16 gauge tying wire for rebar ties
Updated: October 2026
Two coils both say tying wire, one marked 16 gauge and one marked 17 gauge, and the words do not tell you what the nipper has to cut. Start with the millimetres. 16 gauge tying wire, on the UK merchant pages we used, is about 1.6 mm or 1.65 mm of soft annealed wire. 17 gauge is about 1.4 mm. The three tools sit on the [binding pliers comparison](/hub/pliers/binding-pliers). Products Compared checked public UK supplier notes on 16 October 2026, not a batch of coils in a lab. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Two coils both say tying wire, one marked 16 gauge and one marked 17 gauge, and the words do not tell you what the nipper has to cut. Start with the millimetres.
Two coils both say tying wire, one marked 16 gauge and one marked 17 gauge, and the words do not tell you what the nipper has to cut. Start with the millimetres. 16 gauge tying wire, on the UK merchant pages we used, is about 1.6 mm or 1.65 mm of soft annealed wire. 17 gauge is about 1.4 mm. The three tools sit on the binding pliers comparison. Products Compared checked public UK supplier notes on 16 October 2026, not a batch of coils in a lab. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Cut claimed | Wire line | Length | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  KNIPEX KNIPEX 99 11 300 concreters' nipper | Yes | 3.8 mm medium-hard | 300 mm | 9.5 | about £26.99 | View offer |
| Best value |  Pissente Pissente 6 inch end-cutter nips | Soft and hard, no mm | No diameter | 6 in; 16.1 cm; 161 cm | 9.3 | about £10.46 | View offer |
| Alternative |  Zeromall Zeromall rebar wire twister | Not stated | No cut | 305 mm hook | 6.9 | about £7.99 | View offer |
On this page
Read the millimetres, not only the gauge
Gauge is not one international ruler. Site Right treats British 16 gauge as 1.6 mm. Cocus sells 16 gauge at 1.6 mm for heavier cages and 17 gauge at 1.4 mm for mesh. CMT lists a 16 gauge coil at 1.65 mm. Those are supplier wordings, not one exact diameter. If the page prints 1.6 mm, remember 1.6 mm. If it prints 1.65 mm, do not round it away.
Hard drawn wire or a galvanised garden line will fight the nipper and can snap back. The Concrete Society describes the economical handmade tie as 16 gauge annealed wire. That is why a search for 16 gauge keeps returning the thicker of the two everyday sizes.
Which coil for which bars
The Concrete Society points at 16 gauge annealed wire for handmade ties, and notes that fixing clips only suit a limited range of bar sizes. Everywhere else you are back to a coil and a nipper.
Cocus aims 1.6 mm at heavier cages and 1.4 mm at mesh. BuildWiz, as that site's own rule of thumb, says both gauges show up on domestic T12 and T16 bars, and that 16 gauge is the more cautious pick at T20 and above. That is BuildWiz's rule of thumb, not a clause from BS 7973-2. If your drawing names a wire, follow the drawing. A shed slab of light mesh is where 1.4 mm is the coil people finish the day with, provided the ties still bite. A heavier mat is where 1.6 mm matches the handmade default more closely. Neither diameter sets the cover.
Black, galvanised, or stainless
Black annealed wire is the ordinary coil for steel that will sit inside the concrete, away from the face. Next Day Steel tells fixers to turn tails inward, and to use galvanised wire where the tie sits near an exposed face. The Concrete Society treats tying wire left in the form as a cosmetic stain, not as a structural failure on its own. On a power-floated slab or a fair-faced wall, you will look at that stain for years.
Stainless tying wire is a specification, not the default reel for a garden shed. Exposed and highway work sometimes calls for a thinner stainless wire, around 1.2 mm. Do not buy 1.2 mm stainless for buried mesh. If the engineer has named stainless or galvanised for a visible face, that note outranks the black coil. If nobody has specified the wire and the face will be seen, ask before you tie.
What the nipper has to cut
Knipex publishes a medium-hard capacity of 3.8 mm for the 99 11 300 pattern. Annealed wire at 1.4 mm or 1.6 mm, and the 1.65 mm wording on the CMT coil, sits inside that line. Do not borrow a hard-wire figure from a different Knipex article, and do not treat 3.8 mm as a licence to cut fence wire.
The other two listings do not state a cutting diameter. The short end cutter claims soft and hard wire without a millimetre. The hook does not claim a cut at all. If your only tool is that hook, the coil size is academic, because you still cannot finish the tie. Buy the millimetre the bars and the drawing allow, and keep the ends out of the cover.
A hook that does not cut is set out on concreters nippers versus a wire twister.
Common questions
Is 16 gauge 1.6 mm?
On the UK pages we used, British 16 gauge tying wire is given as 1.6 mm by Site Right and by Cocus, and as 1.65 mm by CMT. Read the millimetres on the coil you are buying. Do not collapse 1.6 mm and 1.65 mm into a single invented exact.
When is 17 gauge enough?
Cocus aims 17 gauge, about 1.4 mm, at mesh and at less wrist effort. BuildWiz's rule of thumb allows both gauges on domestic T12 and T16, and prefers 16 gauge from T20 upwards. A heavy cage, or a drawing that names 16 gauge, is not the moment to drop to 1.4 mm.
Is black wire always right?
It is the usual annealed coil for steel that will be buried. It is the wrong assumption beside an exposed face. Next Day Steel points to galvanised wire when the tie sits near that face. Stainless is a specification, often a thinner wire, not a general upgrade.
Will tails rust through the face?
A tail left against the form can leave a rust stain. The Concrete Society treats wire left in the form as a cosmetic mark, not as the concrete failing. Turn the ends inward. If the face is exposed, the wire type belongs in the specification before you start.
Can nippers cut 1.6 mm wire?
The Knipex 99 11 300 pattern is published at 3.8 mm medium-hard wire, so 1.6 mm annealed tying wire is inside that claim. We did not cut a sample. The Pissente listing and the Zeromall hook do not state a diameter, and the hook does not state a cut.
What about 1.2 mm stainless?
It appears where an exposed face, including some highway work, is specified in stainless rather than black annealed wire. It is not the default shed-slab coil. If your drawing names it, use it. If the drawing is silent and the face will show, ask before you substitute black wire.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources from the research digest, last checked on 16 October 2026. Shelf prices and star lines are the amazon.co.uk figures for the three listings compared here.
- Knipex: concreters' nippers, including 99 11 300 (retrieved 16 October 2026)
- ISO 9242:1988, pliers and nippers for construction work (retrieved 16 October 2026)
- HSE: PUWER overview (retrieved 16 October 2026)
- HSE: using the right type of PPE, including eyes (retrieved 16 October 2026)
- Concrete Society: tying wire and clips (retrieved 16 October 2026)
- Concrete Society: fixing reinforcement (retrieved 16 October 2026)
- Wonkee Donkee: how to use concreter's nippers (retrieved 16 October 2026)
- Next Day Steel: steel reinforcement installation guide (retrieved 16 October 2026)