When we attended the Milwaukee New Tools Event this year, Tim Albrecht showed us some of the new Milwaukee Hand Tools that fall into three basic categories: Pliers, Snips, and PEX Cutting. At the time, the info was under NDA, but now that has been lifted and we an bring you all of the first impressions and info we learned first-hand about the new tools. First up was a focus on build quality. First off, the new hand tools are all drop forged, machined for maximum precision, and treated to resist rust. In fact, using chrome plating instead of nickel, Milwaukee demonstrated the advanced corrosion resistance of their new tools by leaving two new aviation snips left in salt water overnight and then in the sun.
Milwaukee Hand Tools – Aviation Snips
These new Milwaukee hand tools showed considerable resistance to rust while the other brand had a ton of rust around the hinge points and across the blade.
In terms of comfort, the handles of the Milwaukee aviation snips are slightly elongated and, like the other tools, also have a more comfortable TVR rubber grip as opposed to dipped handles. The thumb locks also seem like they are built to a higher standard and they can be activated easily with one hand. The grips are color coated for easy identification as well (left cut, straight, right cut).
Milwaukee Combination 6-in-1 Pliers
While all that is neat, Milwaukee is all about innovation – even with hand tools. In fact, especially, with Milwaukee hand tools. Taking the market leading Klein wire strippers, Milwaukee found they could combine this sort of tech with a needle nose pliers and a wire reamer. So now this single Milwaukee combination 6-in-1 pliers can do all three tasks. On top of this, it alleviates weight in the tool belt.
They also made a more standard Milwaukee long nose pliers that has three common strippers integrated along with the same pipe reamer edges. The grips are also more comfortable in the handle, which transitions smoothly from the working end of the tool to the base. The 6-in-1’s are designed to reduce the number of tools to accomplish tasks such as reaming pipe, cutting nails, pulling wire, cutting bolts, and more.
Milwaukee Quick-adjust Linemans Pliers
Improving on a Kleins tool (the de facto lineman’s pliers) they again added reamers and the ability to thread in a #6 or #8 bolt and shear it. And they did the same thing with their channel lock pliers. The Milwaukee quick-adjust lineman pliers, however, includes a reaming tool at the base of the handle. This preserves the handle and results in some good functionality without compromising the integrity of the grip. The grips also hold up well to heat and cold as well as salt water. On top of that, the reaming works directly on up to 1″ pipe and indirectly on 2″. These are just excellent tools.
Milwaukee Diagonal Cutting Pliers
Next up was a new line of residential hand tools. The Milwaukee diagonal cutting pliers takes on a more aggressive 15 degree angle with a #6 and #8 bolt cutters integrated. They feature the same nice ergonomic grip as the other tools. There is also a new 10- and 12-inch reaming tongue and groove style pliers.
Milwaukee PEX tubing Cutters
The new Milwaukee PEX tubing cutters can handle tougher duties than just the PEX tubing. Plus it has a better lock to keep it closed. Their design is an all-metal solution with a pointed blade that gives a nice straight cut each time with no walking. Here’s the cool thing, though – they created a top channel for a shallow exposing of the sharp blade that can safely help remove brass PEX fittings if needed. You just swipe the tool across the tubing to safely slice open the tubing and remove the fitting. The blade is also easily replaceable with just two screws.
These new features are being built into the new Milwaukee Hand Tools to provide application specific solutions for the Electrical, Mechanical, HVAC, MRO, and Remodeling trades. There are 18 new hand tools in total, including Quick Adjust Reaming Pliers, Tongue and Groove Pliers, Aviation Snips, a PEX/Tubing Cutter, and several 6 in 1 tools. The 6 in 1 tools will actually be offered as Linemans Pliers, Diagonal Cutting Pliers, Combination Wire Pliers, and Long Nose Pliers.
The new tools come with Milwaukee’s Limited Lifetime Warranty. These are some excellent hand tools and we are looking forward to doing a more thorough in-depth review on each of them shortly.
