end cutting pliers / pincers

[Robert]

Please can someone tell me whether end cutting pliers and pincers are two names for the same thing or whether they are two different tools?

I had been struggling to remove some nails with pliers when a neighbour let me borrow his pincers. The nails came out in no time at all. I'm surprised at this because both pincers and pliers grab the sides of the nail; what's so magical about pincers that they work so much better?

I thought I would get myself some pincers but I see items described as end cutting pliers that look identical. Are they really identical? I'm wondering whether perhaps the cutting pliers have a sharp edge to cut, whereas perhaps the pincers have a blunt edge. Otherwise wouldn't they cut the nail in situ rather than pull it out?

[John]

Don't pincers have rounded shoulders so that you can lever the nail out by rolling the tool?

[brass monkey]

Yep, end cutting pliers would tend to pull sideways moreso. Pincers -

-

[Andy Dingley]

Two ends of a continuum. Cutters cut, pincers grip and lever - so the fundamental difference is that the cutters are sharp enough to cut, pincers should merely grip. As noted, pincers also need a smooth curve as a rolling fulcrum, but both tend to have this anyway. It is worth having both, and using accordingly.

In practice, pincers will still cut soft wire if over-squeezed, or will at least nick it causing it to rust or break later (a problem when tightening galvanized fence wire). The risk when pulling nails is less of a risk, but it can happen when you're pulling small panel pins (the stubs are then very hard to extract).

My pincers are all 50+ years old, because I haven't seen an equally well-made pair in years.

[Man at B&Q]

Use end cutters for pulling out nails and you'll soon knacker the cutting edge.

MBQ

[TMC]

Not a dig at the Op by any means but I remember when such things were taught in schools ....to everyone at the school

[John]

I recall being shown how to change a tap washer, a fuse and a plug.

[Dave]

Pincers don't have a very sharp cutting edge on them so they don't cut through the nails before they are pulled out. End cutters are usually the size of small electrical pliers and can cut nails and wires with the same ease as side cutters.

Dave

[Dave]

That reminds me of the time my local pub landlady came up to me at the bar and asked if I could change a fuse in one of those wired jobbies. Took me a couple of minutes and got me a free pint of real ale :-)

Dave

[Frank Erskine]

Wired jobbies? The mind boggles...

;-)

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Decent cutters shouldn't be worried by a normal nail. Masonry, maybe.

[PeterC]

Hair's more common.

[docholliday]

=A0 London SW

I'm not sure I'd agree - as well as being sharper the edge may well have different heat treatment (and be thinner, if they're flush cutters, with only one bevel). They should have no difficulty in cutting a nail, where the force is compression, but they're not designed to have a sideways force on the edge. I've seen several cutters with notches in the edge where people have tried to use them as pincers and cracked a piece out - and these were not cheap chinese tools, they were =A330 jobs from Bahco and Lindstrom Mike

[Man at B&Q]

=A0 =A0 London SW

Indeed. Precision cutting tools should not be used for pulling nails out.

MBQ

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I suppose you're right. But I've not had a problem with decent cutters being damaged by mild steel. Even Lidl ones survive this. ;-)

[Dave]

Tradition ones that have 4 prongs either end to a fuse wire.

Dave

[Fred]

I'm afraid that by the time I got to school woodwork and metalwork had been replaced by "CDT", which was lots of D but very little C and no T.