This is an excellent tool.I have two sizes, but use the 8" most often. It works well to pull nails, cut wires, nibble metal, and bend, break, cut, or remove all manner of materials.The nipper gets into tight spots to pull nails when a hammer or pry bar won't fit.I used this tool last night. I was removing an old fireplace for a basement remodelling project. I used it to pull nails from the wooden framing. Then I cut the thick wire in the reinforced fabric ducting connected to the blower assemblies. I used it to cut the 12 gauge Romex to the blower (diag cutters or lineman's pliers may be the purist' choice-but I had this tool in hand...)Finally, I used it to bend sharp, nasty sheet metal edges into less dangerous shapes/positions when I was ready to carry the firebox outside.I have also used it in the past to grab rounded screw heads and extract them.Dependable tool. Frequently and successfully used. Highly recommended. Channellock 358 8-Inch End Cutting Plier
I agree with other reviewers here. These end-cutters are particularly well suited to pulling/leveraging nails. They are not as well suited to end-nipping. There are slightly better manual end-cutters for nipping where the pivot is closer to the jaws and the handles flare more widely resulting in better mechanical advantage. There are also ones with double-pivots which generate even better mechanical advantage and work well, but they can be unwieldy.
These however are perfect for nail pulling in that the jaws open wider, the head curvature is just right for the cam-action of leveraging a nail out and the narrower handles enable easy one-hand operation. As a carpenter I use these every day to quickly remove large stubborn nails with minimal damage to the lumber. Paired with a small Japanese prybar (Dogyu or others) they also work quite well for more delicate trim work.
By far, the easiest, quickest and least damaging way to pull nails.
UPDATE Aug. 2011: Ordered a new pair after losing the old ones. Quality and design has definitely gone downhill. Instead of a solid joint, there is a rivet which will wear and loosen faster. Handles are slightly less flared making one hand operation, for me at least more clumsy. Steel/heat-treating seems to be of lower quality and machining is definitely lower quality. Except for the cutting ends, the body is painted black rather than polished. Downgrade from 5 to 3 stars.
Channellock comes through again, as I can't say enough for the utility of this 358 plier/nipper. My main use is renovation. When I go into a home, for example, that has an unfinished basement, for some reason there are always thousands of nails in the joists -- who does that! But these 358 nippers can either snip a nail head flush with a wall, ceiling, baseboard, floor, or joist, or it can effortlessly extract it by rolling it out. You'll never want to use a hammer to extract a nail again since this 358 plier rolls the nail out without marking the face of the board or wall. Also, its handles are curved so that all four fingers can apply equal pressure, giving you more torque. Another use is to cleanly shape material, corners, and edges. I can enlarge a wallboard cutout for an electrical outlet in a precise way rather than using a ziptool or using a clumsy hand saw. No matter what, make sure you have this tool in your belt.
I'm very disappointed in the tool I received. It is not at all like the pictured item or like the #358 I already own. This is one of the problems with mail order, if I had been able to inspect the tool that I was going to be sent I would not have purchased it. Oh well, that's what I get for trying to save a couple of bucks. I should have gone to the hardware store and then I would have known what I was getting. If this is the future of Channellock tools, I'll have to switch to Klein's. They're still made the good old way. The bean counters have ruined another good company.
You can't go wrong with Channellock. I have been using these pliers for a couple of months now to pull and cut nails. They are comfortable to use and provide fantastic leverage when pulling nails. I highly recommend.
End cuting pliers are one of the most useful tools on the planet. Someone needs to give them a better name, something a little sexier. I use mine mostly for pulling nails - they're the only way to go.
in the ad they show this item but it is NOT the item that shows up at the door. i wanted the one in the pic and they send me one like it. they replaced the rivet in it and they changed the cutting part of the tool. the one in the pic is the good one. both half's of the cutting tool is sharp. this one has one side is sharp side and the other side is flat. what a POS. I want to send it back and get my damn money back. Not happy. if this is the tool they will be shipping out they need to CHANGE the damn pic on the site or others will find this to be a crap tool. I have used this tool in my work for over 15 years and now they changed it to a POS. - Tools - Pos - Made In Usa - Wire Cutters'
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