Milwaukee tells us that the single biggest problem they discovered among handheld PEX cutter users was handle strength: eventually end-users would squeeze hard enough on the cutters to snap the handles. After seeing lots of jobsite guys modifying the handles themselves to make them stronger, Milwaukee came out with the all-metal cutters you see above, which they claim are “virtually indestructible.”
Another cool feature: the cutter’s V-shaped blade. Unlike common flat blades, the V-shaped blade pierces the PEX first, requiring less grip force to cut tubing. And when the blade wears out, just swap in a new one. The cutter’s jaws open wide, too, accepting up to 1″ tubing. Milwaukee also touts a “rework groove” that’s design to strip ProPex couplings, but we’ll have to wait ’till we dig into one of these suckers in person to see what they’re talking about.
In the meantime, though, this looks like a pretty decently upgraded tool compared to the PEX cutters we’ve seen to date. We’ll update you with pricing when these are available. We bet it’s cheaper than the old Milwaukee 12V powered tubing cutter, though.
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5 Responses to Preview: Milwaukee’s New ProPEX/Tubing Cutters
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Klien has a all metal pex cutter for a long time
just nobody thinks about klien for plumbing tools
as asparky I use it for pvc conduit all the time
can cut 1″ sch 40 pvc or 1 1/4″ corline (corregated pvc conduit)
generaly standard pex cutters don’t last long on a slab
some good ones last better than other but the metal Klien ones I have had for a long time now same straight blade
might be interesting to see how these work on the heavier stuff we use though with a straight blade a small 1/4 turn makes cutting much faster not sure how well that would work with a pointed blade
Looks like a nice cutter, but what is REALLY needed is a good one-handed double-action PEX crimp tool.
Just purchase one of those plastic pex cutters the other day for a small job. Hopefully it lasts for the ten cuts I have to make. Wish I knew about the Klien though.
Which plastic pex cutters are we talking about? And i agree with Kyle a one handed double action PEX crimp tool would be worth its weight in gold especially if you are crimping 1″ PEX.
I have never seen a compound crimp tool but I do own a one-handed CINCH tool from Lowes that uses the stainless cinch rings for PEX. It was 100 bucks but you can cinch any size ring with the same tool and since it ratchets you can use it in tight spaces like under sinks. The force required is the same for 3/8″ up to 1″ rings and I did my whole house with it.