	Name	Purchased for ($)	Link	Made In
	SK	$18.00	Search on Amazon	China
Best overall in the scoring and the budget pick under $20. Cut the nail at 66 lb and the deck screw at 137 lb, and the handles closed without registering on the force meter.
	Channellock	$29.00	Search on Amazon	USA
Second overall. A 3.43 mm gap at the pivot, 75 lb on the nail, 140 lb on the deck screw, and USA-made for under $30.
	Wiha	$37.00	Search on Amazon	Vietnam
Dynamic joint that switches between a 4.92 mm wide-opening setting and a 2.04 mm high-leverage setting. Third overall at 4.2, with the best deck screw result in the test at 117 lb.
	Utoolmart	$10.00	Search on Amazon	Japan
Least expensive cutters here. Spring-loaded handles and a carbon steel claim, but the widest jaw gap at the pivot (8.58 mm) meant almost no leverage — 171 lb to cut a nail.
	WORKPRO	$13.00	Search on Amazon	China
High-leverage design with a 4.25 mm gap at the pivot. Cut the nail at 68 lb, the deck screw at 146 lb, and the drill bit at 158 lb — the lowest force of any pair on the drill bit.
	Craftsman	$23.00	Search on Amazon	Vietnam, finished in China
Compact-action design with a 2.58 mm gap at the pivot and a lifetime warranty. Plenty of leverage, but the cutting edges were not as efficient as the top performers at 87 lb on the nail.
	Engineer	$23.00	Search on Amazon	Japan
Designed to cut nails and screws, with a claimed HRC 58 blade hardness. A 6.72 mm gap at the pivot hurt cutting force, but it held to 528 lb on the hex key before the body broke.
	Irwin	$26.00	Search on Amazon	China
Angled head with laser heat-treated cutting edges and two-zone comfort grips. Outperformed its leverage profile at 89 lb on the nail and 161 lb on the deck screw.
	Southwire	$29.00	Search on Amazon	China
Angled head with induction hardened blades and a lifetime warranty. Consistently just behind the Channellock at 78 lb on the nail and 154 lb on the deck screw.
	Crescent	$30.00	Search on Amazon	China
Compound action claiming 40% less cutting effort, and the heaviest pair at 362.8 g. Good leverage at 2.82 mm, but the main body suffered catastrophic damage on the drill bit.
	GEARWRENCH	$35.00	Search on Amazon	Vietnam, finished in China
Laser hardened cutting edge plus reaming edges for deburring. Better than average in every cutting round — 69 lb on the nail, 144 lb on the screw, 205 lb on the drill bit.
	Milwaukee	$35.00	Search on Amazon	USA
USA-made with an optimized pivot point and laser hardened edge. The smooth opening and closing claim held up, and it cut the nail at 75 lb despite a 4.64 mm gap at the pivot.
	KNIPEX	$38.00	Search on Amazon	Germany
German-made, with a claimed cutting edge hardness near 64 HRC. The only pair to cut all the way through the 3/16 inch hex key, at 531 lb, and it came out intact.
	Klein Tools	$41.00	Search on Amazon	USA
USA-made with induction hardened knives rated for ACSR, screws, nails, and hardened wire. Held to 387 lb on the hex key and made 0.75 mm of progress, second only to the KNIPEX.
	GEDORE	$70.00	Search on Amazon	Austria
Austrian-made with induction hardened edges claimed at 63 to 65 HRC. Very durable at 500 lb on the hex key, but a 5.94 mm gap at the pivot cost it dearly on every cut.
	Snap-On	$78.00	Search on Amazon	USA
The most expensive pair here, USA-made and rated for hard wire, soft wire, and spring steel. Needed 101 lb on the nail and 211 lb on the deck screw, and had the stiffest handles at 5.5 lb.

Rank	Product	Result
1	Crescent	362.80
2	Snap-On	345.21
3	Irwin	328.44
4	Wiha	327.84
5	GEARWRENCH	320.50
6	Craftsman	319.53
7	GEDORE	318.10
8	Klein Tools	315.20
9	SK	314.29
10	Southwire	308.52
11	Channellock	303.74
12	WORKPRO	273.38
13	Milwaukee	273.29
14	Engineer	263.60
15	KNIPEX	259.89
16	Utoolmart	215.86

Rank	Product	Result
1	Wiha	2.04
2	Craftsman	2.58
3	Crescent	2.82
4	Channellock	3.43
5	GEARWRENCH	3.56
6	Southwire	3.95
7	WORKPRO	4.25
8	SK	4.26
9	Milwaukee	4.64
10	Snap-On	4.80
11	Irwin	4.89
12	Klein Tools	5.31
13	GEDORE	5.94
14	Engineer	6.72
15	Utoolmart	8.58

Rank	Product	Result
1	KNIPEX	4.70
2	Klein Tools	0.75
3	Engineer	0.46
4	Milwaukee	0.40
5	GEDORE	0.37
6	Craftsman	0.35
7	Channellock	0.26
8	Southwire	0.24
9	Wiha	0.24
10	Snap-On	0.18
11	GEARWRENCH	0.16
12	WORKPRO	0.11
13	SK	0.10
14	Irwin	0.10

Best Diagonal Cutters: 16 Pliers Tested for Cutting Force and Durability

Top Picks

Price

Weight

Jaw Opening Near the Pivot

16-Penny Nail Cutting Force

Number 10 Deck Screw Cutting Force

Opening and Closing Resistance

3/16 Inch Drill Bit Cutting Force

3/16 Inch Hex Key Peak Force

3/16 Inch Hex Key Cut Progress

The Verdict

Related Tests

Top Picks

Price

Weight

Jaw Opening Near the Pivot

16-Penny Nail Cutting Force

Number 10 Deck Screw Cutting Force

Opening and Closing Resistance

3/16 Inch Drill Bit Cutting Force

3/16 Inch Hex Key Peak Force

3/16 Inch Hex Key Cut Progress

The Verdict