
What if the jaws already overlap before you start?
Do not cut with them. Return the pair. Overlap and a gap between the edges are the same class of fault, and grinding will not give you a rated cutter.

Related pages

High leverage side cutters buying guide

High leverage vs standard side cutters

High-leverage side cutters

Best high leverage side cutters, and who should skip

VDE high leverage side cutters for UK electricians

Sources

Public UK and maker sources from the research digest. Listing prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk lines used for this comparison, captured on 19 October 2026.

  1. Knipex 74 02 200 high leverage diagonal cutters (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  2. Knipex 74 02 200 product data sheet (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  3. Knipex 74 06 180 high leverage diagonal cutters (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  4. Installer Online — the world of diagonal cutters (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  5. ISO 5749:2004 diagonal cutting nippers (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  6. IEC 60900:2018 live working hand tools (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  7. Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, regulation 14 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  8. HSE — PUWER overview (retrieved 19 October 2026)