Top 10 Best Diagonal Cutting Pliers

I bought the same Klein cutters more than 15 years ago and never had a problem. I used them for my work in construction and they performed with excellence. I used the cutters daily to cut nails, hardened screws, 9 guage wire, banding ties, and numerous other things. Over 15 years of hard use the jaws of the cutters never dulled or dented. The grip material, although it got stained, never wore through or slid off of the handles. If I hadn't lost the original cutters in the field somewhere I'm positive they would have lasted a lifetime. I bought the exact same cutters to replace the ones I lost.

I finished building a solar power plant for my off grid cabin. In the course of cutting heavy cables, I broke two diagonal cutters. Tired of having cutters break, I ordered these Diagonal-Cutting Pliers, Heavy Duty, 8-Inch Klein Tools D2000-28 as they came highly recommended. That, and Klein has a good reputation.

I used these very heavily in cutting copper wire gauges up to 6 AWG (what broke my other diagonals). They held up great and cut well. What more can be said. They're a durable set of diagonal cutters.

I use the regular duty version of these for wiring, but these are just fantastic for everything else. I've snipped screws, bolts, large nails, guitar strings, and everything else that would leave a mark on the regular duty version and always impressed.

I don’t think any other brand has done what Klein has done with there side cutters. Most durable, sharp, and easy to use side cutters on this planet. I have never used Kinipex side cutters, but I think Klein would still reign over Kinipex.

Edit Feb 2020:
The pliers I reviewed and used got stolen, so I replaced them with Knipex side cutters. The Klein pliers I bought in this review were very good pliers, but comparing my Knipex pliers to anyone’s Klein pliers is just sad. I loved my Klein pliers when I had them. Comparing those at that time, they seemed to have been made better than Klein pliers you buy today. My brother bought two separate pairs of Klein pliers and the blades on both of them did not properly line up, taking greater effort and strain to cut material. If I were to purchase the exact same pair of Klein pliers today, they would not compare to the pliers I had in 2017. The 2017 pliers were 5 star, so I will leave it at that. I recommend you, the reader of this review, buy Knipex.

i have a few cutters of this type. The Linesman pliers I have include Klien, Proto and Snap-on. THese Kliens seem to have the hardest edges of any of these. They do not show any signs of indentations or deformation where the Snap-on and Proto 8" linesman do.

The Klein Linesman are quite hefty and are my second choice.
The Snap-on do not open and close easily with one hand.
The Vintage Proto work very well and are a good size but have developed dents in the cutting edges over the years. Although they have been used far more than the others.
I have put these Kliens to the test on nails and thick wire bindings. And they take the abuse.
The smaller size of the jaws allow you to get the tips into tight spots where a Linesman plier will not fit.
A quality tool.

I mean.....it's Klein....what more do you need to say.

UPDATE 11/28.2016

Someone used my Klein's the other day, "Man, where did you get these. These are great!"

These cutters saved my dogs life. My wife has a standard poodle and placed a choke collar on him for training purposes. Bad idea. I was sitting on the back deck and he suddenly started flopping violently. I jumped down on him and pinned him to the deck. The ring on the collar had dropped through a crack and got stuck. The chain was completely cutting off his air. I hollered for wife and had her hold him still and try to get some slack in the chain. Thankfully, I am one of those "a place for everything and everything in it's place" types of people. I ran to my tool closet and grabbed my Klein's. The Kleins cut through the heavy chain as if it were butter. My wife was crying tears of joy.
So,
1. Get some Klein cutters
2. Know where you put them
3 Never put a choke collar on an animal....it will kill.

I'll start with the fact that normally I love knipex tools, especially the side cutters and combination pliers. However, these Klein's are absolutely in the same category of quality as knipex.
These feel slightly less "precision" and slightly more "tough" than knipex, not to say these are just American clog iron, though. All jaws lined up perfectly, and the opening action is silky smooth and clearly they took time with their hot riveting process on these tools.
The grips are thick and we'll adhered, I see no future issues arising with grips becoming loose or falling off, as you sometimes see on cheaper hardware store tools.
The linesman's grip and cut well, the side cutters are nearly razor sharp, and the longnose pliers are etched well and incredibly grippy.
Overall, you can't beat these, especially for the price for the whole set. Spending 20 bucks per tool really isn't much of an investment after you receive them and realize they will be around far into your children's lives. Highly, highly recommend.

I purchased these from Amazon about two years ago, primarily to use for electrical work (cable cutting) and also because the handles were longer than my old (unbranded) pair and I could apply more leverage power to the cutting jaws. The cutting head is not large but the jaw opening is more than adequate for any jobs the cutters were designed to do. The handles are of a very comfortable design and have never hurt my hands, even when applying excessive pressure. I am not a trades person so they are not in everyday use and sometimes they might not even be used for a month!
Although they have manufacturers limit specifications for what diameter and material they are capable of cutting without damage to the surfaces I have taken no heed. I use them for cutting anything from electrical cable (they are perfect for this), to the occasional cutting of nails of all the common diameters found in home buildings (up to 7 to 8 AWG). I also use them for cutting high tensile farm fencing wire (10 AWG) which they do with ease. So far I have not damaged the cutting edge. Of course this could be that as I am getting older I do not have the strengh in my wrists that I did when I was younger!
Notwithstanding that they are not intended for abuse, the cutters are of very good quality and should last many many years if they are used within their specifications. That said, my old (unbranded) cutters are now 25 years old and they are still serviceable, but with the shorter handles I cannot aplly as much force!

They came clean and well lubricated in a sturdy but easy to open clam shell. The blades are sharp and line up well, the gap in the linesman pliers is just right and there’s no wobble in the handles. The wires cut clean and the handles are extremely comfortable.

Yeah yeah you can get whatever hardware store in house made in China special for $20 dollars but for the quality of the steel and how well the tips and edges line up on all of these on top of the fact they are made right here in the US makes them worth every penny.