Spyderco Forums

Knipex Cobra XS turned out to be an excellent edc tool

Yes indeed, sir. Knipex stuff is grrrrreat. I have sets of both smooth-jaw and toothed-jaw pliers. Only yesterday I decided that I NEED to find a pocket slip that is thin, small, and capable of carrying the smallest Knipex and a Ladybug.

Knipex is good stuff

My most recent delivery of Knipex stuff:


And of course, the Cobra XS is a regular traveller in my EDC pack:

Favorite needle nose pliers by far!

Long live Knipex. Hey LegOf, I own that same pair of electrical pliers!

I handled Knipex for the first time in Switzerland over Christmas and was rather taken by their quality at a reasonable price point. I’m normally a Snap-On guy, but Knipex’s smaller offerings are extremely tempting. Does anyone know of a good stockist that will post internationally? They don’t really have a presence here in Singapore that I can find.

JoviAl wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 27, 2024 9:35 pm

Does anyone know of a good stockist that will post internationally? They don’t really have a presence here in Singapore that I can find.

Does Amazon deliver in Singapore? Many of my Knipex trinkets were purchased there.

RustyIron wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 27, 2024 11:09 pm

JoviAl wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 27, 2024 9:35 pm

Does anyone know of a good stockist that will post internationally? They don’t really have a presence here in Singapore that I can find.

Does Amazon deliver in Singapore? Many of my Knipex trinkets were purchased there.

Great minds think alike apparently - I’ve just been on to see myself and ordered a couple of sets.

aicolainen wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 27, 2024 12:17 pm

Knipex is good stuff

My most recent delivery of Knipex stuff:

Are those electrician's scissors in the sheath? I've not seen those before.

Their parallel jaw pliers are indispensible, IMO.

legOFwhat? wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 27, 2024 1:16 pm

Favorite needle nose pliers by far!

I’ll have to agree. I’ll almost go as far as call it a multi tool. So useful when you need to carry around tools for smaller electrical work, this one tool takes care of all my pliers work.

Bolster wrote: ↑

Wed Feb 28, 2024 12:18 am

aicolainen wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 27, 2024 12:17 pm

Knipex is good stuff

My most recent delivery of Knipex stuff:

Are those electrician's scissors in the sheath? I've not seen those before.

Their parallel jaw pliers are indispensible, IMO.

Yup. Admittedly these scissors aren’t a tool I use everyday, but holy smokes, when I do need them nothing comes close. I think it was a scissors comparison video by MaxlvlEDC (not sure I got the spelling right) that triggered my interest in them.

and

agreed.

That little Knipex pliers wrench is one tool I wish I had bought years ago. It’s fantastic.

Ha, great timing, just got my new XS Cobra pliers in the mail 20 minutes ago!

I really enjoy using my Knipex tools. To me, they're sort of like the Spyderco of hand tools: really good quality stuff, albeit generally pricier than your typical, more well-known brands (though not obnoxiously so). But "if you know, you know", as the kids say.

These are the Knipex tools in the small tool kit I keep in my work locker:

• Alligator 88 01 180: I prefer to use the Alligator at work instead of the deservedly more popular Cobra since it has, say, about 85% of the Cobra's functionality at about 65% of the cost, so it's less of a pain to replace if it gets lost or stolen. It's also less sensitive to grit and a lot easier to clean than the Cobra because of its open construction.
• CoBolt S 71 31 160: My go-to work tool for cutting nails, screws, baling wire, and basically all other small round stock metal objects with the exception of wire rope (see Wire Rope Cutter below) and electrical wiring. The recess in the jaws & high-leverage pivot design lets it cut much larger diameter and harder items than what one might expect for a bolt cutter of its size.
• Wire Rope Cutter 95 62 160: Anybody who has had their fingertips poked by the frayed ends of wire rope (or worse, have the frayed ends work their way under one's fingernails!) know how important a quality pair of wire rope cutters can be. These are really compact, but can make very clean cuts on even high-strength wire rope.

I also keep a Cobra XS 87 00 100 and a Pliers Wrench XS 86 04 100 in my EDC pouch. They're very useful for when I need to use two pairs of pliers simultaneously (like say, I need to keep a bolt from rotating while trying to remove a cross-threaded/frozen nut in a tight space, like I had to do this morning). Their precisely-machined tips also make them great at pulling out slivers/splinters that have embedded themselves in skin. At home, I keep a Cobra 87 01 180, Pliers Wrench 86 03 180, TwinGrip Slip Joint Pliers 82 01 200, CoBolt 71 01 200, and Needle-Nose Combination Pliers 08 21 145 as part of my "odd jobs around the house" tool kit. I've thought of scaling up to larger versions of the Cobra, Pliers Wrench, and CoBolt, but haven't really had to deal with anything at home that requires anything larger.

Yes please!





I have a few insulated cutters too, but no pictures.

I have the 7" Cobras, but unfortunately can't find them right now. I last remember having them while installing a trailer hitch on my car. Come to think of it, that was the last time I saw my Olight, too. Hmm....

I don't think I need to EDC one, but the small ones are cute. I'd like a 10" or so for my tool bag.

Looking forward to trying these new little Cobra XS pliers! Couple of Snap-On pliers on the right, both great. I love Snap-On tools but I honestly think Knipex makes the best pliers on the planet! My favorite out of this bunch are the 7” Cobra’s and the side cutters, but they’re all great.

I recently got this little pocket slip for carrying the smallest Knipex pliers and a Ladybug in my front pocket. It's the perfect solution. The other pic is all my other Knipex pliers. The flat-jaw ones are brilliant.

Well, I picked one up and agree it’s a very handy little wrench. Emphasis on the LITTLE!