Hi,

I have attended a couple of auctions recently and picked up a lot of tools. Among them was this unusual pair of wire cutters. They are used for music wire. Will post more tool photos as I go through all of this stuff.

Mark

Cool tool!!, but not very sharp? more like a crimper? & why the teeth? are the cutter heads adjustable?  is that a wire/spring in the jaw? any photos of the top?
Thank you for sharing, very interesting...

You sure it is not a wire stripper?

Quote from: thiggy on January 28, 2013, 09:29:11 PM
You sure it is not a wire stripper?

Very sure.  Piano tuners use a wide variety of pliers, as you can see at:

http://mshepherdpiano.com/Martin_Shepherd_Piano_Service/Piano_Pliers.html

Starrett still makes these -- see:

http://www.pianorepairtools.com/Starrett-Wire-Cutter.html

Why the teeth?  So that the cutting blades can be removed for sharpening, and adjusted when they've been sharpened enough to become too short to function well.

Piano wire is really tough stuff, hard and stiff.

Wow, kinda pricey tool.

Boy, I'd sure rather find those in a garage sale than buy retail!

>Wow, kinda pricey tool.

Piano wire is very very very very very hard :P

The jaws on those cutters are just about the hardest steel object you will ever likely encounter...

>Boy, I'd sure rather find those in a garage sale than buy retail!

Oh, heck yes...:P

Thank you Branson for those links especially the Martin site, great reference.Those nippers are certainly dear, we don't often think in terms of high triple figures for new "hand" tools!
Graeme

WOW!!  "Our price: $446.00 " Nice tool!! learned a lot, like the adjustable jaw blades that can be sharpened... Show more!!

Just dug these out, thought the photo looked familiar.  L.S. Starret mark, 5 1/2.   Would I part with them for a few hundred dollars?   Let me think about 2 seconds on that, OK.