What Are Electrician’s Scissors?
Electrician’s scissors are tools used for cutting telephone wires, computer wiring, and other types of wiring during wiring maintenance at electrical work sites. They are also utilized for wiring tasks related to the maintenance of automobiles, equipment, home appliances, and more.
Electrician’s scissors have shorter and thicker blades than regular scissors, allowing the wiring to be cut with less force. Wires used in wiring work are covered on the outside with a hard, flexible material to prevent damage to the main line on the inside.
This makes it difficult to cut with ordinary scissors, and even if it could be cut, the cut surface would be rough. Cutting wiring with electrician’s scissors requires less force and leaves a clean cut surface.
How to Use Electrician’s Scissors
Place the wiring to be cut between the blades, grasp the handle by hand, and close the blades to cut.
Hold the wiring firmly in the blade to prevent it from escaping during cutting. If the wiring is hard, it can be cut with less force if the wiring is clamped in the back part of the blade rather than the tip of the blade. By placing the blade at a right angle to the wiring to be cut, it is possible to prevent the wiring from shifting or escaping during cutting.
If the blade has a lock function, lock the blade after the cutting operation is finished before storing it.
How to Select Electrician’s Scissors
When selecting electrician’s scissors, be sure to check the maximum cutting capacity and the materials that can be cut. In addition, there are various handle shapes and functionalities. Therefore, choose the appropriate one for the environment and purpose of your work. The following are summary of points to consider when selecting electrician’s scissors.
Handle Shape
Stick-type scissors, whose handles have the same shape as those of pliers or nippers, allow you to grip the handles firmly so that force is easily transmitted to the blades, resulting in very high cutting power. However, the handle is not circular like that of ordinary scissors, and the blades cannot be operated with the fingers, making them unsuitable for detailed work or work at heights.
If the handle is circular like a normal pair of scissors, the blade can be operated with the fingers, allowing for fine work to be done while turning the wrist. Also, the risk of dropping the electrician’s scissors is low because the fingers are over the handle portion. However, because the blade portion is moved by the power of the fingers, the cutting power is not very high.
Functionality
For frequent carrying and use as a tool on a waist belt, we recommend scissors that are lightweight, have a lock function to prevent the blade portion from opening when stored and have a hole for attaching a safety rope.