The UK's bestWire Cutters2022 Review

The C.K 3963 cable cutters are specially designed for cutting aluminium and copper wires, and the razor-sharp blades are precision ground to make light work of cable cutting and stripping jobs, and leave a supremely clean edge to insulation and cores.

We really like the fact that these cable cutters are long enough to apply much force to the cutting blades, but are small enough for one-handed comfortable use.

The Carl Kammerling line of tools is respected by DIYers and professionals around the world for functional, well-engineered hand tools.

Bahco are a premium Swedish tool brand, that make a range of well-made and reliable hand tools for electricians, plumbers, and carpenters, as well as serious DIYers. We tried out their 2233D-240 H/Duty Wire Stripper and really liked the ergonomic and accurate design.

These heavy-duty wire cutters definitely pack a punch when it comes to cutting wires. The classic Bahco orange grips are comfortable and non-slip, and the return spring makes them easy to use one-handed.

We really like the specially shaped blades. They have several cutting positions – straight for cutting through insulation and cores, as well as two different sized recesses for stripping different gauges of wire.

WORKPRO have built themselves a solid reputation for producing honest and inexpensive tools. Their wire cutters have proven to be comfortable and capable, even if they don’t last for as long as some premium brand cutters.

The Chrome Vanadium steel used for these wire cutters is ideal for the job. Extremely hard and resistant to corrosion, they won’t rust out on you any time soon. The cutting edge is hardened and shaped to give you a cutting hole as well as wire strippers.

Decked out in WORKPRO’s recognisable blue and red colour scheme, the long handles are coated in grippy TPR. This thermoplastic rubber makes the cutters easy to work with and comfortable to hang on to.

For the money, these are some of the best budget wire cutters you can get your hands on.

German tool brand C.K pride themselves on the highest manufacturing standards, and their own RedLine VDE Combicutter3 are some of the best wire cutters on the market right now. They’re light, comfortable, and durable.

The wire and cable cutters are packed with clever features such as two different gauge wire strippers and a wire bending anvil. It’s probably the last pair of pliers an electrician will ever need on-site. Plus it’s rated to protect the user from up to 1,000 Volts of AC, so your safety is guaranteed.

Our favourite feature that sets these wire snips apart are the included screw shears. When changing plugs or switches, you can feed in two different sizes of electrician’s screw into the hole above the handle and cut it off neatly, without damaging the thread.

The Redline series of tools from Draper are budget-friendly but still fully guaranteed, and their diagonal side cutters do exactly what they say on the tin.

The induction hardened carbon steel blades come together neatly to cut wires and strip the casing off of them with a little bit of practice, and the soft grip handles feel sturdy, if not quite as soft as we would hope.

For the price, these have to be the best budget wire cutter pliers we’ve tested. They work exactly as you need them to, and offer the ideal balance between quality and affordability.

Best known for their locking pliers, it’s no surprise that IRWIN make some of the best cable cutting pliers in the business. These VISE-GRIP wire cutters are big, strong, and feature some of the hardest cutting edges you can get.

IRWIN know how to make good pliers. These wire cutters are made from Chromium-Nickel steel, an incredibly tough alloy found in extreme environments like nuclear reactors. The machined jaws and induction hardened blades will cut through fine strand wire, and they don’t even cost that much!

The long handles are covered in a moulded TPE grip shape that makes them extremely comfortable to hold on to. There’s plenty of grip as well as insulation against low Voltage electrical current, in case you make a mistake. For the money, they’re some of the best wire strippers you’ll get thanks to the curved blade shape too.

Draper are one of the most recognisable UK tool brands, and their hand tools are trusted by DIYers and professionals alike. The Expert 57768 wire cutters that we tried out felt solid, and the vinyl handles helped keep a firm grip when dealing with thick gauge coated wires.

Even though they don’t include dedicated wire strippers, the spring-loaded handles and aggressive cutting design still make these one of the best heavy-duty wire cutters on the market. They’re rated for cutting up to 5 mm wire rope and 1.5 mm wire.

Our favourite feature is the design itself. The small cutting head is specifically designed for neatly cutting bicycle brake cables that easily fray. These handy heavy-duty wire cutters leave a nice finish in wire rope, so they’re great wire cutters for bike mechanics.

If you need to make accurate cuts when working with mild steel wires, these nuosen Suntin precision side cutters might be just the right tool. A beefed-up version of the toolbox staple, these cutters are really comfortable and have hardened forged blades.

The matt grip handles are made from rubberised plastic polyvinyl chloride that provides excellent non-slip properties for your hands during use. They’re much more comfortable than snips with a basic plastic sheath for a handle, and they allow you to make plenty of cuts before they start hurting your hand.

The jaws are held apart by an internal spring mechanism, and the high carbon steel jaws have been specially tempered to stay sharp even after lots of uses. They’re an inexpensive tool to add to your collection and mean you can snip away one-handed in complete comfort.