Which Lineman Pliers Brand Wins?

cuts hardened steel, high leverage design, forged construction, claims 50 percent less effort than conventional combination pliers, no handle wobble

XLT technology to increase performance and reduce hand fatigue, forged US steel, laser heat treated cutting edges, precision knife and anvil cutting edges, no handle wobble, described as very smooth

high leverage design, no handle wobble

marketed as the world's best lineman pliers, removes stubborn screws, steel and copper wire cutter, formidable grip due to vertical serrations instead of a crosshatch design, no handle wobble

sold at Harbor Freight, high leverage design, laser hardened cutting edges, claims to cut ACSR, screws, nails, and most hardened wire, aggressive crosshatch grip zone, riveted joint claimed for smooth action with no wobble (small amount of handle wobble observed in practice)

claims 35 percent easier cutting, claims the longest cut life at 50 percent longer, laser hardened cutting edges, cut capacity 5 gauge, no handle wobble, crosshatch jaw tooth design

carbon alloy steel for strength and durability, induction hardened cutting edges, machine jaws for maximum gripping strength, very small amount of handle wobble

claims 15 percent easier cuts, fire induction hardened blades for cutting ACSR wire, no handle wobble

made of chrome vanadium steel, induction hardening for edge retention, crosshatch tooth design for better grip, no handle wobble

claims maximum leverage, easier cuts, lifetime warranty, forged strength, machine precision, no handle wobble

custom alloyed premium quality tool steel, high leverage design, designed to cut hardened wire, bolts, and stainless steel wire, no handle wobble

heavy duty cutting knives claimed to cut ACSR, screws, nails, and most hardened wire, high leverage design with a claimed 46 percent more cutting power, induction hardening for edge retention

crosshatch jaw tooth design for gripping and pulling, no handle wobble

the least expensive brand tested, machine jaws claimed for superior gripping strength, horizontal indentations inside the jaws for twisting wires, induction hardened cutting edges, small amount of handle wobble out of the box

Germany

USA

Japan

Japan

Taiwan

China

China

China

China

China

USA

USA

Vietnam

China

second lightest of all 14 brands

the lightest of all 14 brands

second heaviest of all 14 brands

better than average

performed well

by far the best of all 14 brands, 'totally crushes the competition'

second best of all 14 brands behind the Fujiya

tied for the lead with the Klein Tools at that point in testing

the worst of all 14 brands, 'really struggled'

nearly as good as the Doyle

slightly better than the GearWrench

tied with the Doyle for the lead at that point in testing

the worst of all 14 brands, 'really struggled'

very small amount of tooth wear

tied with a brand the transcript labels Doyle but that the video's own closing recap clarifies was the DeWalt ('the DeWalt and the Channellocks also performed very well at 15 in lb'); very minor tooth wear

presenter notes the Fujiya's horizontal tooth design (instead of crosshatch) just wasn't able to gain a good grip on the screw despite the strong result on the first grip test; very little tooth wear

by far the best of all 14 brands, very small amount of wear

moved into last place at that point in testing, though with less tooth wear than the Irwin

slightly more tooth wear than the Doyle and Irwin

only minor tooth wear

performed better than the Doyle, very little tooth wear

tied with the Channellock for a strong result; the transcript mislabels this specific sentence as 'The Doyle moves into the lead at 15 in lb,' but the video's own closing recap for this test explicitly says 'the DeWalt and the Channellocks also performed very well at 15 in lb,' and the established brand testing order (this segment falls right after GearWrench, matching the DeWalt's position in every other test) confirms this figure belongs to the DeWalt, not a second Doyle result

same as the Doyle brand's first result, a little more tooth wear than the Doyle and Channellock

performed better than average, about the same tooth wear as the Milwaukee

same as the Knipex, very little tooth wear

very little tooth wear

caused quite a bit of wear and tear to the teeth

of squeezing force

the best (easiest) cut of all 14 brands

performed extremely well despite slightly shorter handles than average

presenter notes the handles are slightly shorter than most other brands

moved into the lead at that point in testing

took the lead at that point, second best overall behind the Channellock's 25 lb

nearly as good as the Doyle, moved into second place at that point

the transcript again mislabels this sentence as 'The Doyle performed the same as the Southwire, making the cut at only 31 lb,' but by the same testing-order logic (falling right after GearWrench's 26 lb result) this is treated as the DeWalt's figure, not a second Doyle result

performed very well but not enough to take the lead from the Channellock

presenter notes it just doesn't offer as much leverage as some of the other brands

slightly better than the Knipex but not enough to take the lead

presenter notes it just doesn't offer as much leverage as some other brands

by far the worst (hardest) cut of all 14 brands, 'really struggled'

second place just behind the Channellock

the best (easiest) cut of all 14 brands

again attributed partly to slightly shorter handles

better than the Irwin

nearly the same as the Doyle

better than the GearWrench

same as the Doyle

described as a very respectable fourth position result

required more force than average

by far the worst (hardest) cut of all 14 brands, 'really struggled'

second place behind the Channellock, small amount of wear to the cutting knives

the best (easiest) cut of all 14 brands, cutting knives still in great shape

cutting knives still look as good as new

the hardest of all 14 brands to cut through the screw, cutting knives experienced a little more wear than average

performed far better than the Irwin, less damage to the cutting knives

took the lead at that point in testing, small amount of damage to the cutting knives

small amount of damage to the cutting knives

nearly the same as the Irwin, cutting knives still in great condition

third place behind the Doyle, cutting knives nearly as good as new

nearly as good as the Channellock, small amount of knife damage

small amount of wear to the cutting knives

small amount of wear to the cutting knives

a little more cutter damage than most other brands

failed the test entirely: the handles bent during the attempt and the pliers were not able to make the cut, with quite a bit of damage to the cutting knives