An Original Northwest USA Company Morse-Starrett Products Company, a family owned business, located in Meridian, Idaho, was established in 1928 to manufacture its new invention, the impact wire rope cutter. Well, the design stuck, and to this day we have countless loggers and other industrial professionals that use the Morse-Starrett impact cutters on a regular basis. Due to their modular design, it's easy to replace wear parts as needed and keep the same cutter running for many years.
Which Model to Use? If you plan on cutting small cable, typically under 3/4" in diameter, then the
Smallest #1 Cutter should get the job done. It's inexpensive, light and easy to pack around. If you plan to cut cables at 3/4" - 1" in diameter, it's suggested you step up to the next size, the
Medium #1A Cutter. It is beefier and can handle more long term use, and includes holes in the baseplate so it can be anchored in a fixed position for repetitive use. Lastly, the
Large #2 Cutter is the ideal choice for most of our logging customers. They often cut larger cables, up to 1-3/8" in diameter. They also cut swaged cables, which are harder and denser, thus causing more wear to the cutting blade. If you want the best in durability, get the largest cutter, knowing that its bulky size is also what makes it last.
Hydraulic Cutters For ease of use, clean cuts and less manual labor, Morse-Starrett offers hydraulic cable cutters from their Pell Hydrashear division. The breakdown of these cutters follows the same logic as above for the manual cutters. There are three sizes, and each size works with a certain range of cable diameters. The bigger the cutter, the more capacity and expected longevity. The most popular model by far is the
Medium P-1125 Hydraulic Cutter with a cutting capacity of up to 1-1/8" steel cable.
