NWS 4-in-1 Multicutter – Not Shocking News
Over the years, I have reviewed quite a few NWS plier type products and the one thing they all have in common is German Quality Manufacture. These are a part of the NWS range of pliers that include the 6-in-1 multicutter and the 5-in-1 CombiMax. Some of the reviewed products I have been lucky enough to keep using, and years on they are still as good as new. This is a GOOD SIGN for these types of tools, as cheaper ones may seem like a good buy, but in my experience don’t last very long, comparatively. The other encouraging sign is that any tradespeople I have shown the NWS tools to would have been more than happy to have “borrowed” them from me permanently. They tend to know quality when they see it. To my mind, the “feel” of a
pair of, in this case, multi-cutters, is all-important. Your hands are going to have to work in combination with them all day, if you are a professional, so they need to be comfortable and efficient. If they aren’t, your fingers, and in my case my arthritic thumbs, are going to suffer. Since all NWS plier tools, in my experience come with a fulcrum system that operates freely and without play, they are easy to use and control from the off, and don’t need any “working in”. The NWS multi-cutters have the EC required 1000volt proof red and yellow insulation on the handles but it is quite subtly shaped for safety and comfort. There are big buffer areas on the front of the handles that prevent your hands from straying onto the metal cutter parts of the pliers. Grip for the user is really enhanced by the softgrip overmould with extra dimples and dots on the top of each handle. My hands felt very happy with this set-up, and I did make an effort to try out some others secretly, for comparison, at the builders merchant, I thought that the NWS were among the best. But it is in the design of the
various jaws that these NWS pliers seem to be unique. Some other wire strippers I have seen and used, have screw adjustable jaws on the front of them through which a cable can be pulled to strip the insulation. There is a set of jaws on the front of this NWS pair, but no screw adjuster. I was intrigued because it seems to me that many of the methods used on all types and brands of wire strippers to limit the depth of cut on the jaws to cut only into the insulation and not the wire, are meant to save time and make it easy to have a stripped end to insert into a terminal or plug. I really didn’t know what to make of it by just looking, so I thought I ought to give them a try. I admit that the first few times I tried to strip the insulation off the ends of a standard 13 amp cord I managed to cut them off flush, insulation and all, leaving a
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Independent Review by Peter Brett
very neat end. So I wondered if that was the point – the very neat end. But after giving it a few more tries, I worked out that it is actually very easy to strip the end of a wire by just being careful. After half a dozen or so more tries I nearly had it to a fine art and had enough “feel” to just strip the insulation without damaging the copper underneath. This was with fine filamented copper wire, with a single thick strand of higher rated wire it was even easier. I then turned my attention to
the two other cutting jaws situated on the side of the jaws. There is a standard plier-type side cutter that is quite long at a shade off 2 cm. This is actually quite sharp and feels it no doubt due to the induction hardened cutters common to all NWS cutters. Located close to the fulcrum it is actually quite easy to snip through standard electrical household cables of all kinds. The effort is minimal, didn’t trouble my arthritic thumbs and left a crisp edge on both wire and insulation. More interesting is a lozenge-
shaped set of cutting jaws, again very sharp, located in front of the straight jaws. These, I worked out, are actually great for removing the outer insulation of either round or flat cables because you can move the cable exactly to the spot where the cut is just deep enough to cut the plastic insulation and use the leverage of the handles to pull it off in one piece. I missed the crimping jaws first time round, but just behind the wire stripping cutters is a space to insert a connector so that it can be crimped to a wire – when I tried it, it worked better than many other crimping jaws I have tried. I thought I had now worked
out the new features of this pair of wire strippers so I thought I would set a little test for myself to see how long it would take me to cut, strip off the outer insulation and then strip the ends of a standard three core cable. This would use all the cutters on the NWS strippers and test the credibility of the new features. I was surprised that my best time was less than thirty seconds, and my guess is that I would get better with some practice. I imagine that a professional would probably do it in twenty seconds or less. My fear that I would snip the ends right through with the front cutters was unfounded – it was actually easy to feel just how far I needed to grip the insulation. As you would expect, these NWS wire strippers come fully certified with TUV certification,
VPA GS certification and a five-year guarantee. These wire strippers are going straight into my general-purpose toolbox and will definitely not be lent to any would-be electricians. They really do perform well and with the five-year guarantee are worth the £37 (ex VAT) asking price.
Reply No. 210
www.toolbusiness.co.uk
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