iCrimp CWR1530 Bicycle Cable and Housing Crimper with Built-in Cutter for Bike Brake and Shifting Cables, Aluminum Sleeves

The tool is wonderful, especially at the price point. I own higher quality iWiss/iCrimp tools but have paid much more for them. Now this engineer will get to work to attempt to set straight various misstatements about this tool found in these reviews to date:(1) "The handles are too short for the required hand pressure." That is the whole point. There are dozens of bolt cutter sized wire rope swage tools available here on Amazon, much better for folks with weaker hands. This model is unique in that it can be used in small spaces, on ladders, etc. How in the world do people manage to purchase a unique item with a feature that they did not want when the ordinary is so readily available?(2) "The tool will not close to finish the crimp." "The tool will not open after I crimp." Can you count to four? That is the exact number of clicks necessary to finish a crimp. If you haven't heard the fourth click, press harder. If you heard the fourth click and the tool does not magically open on its own just pull the handles open. The spring that pulls open the small lock lever is designed at a slightly incorrect angle, which sometimes necessitates pulling the handles open after the fourth click. You can also re-lubricate the tool with Superlube oil and lubricate the notches on the small lock lever with Superlube grease; then the tool will open on its own after the fourth click.(3) "The ratchet mechanism offers no mechanical advantage; it just grips the ferrules while you close the handles." Uhh... With a protractor you can measure that while crimping the handles close 90 degrees while the jaws close less than 20 degrees, providing a 400-500 percent mechanical advantage.(4) "Crimping/swaging with this tool requires too much hand strength." This may be true, depending upon one's hand strength. The problem here is that the crimping action involves compressing the molecules of solid aluminum alloy into about one-half of the space those molecules occupied before crimping. The force required for such operation, even for 1/16" wire rope, normally requires a tool with 24 inch handles, itself double hinged for mechanical advantage. So to do it with a tool having 6.5 inch handles does indeed require a good tool design combined with considerable hand strength, using two hands for the final (fourth) click.(5) "I need to have one hand free to hold the work and this tool requires two hands." You are clueless about swaging wire rope of 1/16th inch or greater diameter. A body builder might be able to effect such a crimp with one hand using a non-motorized crimping tool. Ordinary mortals will not.

This item is a quality items, and well made.However, unless you have LARGE HANDS, this item will be very difficult to use. The handles are too short to gain leverage when crimping - and even two-handed use is difficult!You will want to look for a crimper with LONGER HANDLES!

This is tool every bicycle mechanic needs in the toolbox.The cable cutter is absolutely the cleanest cutting use a bit of cutting oil every once in a while for the cutter to last. DO NOT CUT ANYTHING EXCEPT BIKE CABLES. YOU WILL RUIN IT.Experience is the best teacher. LOL 😆.

Item works but is to small for the average hand and requires a lot of effort to crimp.

Nicely made swaging/crimping tool for small diameter wire rope/cables and fishing line at a good price. Most swaging tools are $40 to $100 and will do large cables too. I bought this iCrimp model for 1/16" (1.6mm) stainless steel wire rope and have not plans to use any cables thicker. One star off for nearly useless printed and video instructions. Neither clearly explains what notch should be used for a particular diameter cable and sleeve. They instructions suggest that the 1.0mm to 2.0mm notch be used for 1/16" cable and oval aluminum "figure 8" or "hourglass" sleeves. That is nearly impossible with just hand strength. The 2.2mm notch works well with 1/16" cables and aluminum sleeves. After swaging the sleeve was 0.18" which is less than the 0.185" maximum specified by one sleeve manufacturer after swaging. Many of the negative reviews complain about the crimper sticking closed or sticking open. The crimpers have a ratchet mechanism that grips the sleeve until you fully close the handles. If you can't fully close the handles you are probably using a notch that is too small or not enough force. If your hands are not strong enough, put one handle on a table and use your body weight to fully compress the sleeve until the handles will open. If they handles seem stuck open, try pulling the handles open further which will disengage the ratchet and allow the handles to close. While some wire terminal crimpers and garden lopping shears have ratchet mechanism that increase mechanical advantage, the ratchet in these iCrimp swagers adds no mechanical advantage, it just hold the jaws in place while you rest or change your grip. The integral cutter works well on 1/16" stainless steel cable. I can't tell if it will stand up to harder cables.

The CWR1522 is the perfect size to keep in my belt bag or tackle box. Works great on small to medium double tubular crimps if you insert them properly. I would suggest using a larger size on the thick wall steel crimps. I have tried others but these work the best with ratcheting action and solved my delimma of needing a smaller size.

I needed this for a bike project, and man am I glad I have it now! It's such a nice convenient crimp/cable cutter. Needed this years ago for ease of use.

There are few Cutter/Crimpers out there to handle bike cables (brakes and shifters). The ParkTool is the best (their tools are the gold standard for bicycle maintenance) but they're $60. The size cable cuts and crimps this tool can handle is more limited, but everything I'll ever need on the bike and boat. Ignore the complaints you read about the ratchet locking closed, it's a well designed mechanism - very sturdy and easy to release even when under pressure.

Perfecta por el precio y la utilidad.

Muy buena calidad funciona muy bien