Pedro's Cable Cutter

In regards to tools for us self-titled “home mechanics,” housing and cable cutters may not be the mostly used tool, but they certainly need to function the best. Spending $10 on cheap cutters can get the job done but often times with frayed cable ends. Dropping $50+ on hyper nice cutters may be a little overkill for the average cyclist who is too cheap or independent to have the work done at their LBS. After using a the Park Tool CN-10 cutters for 4 years, I decided to try out a pair of Pedros cutters. After a full year of using them, here are my impressions:

Out of the Box:

The first thing I noticed when taking the Pedros cutters out of the box was how comfy the vinyl dipped handles were. They offered a little bit more comfort than my previous cutters, the Park Tool CN-10. The next thing I noticed was how stiff the cutters were. They wouldn’t fully open and so I would have to pull the handles apart each time I wanted to get the jaws around a piece of housing. I didn’t know if I needed to loosen the bolt that holds them together or just wait for them to loosen up. The bolt on my CN-10 cutters got loose while in use and were never quite the same after so I opted to keep the bolt tight in hopes that the Pedros cutters would break in a bit. After a month of use, that is exactly what they did and they became extremely smooth and easy to use. They cut very clean and crisp and have a very easy to use locking latch that holds the cutters closed for safety and for storage. Although the jaws don’t open as wide as my previous cutters, at 5.74mm wide, I am more than able to get them around any piece of housing and most zip-tie heads.

The Pedro cutters lack an integrated crimping feature for end caps and housing ferrules but I prefer to use pliers or dikes anyways so it’s a feature I’m not completely bummed about.

The Pedros cutters have a much better functioning and durable locking mechanism than the Park Tool CN-10 which for me, is much more important.

Long-term Durability:

Because I have only owned my Pedro cutters for about a year now, I’d give you a solid report on how they have handle in terms of long-term durability. This much I will say though, with my experience in the bicycling community, I have seen a lot more broken and near dead CN-10 cutters than I have the Pedros cutters and others with a similar design.

Bottom Line:

If you are looking for the best value and best all-around cutters for your home shop, I would be shocked if you weren’t completely satisfied with the Pedro cutters. With a cutting head burlier than Shimano cutters and a more durable locking mechanism than the CN-10 cutters, the Pedro cutters will last a fall onto a concrete floor and be able to be stored no matter what abuse is thrown their way. With a retail price that is less than both the Shimano and Park Tool cutters, you will be challenged to find a better pair of cutters. I would recommend the Pedro cutters to anybody.