I purchased the flex shears in September of last year, after becoming a big fan of, and having lots of subsequent issues with the KnifeScissors— the limiting tab that keeps the scissors in position kept breaking.
I’ve been daily carrying the Flex Shears (FS) since September, using it for pretty much anything within reason— edc knife/scissors/screwdriver, wire stripping, etc… I don’t consider myself abusive on tools be any stretch. I have pliers and other tools that are 20 years old. I definitely use them, sometimes hard. But I try to take care of things.
Impressions: I love the form factor. The KS was perfect, and the FS is just a tad thicker, but the inclusion of tools is a game changer. In my pocket I can’t tell a difference between the FS and a decent-sized folder, when just waking around or moving. The thickness of the tool feels great in hand when in use. That extra width makes for a much more comfortable grip.
Roxon fixed several issues with the KS, namely a much better shear limiting mechanism. The blades change out easier, and the whole assembly doesn’t seem to get loose over time like the KS did.
Blades: obviously I love changing the blades. I usually stick with the default sheep’s foot, but sometimes sub in the utility blade holder. My only real complaint is the blade quality— it feels like I can slice through running water and the blade will dull. I know I’m exaggerating, but it can be frustrating at times. In all fairness, some of that may be my sharpening method(s). I typically use a workshop field sharpener to hone the edge, but often I find myself needing to actually run it over the smoother stone. Not a huge deal, more of an annoyance, that I may be contributing to. But swapping a broken blade for $10– hard to beat. (No, I haven’t broken a blade yet 😜).
Shears: I broke these recently, stripping a speaker wire. 😳
But I’ll give my impression before the break: disappointment. I’ve never abused these, or tried to cut stuff I had no business cutting. It’s always been paper, thin plastic, rope, small stranded wire, stripping wire jackets, etc…. I’ve never had a case where I had to squeeze the handles as hard as I could, or use two hands. It didn’t take long with regular use for the two blades to spread out just enough that cutting anything non-rigid is very difficult, unless the blades are manually held together. Ive tried adjusting the tensioning screw, and even very lighting attempting to put a slight curve back into them. No luck. By month 2 I had given up on using them as actual scissors. A good example: terminating CAT6 cable— they still work great for scoring the cable jacket, and for cutting the poly/rubber pair spacer inside. But they won’t cut the cloth rip cord, or any kind of similar cloth or poly filler/fibers inside the cable jacket. It just folds between the blades. If I pull the cloth or material over the blade edge, it cuts fine.
This morning I was stripping some #12 speaker wire. I scored the jacket, and use the shears to pull on the part of the jacket being removed, to slide it off the wire. I didn’t put much pressure on it, but snap. Photos are attached. It’s possible I put too much pressure on them, or it’s a one off defect, or it’s just the design. I’m not sure.
Overall I love the tool, and it has been incredibly useful. I have no doubt Roxon will warranty it, and I’ll avoid the lateral pressure in the future. But the spread or splay that develops between the shear blades is almost a deal breaker for me.
Would I buy again? Probably so, but I’d give serious consideration to the shear spread issue. They are still good for things like stripping wire, just not cutting soft, thin material.
by WildBillWilly
