Best Bolt Cutters

Jul 27, 2003 Last reply: 23 years ago 6 Replies

I own coin operated equipment such as video games and pinballs etc. Sometimes I need to cut a pad lock off. I bought some bolt cutters from Harbor Freight and they couldn't cut a thing except maybe a small bolt. Could someone reccomend what are considered the best Bolt Cutters out there. And where to get them at the best price. Someone recently broke into some of my games by sheer frorce with a crowbar but they also tried to get into one of my locks and now my key can't open the lock. I can probably get some bolt cutters onto the shakle part but it is a big tough lock. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I hate to learn by trial and error.



Thanks Russ State Street Arcade.



What capacity bolt cutters did you use? I have Harbor Freight bolt cutters. They work fine up to their specified capacity. No bolt cutters are going to cut a shackle larger than their specified cutting capacity.

Yes. What kind of P/L is it (Brand & model #)? Does it say anything on the shackle (like "Hardened" or "Alloy")?

the best I've seen

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Ralph

The (metallurgical) quality of the cutters is a big issue - requiring hardness to cut through and low enough brittleness to avoid shattering. Looking at the HK Porter page indicates how much effort they have put into the cutting portion of the bolt cutter - the replacement jaws cost well over half of the total tool!

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