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lineman pliers

lineman pliers

I dont know if anyone has mentioned this yet, but if you use your Klein tools as a hammer, dont use the side with the lineman as the pounding surface! When I was an apprentice I ruined a perfect pair of Kleins.

Has anyone ever noticed a pair of Kleins that was made opposite to this?

A good rule of thumb: dont knock the man off the pole!

-Matt
 
Man I have beat the snot out of my linesmans and they still work fine, I always use the "guy on the pole" side too! I always say when they stop working I will buy a new pair, they either get lost or blown up before.
 
JohnME said:
Man I have beat the snot out of my linesmans and they still work fine, I always use the "guy on the pole" side too! I always say when they stop working I will buy a new pair, they either get lost or blown up before.
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Which side is the guy on the pole side?
The cutting side has a bigger hitting surface.
I hate talking about blowing them up.. As soon as I say I havn't blown up a pair in a long time... guess what happens?
 
77401 said:
I hate talking about blowing them up.. As soon as I say I havn't blown up a pair in a long time... guess what happens?
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marvin.gif

Marvin Says...] <~~~Click it :)
 
guy on the pole side

guy on the pole side

this is the side where there is a picture of a guy on a pole etched, the cutting side. If you notice, this is the side that you can screw up, if you smash the junction of where the two parts are pressed together.

-Matt
 
So you guys hammer on the open side of the nines, and the nail is on the man on the pole? Or vice versa?

I quit swinging at my nines when I replaced them about a month ago due to stiffness. BTW, Klein won't warranty the beatings any more, so the story goes. So much for that! :)
 
i've got two pair. One pair I have beat the snot out of. They have been blown up, run over, and beat repeatedly. They still work fine, but they don't cut worth a darn. I usually only use them when I'm running pipe, etc.
 
georgestolz said:
So you guys hammer on the open side of the nines, and the nail is on the man on the pole? Or vice versa?

I quit swinging at my nines when I replaced them about a month ago due to stiffness. BTW, Klein won't warranty the beatings any more, so the story goes. So much for that! :)
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Mostly, I hammer on old "beater" screw drivers, but if you have to pound on something metal, I make sure that the metal contacts the side of my Kleins that does not have the man on the pole.

If you damage the "pin" (dont know if that is what it is called), the pliers will become nasty :(

The side with the "lineman on the pole" is generally the side that you dont want to strike with.

-Matt
 
I now too have a set of beaters (the old pair). I've gotten way too used to driving nails in tight spots by using the nines. I wind up walking to my boombox to grab the old pair quite a bit, and lose time on account of it.
 
Hand tools

Hand tools

I've been in the trade for 7 years and I have tried a number of different brands (channellock, Knipex, Crescent) But none have stood up like Klein's. Some are finished a little better and are a little bit sharper but Channellocks steel is very brittle compared to Klein's. I do find though that when buying any brand of pliers you have to look at them first, eg. handles aren't too close together, blades line up etc. I have had to sharpen My Klein's right off of the shelf but they are still the toughest things on the market. Just an example....I had an old pair of Klein 9's i blew up and me and another guy decided to see just how tough they were so we stuck them in a hydraulic vise (handles) and cranked it THEY WOULD NOT BREAK!!! they actually marred the surface of the vice jaws! So that is why I use klein and nothing but!
For tool pouches however, the absolute BEST pouch on the market (if your not wearing it) is the Ideal 35-950. It has seperate screwdriver loops and dividers inside the pouch that go all the way down to the bottom. This prevents small screwdrivers and pliers from falling to the bottom and jamming when you try and pull them out. Very expensive but well worth it!
And you need an Ideal vol-con tester (p/n 61-076) I got this the day i started and it's been thru hell and back. Still works!

For utility knives i strongly suggest Olfa they are perfect for romex and small cables but you should not use any utility knife on anything larger than 8 AWG since the tip can come flying off in your face or you can knick the copper. For this i use a Klein hook knife.
Like everyone else has said...Get the good stuff. But in the beginning if you cant afford all of the above just buy a GOOD pouch (dont want to break this in again) and a pair of Klein Dykes, nines, and strippers as these are your most used tools.
 
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