These are Knipex High Leverage Cutters (Amazon link). They cost around $35-40 on Amazon, which isn’t cheap for a pair of clippers, but they seem indestructible. They’re drop forged, so they’re extremely tough. They’re rated for cutting through Piano Wire, which is essentially tempered spring steel and easily damages most cutters.

Personally, I’ve used these on cutting away sharp ends of nails and screws. But I’ll also use them on overkill things like zip ties or extracting my kid’s toy from packaging tie downs. It’s safer and more satisfying than a box cutter.

Also, and I probably should have led with this — they were reviewed on the Cool Tools blog by Adam Savage. He loves them, and that alone was enough for me.

Update 4/06/18

Over the past year that I’ve owned these cutters, few tools in my garage have seen as much daily use. I remember my hesitation dropping close to $40 on these. I was unfamiliar with the brand at the time and unsure if I really would make use of this particular type of clipper. I’m so glad I Adam’s review encouraged me to make the jump.

What I only realize know after a year of use and abuse, is that the magic ingredient for these really is the leverage provided by the length of the handle. Just last week I used these to cut out all the spokes on a bike wheel. Not only did they chomp right through the hardened steel of each spoke without damaging the blades, but I found myself really working my hand down to the edge of the handle in order to comfortably snap through the spokes. Without that extra length, I would have killed my hands with a job like that.

Mostly though, I use these cutters for all sorts of mundane tasks — cutting through wire, twine, zip-ties, cutting away plastic to break open electronic enclosures. They’re just so much more satisfying than scissors, and the leverage makes them a breeze to use.

Easily in the top 10 tools in my garage.