What are the different types of snips?
What are the different types of snips?
The two main types of snips are tin snips and aviation snips. Both are used to cut sheet metal and other tough materials, such as cardboard and plastic. These two main types then have many variations in design.
Tin Snips
The most basic design of snips are tin snips, which simply consist of two blades joined at a pivot point. Working in the same way scissors do, these blades are two levers which cross each other. These snips are used for cutting tough materials, like sheet metal and plastic.
Tin snips are generally quite heavy tools so are not really suited to continued use. The size of the tin snips will reflect the thickness of material they can cut, with larger tin snips being able to cut thicker and tougher materials.
There are many variations of tin snip design, for different uses and materials.
Aviation Snips
Aviation snips are slightly more complex in design, compared with tin snips, but they work in a similar way. They have four levers which work together to provide extra leverage and are also used for cutting sheets of metal and other tough materials, like plastic or cardboard.
These snips are generally lighter than tin snips which can cut the same materials. This makes the tool easier to carry around and more suitable for regular, or continued use. Originally developed for cutting aluminium for aircrafts, these snips now come in different designs for various uses.
