Papa Tom

Sorry. Maybe my browser is the problem, but when I search Bike Forums for a thread on cable cutters, I get a list of totally irrelevant hits.

I am continually building up my dedicated bike tool kit, and after all these years of successfully using heavy-duty Home Depot (Channelock) snippers, I still don't have a "real" set of brake/shifter cable cutters. Now the HD's are getting a little dull and undependable, so I am browsing for a replacement.

I don't do a whole lot of cable replacing these days, but when I do need to cut a cable and housing once or twice a year, I'd like it to be simple and clean. I see cutters priced from $15 to $45, all with four and five-star average ratings. Most of the negative reviews I've read are for the most expensive models.

I'd like a tool that will cut brake cable and housing as clean as possible without requiring that I force a nail into the housing after the cut to clear the opening. If this tool includes a ferrule crimper, that would be a plus, but it's not a dealbreaker. My budget is $25 for a decent one and $40 for one that is absolutely, positively worth an extra $15. Recommendations?

HillRider

Park's CN-10 cable cutters are good and Shimano's TL-CT12 are better and both are in the $40 to $50 price range The absolute best is the Felco they are a bit more costly.

79pmooney

Not the answer you are looking for, but in Portland, many of us sharpen a 14 ga spoke, bent the other end to a nice handle and hang them at our work area. Call them "pokey tools". Opening up housings is only one of their uses.

Ben

pdlamb

I've got Pedro's cutters. They always work well for cables themselves and for derailer housings, For brake housings, they work well during the dawning of the age of Aquarius, but sometimes grab the coil and slice a piece lengthwise. Dremel with a cutoff wheel works well on everything, all the time, and is surprisingly useful for other things too.

leob1

Every cutter I've used requires opening the housing liner. Some time just the cable is enough, other times a sharpened spoke does the trick. Not a big deal.

JanMM

For cutting cable, I use a pretty old SunTour tool that doubles as a crimper for cable ends. I have a Park tool for housing but usually use a Dremel with a rotary cutting attachment - Not sure it works better than the Park but love the shower of sparks! And a small nail for opening the housing end, but like the idea of an old sharpened spoke.

mixteup

I cut them with a standard cable cutter, then take the end of the housing to the fine wheel of the bench grinder -
Just a light touch squares the end, and then just open up the liner with an awl.
They usually come out looking pretty good.

Papa Tom

Of the few mentioned here, the Pedro's appeal to me most, but the comment about them only working well on occasion seems to concur with most of the reviews I've read. If you were to tell me that the Pedro's cutting ability is dead-on, I would overlook the fact that it doesn't have a crimper, but given that it seems to be just "OK" at its primary job, I think I will keep looking.

Those of you who suggested the Park and Shimano versions, do you truly believe they are so far superior to anything else that spending an extra $15-20 is worth it?

nfmisso

I have Pedro's and have not had any issues with 100's of cuts of brake and derailleur cables and housings.

dsbrantjr

My decades-old Felco cutters work as well as the day I bought them. My only regret is that I did not buy them a lot earlier.

Papa Tom

What do you use for crimping a new ferrule onto the end of a cable, if needed?

Andy_K 

My Park cutters almost always require me to do some amount of manicure work on brake housing after a cut. The $2 "Mini Pick and Hook Set" from Harbor Freight includes a tool with a right angle bend that fits perfectly in the brake housing. I start with that and then use a Dremel tool with a grinder wheel to polish the end. It's overkill, but for a home mechanic cutting not on the clock it's not much trouble and Sheldon said you should finish helical cables this way even with a clean cut.

dedhed

Felco C7 is what I use

FBOATSB

Cuts cables, housings, crimps cable ends, has a little poker built in the handle, mid price. Will it last a lifetime? Who knows. Pretty sure it will last mine

https://www.amazon.com/Jagwire-Pro-H.../dp/B07DF6Z1Q2

Papa Tom

WAY out of my price range.

>>>> Cuts cables, housings, crimps cable ends, has a little poker built in the handle, mid price. Will it last a lifetime? Who knows. Pretty sure it will last mine<<<<
The Jagwire looks like a contender.

MidTNBrad

+1 on the Jagwire.

Paul Barnard

My Parks work great. I have found that the faster I squeeze, the cleaner the cut. I used to try to finesse them and often had to do a little work opening the liner up.

cpach

I agree with the above; Felco is ideal, Shimano and Park are very solid. I think the Pedros cutters are similar to the Park at significantly lower cost.

If you only do it occasionally cutoff wheel on rotary tool is clutch.

Racing Dan

I would suggest getting a diamond cutter wheel for you Dremel, if you have one. Doesn't compress the housing at all and leaves a clean "cut".

Glennfordx4

Years of cutting cables on power equipment, motorcycles and bicycles I have tried a lot of different cutters from Snapon to Park and one of the best cutters I have used are the Crescent PS5429C PRO Series diagonal compound pliers. They make clean cuts with ease on both cable and housings( including SIS ) they work so good my boss at the bike shop now uses them over his Shimano and Park cutters all the time. I own two pairs one just for new cables and the other for everything else. Most of you know that when cutting housings for brake & non SIS with diagonal pliers it leaves a little piece of coil that needs to be ground off before you can use it, with these pliers the tip is strong and sharp and you can cut the little piece of the coil off so no need for a grinder. My first pair I got at Lowes my second pair I bought dirt cheap with free shipping from Sears online, Lowes here dosen't have them any longer so you may want to shop around for the best price. You will love these even if you never cut a cable with them.


Glenn

speedevil 

try here: Need Recommendation: Cable Cutters

zacster

I've had the Park for a few years now and no regrets at all about buying it. Housing always needs a little cleanup, but if I cut the housing with the old cable inside it, it will need a little less cleanup. I have a round file that comes to a point that I use, along with a needle nose plier. It just takes a few minutes, but I'm not in a shop doing this all the time where those few minutes start to add up.

nfmisso

Needle nose pliers, a Craftsman unit that I have had since the late 1960s.

rumrunn6

some years ago I needed a cable cutter to hang an art show using a cable hanging system. wound up getting an expensive one that is not bike specific. the plus thing is it can be used for other more robust wire & thin rods. works great even on bike cable housing. instead of sticking something into the housing to open it up, I found this cutter doesn't squish the housing as much, but to be a perfectionist, it's easy to use a small pliers to squeeze the elongated oval back into a circle, which lets that inner diameter open up more, without sticking anything in it. a compound cable cutter is probably over kill, but I've got it so ...

Midwest Tool & Cutlery MW-P6300 Hard Wire Cable Cutter

Kapusta