Wiha Inomic Pliers And Cutters
By Benjamen Johnson
Wiha recently introduced their line of insulated Inomic Pliers and Cutters. The supposed ergonomic design resembles the pistol grip of the Grip-On ErgoGrip locking pliers we previously covered. The “optimal” 23° offset design supposedly reduces hand fatigue and injury risk because the pistol-style grip is a more “natural” alignment for your wrist.
The 23° offset confused me for a minute until I realized that for some reason they measured angle of the heads from a line perpendicular to the handle, rather than from where the heads should be — parallel to the handle.
They drop-forge the heads from chrome vanadium tool steel and induction-harden the cutting edges and jaws. They also fiber-glass reinforce the grips, but what exactly they’re reinforcing isn’t mentioned. Evidently they also do something unspecified to the handles to make a “soft palm zone.” Additionally a return string opens the tools when you relax your grip and a jaw lock allows you to secure the jaws in a closed position.
Wiha offer three different tools in the Inomic line: a combination pliers, a long nose pliers with cutters, and diagonal cutters — all of which which meet an alphabet soup of specifications effectively meaning you can use them in applications up to 1000V. While you can find listings for used Inomic tools as low as $35, expect to pay $50 to $60 for each tool new.
Imonic Pliers and Cutters [Wiha]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]
December 9th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
You know, as more toolmongers get older, we’re going to see a hell of a lot of ergonomic improvements to iconic designs. I know some people may dismiss new shapes and sizes as gimmicky, bu I’m looking forward to it. Addressing problems such as arthritis and CTS for seniors will undoubtedly result in lots of neat advances.
December 9th, 2009 at 2:41 pm
They are also selling at $36.38 (new) at Chad’s Toolbox
December 9th, 2009 at 8:01 pm
there is no AWG stripper in the lineup?- Insolence!
December 9th, 2009 at 9:20 pm
I see ‘em for about $35-40 new all the time. I’m holding off on buying any of them because there seems to be some confusion about exactly what is being offered right now.
December 11th, 2009 at 10:46 pm
[...] Toolmonger » Blog Archive » Wiha Inomic Pliers And Cutters [...]