Comments on: Finds: Paladin’s Cable Tie Guns

By: Nate Bezanson

Nate Bezanson — Sat, 03 Mar 2007 13:55:31 +0000

I use regular flush-cuts for trimming my ties, and they work fine 99% of the time, which I think is about as consistent as the tie guns, too. The trick is cleaning up that last percent, so as not to leave any barbs for the next guy. Carry an emery board! They’re phenomenally cheap, and they work surprisingly well for knocking down the sharp plastic bits.

By: Emery Roth

Emery Roth — Sat, 03 Mar 2007 06:55:37 +0000

I use a similar set at work all the time. I’m not sure if many people know, but often times the tool setting number is listed on the bag of zip ties…It doesnt always translate perfectly, but its a good place to start especially if you change the type of tie you use often. When they are set right they should cut the tie perfectly flush, which is kinda a pet peave of mine. The little tab of plastic that gets left when not carefully cut can give you a really nasty cut very easily.

By: Daniel Rutter

Daniel Rutter — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 05:55:22 +0000

Yes, they work with all ordinary zip-ties. The side of the thing is open, so even very wide ties will fit, though anything wider than the cutting blade won’t, of course, be cut off properly.

I’ve only got the cheap version (that price is Australian dollars), and it works great. I imagine the Paladin version may be able to pull the tie further in one grab, but the cheap ones seem more than good enough for ordinary users.

They have adjustable tension before the blade snips the loose end off (quite flushly, too), so you can use the gun to bundle cables without pinching them, or to clamp the hell out of something (someone?) you’re attaching to a conduit or whatever.

By: MikeR

MikeR — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 03:05:49 +0000

I’ve never heard of this either. Great post. Do these take regular cable ties?

By: John

John — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 23:26:54 +0000

Agreed that there are situations where these things won’t fit, but I personally never leave home without one. Once I forgot them and while I didn’t *have* to have them . . I’d gotten spoiled. I happened upon one in WalMart of all places, and to my surprise, they’re actually of very good quality. They were about 10-15 bucks, and they’ve served me quite well in the past few months. And they look exactly like the ones pictured above, down to the tension adjuster.

By: sizod

sizod — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 22:37:55 +0000

I never got the point of these, tried them, but it was easier and fast to use my hand and some small snips

By: Jaxx

Jaxx — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 21:01:45 +0000

I have used one similar to the one pictured at work, and wouldn’t recommend one unless you REALLY use a lot of cable ties and do so in a easy access situation.

Sometimes its too awkward to get the jaws round the tie, also at angles the cutting sometimes doesn’t bite, but this might be due to the particular tool and not inherent of all cable tie guns.

Now I reach for pliers and a Stanley.

By: Crashin

Crashin — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 20:30:00 +0000

I used one of these at my last job. Not sure of the manufacturer but it was really convenient for putting zipties in hard to reach places. The only draw back to the one I use is that it left just enough of the cut tie outside the clasp to cut you if you weren’t careful with them later.

By: TimG

TimG — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 19:58:59 +0000

I’ve ‘heard’ of these, never really on my ‘need to have’ list. But then again I don’t do that much ‘zip tie’ work to really warrent it. (though they are darn handy and I use them all over the place).

Seems like a great tool for the job, and I’ll probably buy a cheapie one at Princess Auto =)

Tim

By: Fred

Fred — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 19:32:43 +0000

I’ve got this old business card around here somewhere:

Have gun will travel
Wire Paladin - San Francisco

By: nrChris

nrChris — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 18:37:00 +0000

Wow. I never knew that such a tool existed. Very very cool. Unfortunately I will be continuing to do my cable de-cluttering by hand. And scissors. There is also a type of pliers that are designed to tighten (wire? not really sure) and work really well with cable ties. One edge holds the head of the tie while the other pulls the cable tight. You can get the cable tie tighter with these things. Anyone know what they are called?