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Still don't get why people pay for Park Tool cable cutters when a basic pair of hardware store dykes does the same job...
Been working on bikes for about 12 years now, mostly old road bikes and beaters for friends. I keep seeing guys in shops pulling out those $40 Park Tool CN-10 cutters and I just don't get it. Picked up a $7 pair of Klein diagonal cutters from Ace Hardware back in 2015 and they still slice through housing like butter. Never had a frayed cable end or crushed housing. What am I missing?
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jamief671mo ago
Those $7 Kleins are honestly fine for 95% of the work out there. I think it’s like how I see guys spending $80 on a special pizza cutter when a regular knife does the job just as well. It’s this whole thing where people confuse the tool with the skill. @jakewhite mentioned the flush cut thing, and sure, in a shop where you’re doing ten cable jobs a day it might save you two seconds, but for the average home mechanic it’s just not worth the extra cash. I’ve had my Kleins for years and never had a burr issue, you just gotta squeeze harder and cut in the right spot. It’s like buying a $50 hammer when a $5 one hits the same nail.
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Different use cases, I guess. Those Park Tool cutters have a specific jaw geometry so you can get a super flush cut right up against the ferrule. I've had plenty of cheap dykes leave a tiny little burr on the housing that snags the cable later. If you're just doing a quick swap and don't care about a perfect finish, the Kleins are fine. But for a clean, professional install, the Park tools really do make a difference.
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