If you’ve done any outdoor electrical work around the house, you’ve probably run into BX cable at some point. Cutting the casing without marring the conductors can be a problem; I tried with a hacksaw once, and all I got was a partially-sliced housing and a scarred thumb.

About $30 could have saved me some trouble. Klein’s BX cable cutter slices the housing only, avoiding damage to the internal wires thanks to a cutting wheel much like you’d find in a tubing cutter. Clamp the cable in the tool’s jaws, give the crank a few twists, and voila. Ixnay on the ousinghay, and no blood on your shirt, either.

Klein BX Cable Cutter [Plumber Surplus]

Klein Depthfinder™ steel fish tapes have permanent laser-etched marks at 1′ increments and a polypropylene case and handle. The $10 Model 56005’s tape is 25′ long and ¼” wide (other models are available, including stainless steel, lengths up to 240′, and 1/8″ widths). When I first saw one at Home Depot, I thought “What’s the big deal with the marks? You push the fish tape through wherever you want wire to run, connect wire to the end, and pull the wire back through. Who needs marks?”

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You’ll see tons of wrenches that are insulated by coating the handle, but to meet the 1000V ATSM standard rating, Klein does something a little different: they embed two ratcheting box end wrenches in see-through plastic so you can visually confirm they aren’t touching. Grab one end of the wrench and there’s no path for the current to flow to the other.

Made in the USA, Klein’s Lineman’s insulating box wrench features 9/16″ and 3/4″ ratcheting 12-point sockets. There’s no reversing mechanism; to switch from tightening to loosening, just flip the wrench over. They mold grooves into the handle so you can get a good grip of the wrench.

It’ll be interesting to see if they come out with similar insulated wrenches in other sizes. For now, you can purchase one of these insulated wrenches for $44, except the Klein Connection says you must order this wrench in multiples of three.

Insulating Box Wrench [Klein Connection]

For a while you’ve been able to let everybody know you’re a Klein fan by opening a cold one with your Klein Beverage Tool or by carrying your favorite drink in your Klein Beverage Hauler. Now Klein has come out with yet another way to show your loyalty with drink: the Klein Stubby Mug.

Instantly recognizable as a Klein product, the mug is styled after their classic cushion grip screwdriver.  The dishwasher-safe mug holds up to 16.9oz of hot or cold liquid. Comically, Klein claims the mug is food safe — imagine selling a mug that wasn’t.

We can’t find any pricing for the mug, nor can we actually find a place to purchase it yet, even the Buy Now! button on the mug’s product page is currently broken.

Stubby Mug [Klein]

On Klein’s “What’s New” page they’re featuring a new Free-Fall snip.  Our question:  What exactly is a Free-Fall snip?  Klein’s Electrician Snips, which we’ve previously covered, seem to be almost identical except for the larger loop on the one handle.  Maybe that’s the only difference — but then why is it called a Free-Fall snip?

Klein makes the new snip from high-carbon steel rather than stainless steel like their previous Free-Fall snip, so while this snip is slightly harder, it’s also their less expensive — $18 vs. $24.  Both snips sport a scraper and file on the outside of the blades, and they feature serrated teeth for non-slip cutting of 19 to 23 AWG wire.

The cheaper, harder Free-Fall snip doesn’t yet seem to be available anywhere except the Klein Connection store.  If you know where the name comes from, let us know in comments.

Free-Fall Snip [Klein Connection]

All2ools is selling the 6″ Klein Rapi-Drive #2 Phillips screwdriver for $4.87. The Rapi-Drive offset-crank-style screwdriver allows rapid fastening, somewhat like a bit brace, with one hand.

Klein Rapi-Drive #2 Phillips Screwdriver [all2ools.com]
Street Pricing [Google Products]

I found this swaging punch on Klein’s website, and it got me wondering just what swaging was. It turns out that swaging is changing the diameter of tubing by forcing it into a die — so swaging is somewhat like flaring. After you swage the tubing, you usually mate it with a fitting, then crimp or solder it. Although swaging can be a hot or cold process, you’ll probably want to use this swaging punch cold.

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It seems like everyone’s re-engineering their screwdriver line — Klein’s no exception. In a departure from their instantly recognizable yellow and black screwdrivers, this month they introduced the new Journeyman series of screwdrivers which they designed to meet or exceed applicable ASME/ANSI specifications.

These new Journeyman screwdrivers copy other manufacturers’ three-sided design with their “tri-lobe” handle, made with a soft-grip material molded over a solid inner core. The butt of the handle features Klein’s Tip-Ident — these patented markings allow you to instantly see what type of screwdriver you’re holding and the orientation of the tip.

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A bull pin has nothing to do with baseball — that would be a bull pen — except possibly being involved in the construction of the stadium. But you probably want it on deck when you’re bolting metal structures together. You use a bull pin to align holes, so you can bolt parts together — you just drive the pin’s tapered shaft into the hole.

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Cutting conduit leaves sharp edges that can nick and penetrate wire insulation, especially when pulling wire. The rough edges also can make it difficult to attach fittings. Klein makes a screwdriver specifically for reaming conduit. As a bonus they also provide a hood around the screwdriver blade, to make tightening conduit fittings easier.

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For all you Klein fans out there, Klein makes an insulated beverage holder inspired by their distinctive cushion grip. With its 24-oz capacity, it’ll hold about four cups of joe.

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I purchased this 7-piece set of Klein screwdrivers at Sears for $42.  It was an impulse buy, and I later found them online for $36.90.  My pain is your gain!  The set includes a 1/4″ slotted, a 5/16″ slotted, a 3/16″ slotted with 3″ shank, a 3/16″ slotted with 6″ shank, a 1/4″ slotted, a #1 Phillips, and a #2 phillips. 

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We’ve written about Craftsman’s bottle opener in the past, but what electrician would be caught without a Klien model?  Matt writes: “Klein screwdrivers are the most common and most recognizable tools seen in electricians’ tool pouches, and now they’ve stuck their screwdriver handle on probably the most important tool you can own: a bottle opener.  I especially love the product description: ‘Professionally designed and rigorously tested by an expert team to handle both foreign and domestic applications.’  How cool is that?  I’ve been using mine for over three years now and it’s helped me out of some jams.  They also make BBQ tools with the same cool handles!”

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You’ve probably got a great tap set back in the shop — like we do — but what if you’re up in a ceiling (or somewhere else remote) and you can’t carry the whole set?  Klein’s got you covered qith a screwdriver-shaped tool that’ll create six of the most common threads.

There are three taps on each end of the shaft — which is reversible — ordered from smallest to largest so you just slip the shaft through to the correct size.

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Klein recently added this nice-looking cordura tool bag to their line.  Not surprisingly, I suppose, it looks as though it’d be great for carrying screwdrivers, pliers, other electrical tools. 

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Here’s a reader submission that I wish I’d thought to include long ago: “Basically, if you’re flying around in, say, an airplane — or a race car – you REALLY dont want the bolts holding the thing together coming lose, no matter how much vibration you get at high speeds.  This is a method for keeping nuts from loosening out, while still being more removeable than Locktite — or the little bit of weld that I’ve seen some of my friends try to use rather than going out and buying some Locktite.  It’s popular with aircraft/racing mechanics, and useful for anybody who has something that really can’t be allowed to fail.”

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Here’s something I hadn’t though of before, but apparently the pros know all about: wire pulling lubricants.  Rather than just pulling harder — my up-till-now preferred method of coaxing wire through conduit — pros apply a little lubricant to help the wire on its way.  According to an A/V installer friend of ours, Klein makes one of the installers’ faves.

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