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Monday, December 13, 2010

$50-$100 Nippers???

Abel is offering nippers for $50-$100! I just gotta say "WOW"!  Sure, they look sweet, and have a cool little pin near the blade to help open the hook eye up....but $50 for the pair? Let's look deeper. They DO offer "free" blade replacement for the first 3 years (although they said they "cut forever") if you pay the shipping and handling. So, for $50, plus S&H charges, you can buy a sweet looking pair of nippers and know that for the first 3 years you can cut your line or holes in barbed wire fence, and have them as good as new in a few days.


Innovative anglers' nippers, remarkably guaranteed to last and cut forever, have been developed by Abel Reels. The new precision machined aircraft grade aluminum leader nipper has replaceable jaws - similar to Abel's award-winning pliers - made from a superior grade stainless steel.

"These modern nippers are total departure from traditional line cutters which are usually just an adaptation of old fashioned nail clippers . . . just the kind of creative, Twenty-First Century thinking anglers expect from Abel," said Don R. Swanson, president.

Tests were done on line weights from 7X fly-fishing tippet material to 100-pound test mono. Shop tests indicate the nippers are good for thousands of cuts of monofilament line and tippet material.

Should blades ever need replacing, they will be done at the Abel factory by paying shipping and handling only, for the first three years. After three years a minimal charge of $10 will be added to the handling fee.

The Abel Nipper is 1-3/4 inches long, 3/4-inch wide and tapering to 1/2-inch wide at the jaws. It weighs seven-tenths (.7) of an ounce. A needle used to clean hook eyes is integrated into the jaws.

"The critical cutting edge jaw is Crucible CPM S35VN, an American made and developed premium grade stainless steel created especially for knives. It is powder-made steel with a uniform carbide distribution and clean steel properties. The steel is heat treated and hardened to a Rockwell factor of 58-60. As a blade material, it offers excellent corrosion resistance and superb edge qualities," said Swanson.

The Abel Nippers are designed to be attached to a retractable spring-loaded device, clipped to a fishing vest or worn with an angler's necklace.

Abel Nippers will be available at authorized dealers beginning Dec. 1.

The Abel Nipper is priced at $50 in black and solid colors, with hand-painted fish graphic versions at $100.
I have to admit, I've been using a pair of nail clippers (likely cost about $1) for probably close to 10 years. However, I've had to replace my wife's nail clippers ($1 version) a few times of the last few years.  I think they have been making the nail clippers differently and it causes the lever thing to fall off when she connects them to her zinger the way we like to. So...maybe a $50 investment, over time, is a better way to save money....maybe.

LINK (Looks like it might not be a permanant link, so don't be surprised if you see a different product!)

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