Lineman's pliers (US English), Kleins (generic trademark, US usage), linesman pliers (Canadian English) and combination pliers (UK / US English), or simply pliers (since other versions are more commonly disambiguated with a prefix, such as "needle-nose", etc) are a type of pliers used by linemen, electrical contractors and other tradesmen primarily for gripping, twisting, bending and cutting wire, cable and small metalwork components. They owe their effectiveness to their plier design, which multiplies force through leverage.
Lineman's pliers are distinguished by a flat gripping surface at their snub nose. Combination pliers have a shorter flat surface plus a concave / curved gripping surface which is useful in light engineering to work with metal bar, etc. Both usually have a beveled cutting edge similar to that on Diagonal pliers in their craw, and each may include an additional gripping, crimping, or wire shearing (for a flat ended cut) device at the crux of the handle side of the pliers' joint.
Technical Parameters:
| Length | 160 mm | |||
| Cutting capacity medium hard wire | Ø 3.1 mm | Weight | 0.223 kg | |
| Cutting capacity hard wire | Ø 2 mm | Pliers | Chrome plated | |
| Cutting copper wire multistranded | Ø 10 mm | Handles | Plastic coated | |
| Cutting copper wire multistranded | 16 mm2 | Product code | 03 05 160 |
- With gripping zones for flat and round material, suitable for versatile use
- With cutting edges for soft and hard wire
- Long cutting edges for thicker cables
- Cutting edges additionally induction-hardened, cutting edge hardness approx. 60 HRC
- Special tool steel, forged, multi stage oil-hardened
Wire Classification:
| Material example | Type of wire | Tensile strength | ||
| N/mm2 | kg/cm2 | |||
| 1 | Copper, plastics | soft | 220 | 2243 |
| 2 | Nail, wire pin | medium-hard | 750 | 7648 |
| 3 | Wire rope strand, steel wire | hard | 1800 | 18355 |
| 4 | Spring steel wire | piano wire | 2300 | 23454 |
technical change and errors excepted
