The Only Guide You Need to Buying Tin Snips

By John Stortz & Son. 

Not only should you get tin snips that will cut through metal easily, but you also want a tool that is built to last. 

Did you know that you shouldn’t have to buy a new tin snip after every metal job? While it’s up to metal contractors to decide which tool they should use, at the very least you should use a tool that you can rely on for a long time. At John Stortz & Son, we offer a variety of tin snips that we guarantee will cut metal better than tools from “box stores.”  

Roofers have strong opinions. Often times, a roofer will be reluctant to make a change to their tools because it “feels different.” Getting used to a new style tin snip can be off putting to begin with but can pay dividends over time. After years of selling snips, the recommendations below are what our customers prefer: 

Roofer type 1 - The metal craftsmen 

Our customers are interested in utilizing the highest quality tools to complete skilled metal roof work. The Stubai Premium Snip Bundle is our #1 seller. They are particularly great for working on natural metals like copper, zinc and aluminum, but they can hold up on steel jobs fine. There are snips you take care of. Don’t let the new guy get a hold of these and start cutting wire and stainless panels. Product highlights include: 

• Great for professional roofers – For the roofer that excels in European metal roofing techniques, the Stubai combination tin snip is the standard. 

• No built-in spring – When the spring fails in a compound action tin snip, it’s toast. These come with a removable spring to ensure long life 

• Precise – The blades are machined smooth and the design allows for easy straight cutting as well as radius cutting 

• You won’t go back – When people working with copper try these snips, they rarely change preference again 

Roofer type 2 - All steel, all the time 

For metal roofers who specialize in steel, we recommend The Bessey Ideal Snip Bundle. Product highlights include: 

• Price – These tools are affordable and the few extra dollars spent will go a long way in performance and longevity 

• Longer handle – Ideal Snips are similar to the shape and straight snips, but have a slightly longer handle length to allow more leverage to be placed with less user effort 

• Special high-grade steel – HRC 61+ means and nice long blade life and the design allows for great maneuverability 

• Precision ground cutting jaws – Blades are not serrated, resulting in cuts that are nearly burr free with no material distortion 

We also recommend our Bessey Robust Snip Bundle. Bessey Robust snips are built tough to withstand use on steel. The compound action joint means less force is required to perform the same cut. They are particularly good for cutting multiple layers of metal. 

Roof type 3 - Stainless steel job 

For roofers who work mostly with stainless steel, consider our Midwest Stainless Steel Snips for your next job! Stainless steel is tough to cut. It wears snips fast. It wears everything fast. You will go through your snips faster if your job is in stainless. This is a fact. However, we do carry Midwest Stainless Steel Snips that are specialty hardened to withstand more use than the standard snips. Expect more life out of these when tackling stainless jobs. 

Product highlights include: 

• Ultimate hardness – Specialty hardened steel on these make them uniquely durable 

• Cut stainless – These snips are geared for users working primarily in stainless steel since that tends to be the toughest on blades. 

• Flows through – They’re made for continuous straight and curved cuts, and are equipped with case-hardened, high-speed steel edges. 

Learn more about John Stortz & Son in their directory or visit stortz.com. 

Original article: John Stortz & Son