Features and working of linesmen pliers

Considering the stress the pliers are usually subjected to, their construction reflects sturdiness. Made of forged steel with the two parts being linked with a heavy duty rivet, the plier is capable of exerting a tremendous gripping or cutting force. A basic linesman pliers has three main parts; the head, the rivet, and the handles. The head consists of the jaws and the cutting edges. The rivet is the midsection of the pliers that provides the fulcrum to generate the force. This riveted joint is designed for smooth movement of the jaws. The insulated handles are gripped by the user and can be moved to open and close the jaws. As with all pliers, linesmen pliers too work on the principle of leverage, converting the energy generated by the user pressing the handles together into work that gets transferred to the jaws. The plier handles being longer than the jaws, the force exerted by the jaws on the gripped object is much greater than that created by the user squeezing the handles. This makes the plier a very efficient tool.

The jaws of the tool may be serrated to increase the gripping potential. The cutting implement of the plier is located below the jaws just above the rivet as cutting tasks require greater pressure and normally the maximum force is generated in the head portion that is closet to the rivet. The jaws and the cutting edges are machine precisioned for perfect alignment and are factory tested for durability and performance.  

An average linesman plier is around 8 to 10 inches long, with a jaw length of around 1-17/32 inches, joint thickness of around 35/64 inches, joint width of around 1-5/16 inches, and a cutting length of 47/64 inches. The weight of the tool is approximately 1.25 pounds. Heavy duty flat shafts have lower flexing than conventional pliers of the same size, for improving the working. The accurately mated cutting edges are sometimes laser-hardened, letting the edges stay sharper for a longer period of time. Some pliers have stripping holes in the cutter to handle 12 American Wire gauge (AWG) wire.

What to look for in linesmen pliers

Since most linesmen’s pliers have numerous electrical applications, the handles are rendered with an insulation coating. While this insulated padding may not make the tool completely shock proof, it can offer protection from minor electrical shocks when the gripping and cutting portions of the tool come in contact with live wires. The tool is judiciously balanced and the handles are ergonomically contoured with soft grips, made of a thermoplastic (TPR) rubber overmold, to increase user comfort. Dual durometer, two-material grip increases the gripping comfort even further. 

Heat-treated high carbon steel pliers are generally regarded to combine strength with a moderate weight. A compound lever feature assures better performance. Spring loaded handles keep the jaws in a permanently open position, thus not requiring the user to manually open the jaws after gripping an object.

Electronic coating ensures uniform protection from rust and corrosion. The comfort grips of these pliers are most often brightly colored to increase chances of detection in a crowded toolbox. Some reputed manufactures of linesmen pliers include Channellock, Eclipse, Grip, and Titan.