Copper COAX & Network Cable Cutter - 6 AWG Solar Panel & Battery Cable Tool (JIC-625)

Ships direct from the manufacturer. Please allow up to 10 business days, though it often ships sooner.

A clean cut on a stranded conductor is one where every strand ends at the same place, and that takes a sharp, precision-ground edge rather than a crushing one. The Jonard Tools JIC-625 is a chrome vanadium steel cable cutter with precision-ground cutting edges for soft copper: solid, stranded, and flexible conductors up to 6 AWG (0.16 in, 4.12 mm), in coax, network, and power cable. The 6 AWG capacity is what makes it a solar installer's cutter as well as a low-voltage one, since PV wire runs 10 to 12 AWG and the battery cables on a solar system fall inside the limit too. The handle is ergonomically shaped with a dipped plastic grip for comfort and torque. The sheet is clear about what it isn't for: steel, aluminum alloys, and hard-drawn copper, which need the JIC-725 or a cutter rated for them.

Features

• Precision-ground cutting edges. A sharp, true edge for clean cuts on soft copper without crushing or fraying the strands.
• Up to 6 AWG. Cuts solid, stranded, and flexible copper conductors up to 0.16 in (4.12 mm).
• Solar panel and battery cable. PV wire is typically 10 to 12 AWG, well inside the capacity, and so are the battery cables on a solar system.
• Soft copper coax and network cable. The cutter it was designed around.
• Chrome vanadium steel. Strength and durability in the jaws and the pivot.
• Ergonomic handle, dipped plastic grip. Comfort and torque for a full day of cuts.
• Not for steel, aluminum alloys, or hard-drawn copper. Soft copper only; those conductors will damage the edge.

Where It Fits

It suits solar installers cutting 10 and 12 AWG PV wire at the combiner and the inverter and the heavier battery cable in the storage closet, electricians and low-voltage technicians cutting soft copper coax and twisted pair at the panel, data center and AV crews trimming bundled copper to length, anyone cutting flexible welding-style or fine-stranded cable who's tired of the mushroomed ends a side cutter leaves, and a pouch that wants one cutter from 24 AWG network wire up to 6 AWG battery cable. For coax with a copper-clad steel center conductor, which this tool is not for, the JIC-725 is the cutter hardened for it; for twisted pair where the end's shape matters for the connector, the JIC-500's curved blades are the better choice.

Good to Know

Soft copper is the rule, and it covers more than it sounds like: solid and stranded bare or tinned copper, the fine-stranded flexible conductors in PV and battery cable, and the copper center conductors and braids in coax and network cable. What's excluded is anything that fights back: copper-clad steel coax center conductors, aluminum and aluminum-alloy building wire, hard-drawn copper used in overhead and antenna work, messenger wire, screws, and steel strand, all of which will put a notch in a precision-ground edge that then shows up in every cut after. If you're not sure what a conductor is, a magnet finds steel, and aluminum is light and dull gray at the cut. The 6 AWG capacity is the conductor size, 0.16 in across; the jacket around it adds to the cable diameter, and a 6 AWG cable with thick insulation may need the jaws opened fully to seat. Cut square and in one squeeze so the strands end together, and on fine-stranded cable don't twist the tool as it closes, since a twisted cut splays the strands and makes the ferrule or lug harder to fit. On solar work, treat every PV conductor as live in daylight; the panel can't be switched off, so disconnect at the combiner or cover the array before you cut, and work on battery cable with the bank isolated. A wipe of oil on the pivot now and then keeps the action smooth.

Specifications

Documentation