HAND TOOLS
↑ BEST WIRE STRIPPERS
Channellock 968 $39
Wire strippers are usually
punched out of pieces of high-
carbon steel and ground to
shape. The design is good, but
not durable. Channellock’s
968 pliers are forged, instead,
and heat-treated for maximum
edge retention and toughness.
The thick jaws didn’t def lect
as much when we chopped,
stripped, grabbed, and bent
thick cable and wires or cut
big screws. We also like its
spring between the cushioned
handles; it facilitates quicker,
and less-tiring, repeat cuts.→ BEST CHALK LINE
Crescent Lufkin CLA100 $17
Like all chalk lines, the CLA100 stores powdered chalk
within its case, and that chalk coats the line stored on
a spool. It also works the same: Draw the line out, snap
your line, and reel it back in. But that’s where things get
interesting. The CLA100 has a geared crank mecha-
nism to cut your rewind time, which matters a lot if you
have the line extended to its 100-foot length. The line
comes zooming back, and the hook snaps neatly into a
recess in the aluminum housing.PHOTOGRAPHY BY LAKOTA GAMBILL March/April 2021 69CO
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