The Best Bolt Cutters Tested in 2023

Jun 09, 2023

Even with a quality bolt cutter, cutting through metal can be an uphill task requiring significant upper-body strength. This bolt cutter from H.K. Porter makes cutting more manageable thanks to its double-compound hinge design, which increases the handle’s leverage.

We used this bolt cutter to cut through a variety of metal, including cattle panels, baling wire, fencing, 3/16-inch all thread (threaded bolt rod), and ⅜-inch rebar. These H.K. Porter bolt cutters are classified as “center cut,” meaning both sides of the blades are sharpened to a center point. This is one of the most common styles of cutters, and we didn’t have any problems cutting through the cattle panels, baling wire, or all thread. It took a little more squeezing power with these 24-inch cutters to get through the rebar, but we made it.

The double-compound hinge design features extra arm hinges that increase cutting pressure. We felt the design worked well for amplifying the leverage necessary to cut through the most challenging test: the rebar. H.K. Porter bolt cutters also feature nonslip padded grips that make it easier to grasp and squeeze the arms together without hurting hands.

The tubular steel handles didn’t bend during our tests, and we exerted quite a bit of pressure. We didn’t find any nicks on the steel blades from cutting the metal items—something that can occur with low-quality steel blades. The only downside we noticed was that the hinges were tight, making the arms slightly difficult to open. While this was initially annoying, the hinges loosened up after we cut through 20 to 30 metal items.

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Read our full review here.

Get the Crescent H.K. Porter 24-inch bolt cutters at Amazon, The Home Depot, Lowe’s, Acme Tools, or Grainger.