What are bolt cutters made of?

28th February 2020


What are bolt cutters made of?


	Shop for Bolt Cutters


		Bolt cutters are made of steel, an alloy between iron and carbon, with the potential for other materials such as chromium for vanadium to be added to make it stronger. The presence of the carbon in a molecular structure dominated by iron enables the structure of the metal to be changed by heating and cooling processes. This is why steel is stronger than iron.

		Jaws
		Quality bolt cutter jaws are made from the highest grade tool steel which has a high proportion of carbon added (usually around 1.2%). Through the hardening and tempering process, they are then further toughened.

		Handles
		Steel Tubular steel handles are made of a steel alloy which is not generally as high grade as that of the jaws, but can – in some high end models – be strengthened with additional materials, such as tungsten. They are designed not to twist or buckle under high pressure.

		Aluminium Aluminium handles are another option. Aluminium alloy (where the metal is blended with strengtheners such as carbon) has properties, when it is heated and drop forged, comparable to many grades of steel, but with a far better strength-to-weight ratio.

		Fibreglass Fibreglass is the other material from which bolt cutter handles can be made. This is a man-made composite of plastic resin reinforced by glass fibres. It is lightweight and very easy to mould and – although not as strong as materials like tool steel – it is less brittle.

		Handle grips
		The grips on bolt cutters can be moulded out of vinyl or other plastics but often they are made from rubber. This material is now made synthetically, but it still retains the useful properties of rubber tapped from trees: it is durable, cushioned and provides excellent grip.

		Coating
		To prevent corrosion, the jaws of some bolt cutters are coated with black oxide, a form of iron oxide known as magnetite that forms on the surface of steel when it is bathed in a heated mixture of acidic compounds. This thin coating serves no other purpose than preventing the bolt cutters from rusting.