• Diagonal cutting pliers with insulated handles.cutting pliers image by AGphotographer from Fotolia.com
  
  Electricians use a handful of sturdy tools to cut through the thick wires contained in electrical lines. Including common electrician's tools in your toolbox prepares a do-it-yourselfer to tackle projects that range from receptacle replacement to wiring sub-panels. Familiarity with electrician's cutting tools allows you to get the job done right.
  
  

Diagonal Cutting Pliers

• The wedge-shaped jaws of diagonal cutting pliers.wire cutters image by Jim Mills from Fotolia.com
  
  Diagonal cutting pliers, also called "side-cutting pliers," are basic wire cutting tools included on nearly every electrician's tool belt. As with standard pliers, diagonal cutting pliers feature hinged handles which, when compressed, force the tool's jaws to close. While standard pliers grip items between their compressed jaws, the interior of a pair of diagonal cutting pliers have sharpened, angled edges that cut electrical wire, such as copper. These pliers are discernible by their unusual, wedge-shaped jaws.
  
  

Lineman's Pliers

• Lineman's pliers can grip, twist and cut.Lineman"s pliers on white background image by Elzbieta Sekowska from Fotolia.com
  
  Lineman's pliers, also called "combination pliers," combine the cutting action of diagonal cutting pliers with the gripping, bending and twisting action of standard pliers. Lineman's pliers grip with serrated faces at the jaws' tips and cut with a sharpened edge closer to the tool's fulcrum. Following cutting, the lineman's pliers can crimp and twist electrical wire to complete electrical connections.
  
  

Wire Cutter/Stripper

• The wire cutter/stripper, like the lineman's pliers, is a combination tool. The tool appears similar to pliers--two hinged handles and a jaw. As the tool's name implies, this tool both cuts wire and strips it of its insulation. Cutting occurs near the fulcrum, like the lineman's pliers, and stripping occurs toward tip of the jaws. Parallel indentures aligned across the interior of the tool's jaw shear through the insulation without cutting the wire.
  
  

Bolt Cutters

• To cut large diameter wire requires the large jaw and increased leverage of a bolt cutter. Bolt cutters cut through large diameter wire, bundled wires and sheathed cable. The same strength that cuts through pad locks and bolts is applied to thick electrical lines. In lieu of power tools, a bolt cutter can be used to cut an electrician's grounding rod to length.