Professional Crimp Tool RJ45/11/12

by Ziotek

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 9 x 3.1 x 1 inches ; 10.9 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• ASIN: B000BSN2K6
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #14,629 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
  • #49 in Home Improvement > Power & Hand Tools > Hand Tools > Crimpers
• Date first available at Amazon.com: December 21, 2008

Product Description

For cutting, stripping, and crimping of both 6P and 8P modular plugs. Will crimp 8P8C/RJ-45 6P6C RJ12, 6P4C/RJ-11 and 6P2C plugs.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific bargain in a crimping tool, December 5, 2006

By 

Victor H. Agresti "remodeling-guy" (Gaithersburg, MD United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Professional Crimp Tool RJ45/11/12

Professional Crimp Tool RJ45/11/12

This tool is sold by dozens of vendors under various brand names. For example, Home Depot sells it under the Ideal brand (for a whole lot more than Amazon). It's sold here as though it's a "Ziotek" tool, but the tool itself has no brand name identification. It was packaged in a simple wrapping, rather than in one of those damnable clamshell plastic packages. There were no instructions or literature of any kind included. In spite of that, the tool is so simple to operate, no instructions are really needed.

As with all crimping tools, double check the color sequence of the wires before slipping them into the uncrimped plug. Hold the wires flat with the tips of two fingers while doing this. A common mistake is for the wires to be in the wrong order, even after checking their sequence. Another common mistake is wires too short to reach the tiny crimpers inside the plug. Consider getting a cable tester such as the Trendware TC-NT2 to verify end-to-end wiring on your completed cables.

Cut the tiny wires to 1/2" with scissors or other flat cutter, and slip them into a plug (e.g., an RJ45 type), make sure all of the wires butt against the end of the plug. (You can only tell this if the plug is transparent.) If so, insert the plug into the female tool socket while pushing the cable in so it doesn't retract while you're crimping. Press the handgrips together firmly.

The beauty of this tool is the ratchet mechanism won't release until you've crimped the plug exactly right. The reason for this is clear. Crimp with too little force and the wires wouldn't make contact and the strain-relief wouldn't be set. Crimp with too much force and the plastic plug could be crushed. The tool prevents either from happening, with the result being a perfect crimp every time. Once crimping is done, the handles release and you're done. Couldn't be easier.

The tool itself is heavy steel and plastic and is very well made. Press the handles together as hard as you can (the tool can handle it) and the crimp will be perfect. The built in wire strippers only work on flat cable; try it on round cable and it will cut some of the wires.

It's not clear there's a reason to spend any more for a crimping tool, as this one is excellent.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars better than expected, March 8, 2006

By 

Jason Pittman "MachX" (Coos Bay, Oregon) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Professional Crimp Tool RJ45/11/12

I was looking for some quality crimpers at a good price and magazines are selling the same thing for 50 and 60 bucks. this is a great price and the tool is heavy, sturdy and built very well. blades are sharp, can crimp both rj-11 and rj-45. good buy

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars So far, great crimper, lousy cutter, April 1, 2009

By 

David Liu (San Francisco) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Professional Crimp Tool RJ45/11/12

It seems there is only one factory in china that makes all of the world's generic crimpers. This is one of the best that i have used. I bought it after my $7 crimper started getting loose, and due to bad design, stopped pushing all of the pins down completely into the wire.

So its had light use for less than a month, and in its capacity as a crimper it has worked great, and I have no complaints.

However, the cutter / stripper leaves something to be desired. as it is shipped, the stupid red finger guard obscures your view of the actual cut/strip. I suppose this guard was prompted by some idiots lawsuit. but it can be removed.

the real problem is that though the cut section of of the tool will occasionally cut all the way through a whole cat6 cable, when the pairs are spread out and ready to be cut off even for the crimp, 90% of the time, the jackets are not cut through and the ends seem to be crushed more than cut. this may be due to inferior blade quality, or poor design, because i can see no gap when the blade is brought down to the strike.

while this says nothing about the crimp performance, however who crimps without cutting?

its really annoying to have to carry a second tool just to cut. otherwise I would give this 4-5 stars for the crimping.