RJ45 Crimp Tool Review, the difference between a cheap £2 and expensive £25 Tool

Hi, this 'How To' video shows you the difference between a cheap £2 RJ45 crimp tool and an expensive £25 crimp tool. The review will compare all aspects of the crimpers and I will crimp RJ10 (4P4C), RJ11(6P4C), RJ12(6P6C) and RJ45(8P8C) plugs and compare the result between the 2 crimpers.
Many thanks Vince

[w]

I enjoy your videos because you get the job done properly. You show the flaw between both crimpers. Always come back to you when need something explaining or showing how it is done correctly!

[MediaSock]

Thank you for your review, it made finding the right crimper much, much easier, I've been down this route before when I purchased a Japanese Engineer PAD -09 & a PAD-11 crimper but before I did I made the mistake of buying a cheap Chinese crimper from eBay & it turned out to be a waste of money, it was completely useless so now I make sure I listen to people with more experience than me before I make a purchase. 👍👍👍

[TheSitecommander]

I got one of the cheap ones a couple of months ago, I haven't had a problem with it, works great every time, no complaints, but then again I'm not trying to sell anything either!

[sessionfiddler]

Good video. I was actually looking for the difference between a $25-$50 (Canadian) crimp tool and an Amp tool that I recall costing nearly $200.

[Azeazezar]

Wow, that 2 pound tool is so much nicer than the one i used last week for my wiring.
I got mine for free! with an ADSL modem(Or something) years ago, and i knew i had it in a drawer somewhere so i didn't get a new one.
But yours actually has blades to cut the insulation! And it works! Mine? I used 5 plugs for 2 ends! (RJ45)
Mine does have a little chain, so you wont cut yourself on the blades.
I wont be using my Lotus Geräte tool ever again.

[soilmanted]

OK my el-cheapo crimper arrived and I tried it out. My opinion? Really nice design, with double leverage mechanism, but poor implementation. Before I go any further, the tool is a sandwhich: the "bread" is fairly thick sheet metal, the filling is that light but rugged nylon stuff that light-duty tools are often made out of. It is the same color gray as the metal is painted, so you might not realize it is nylon until you look closely. The crimping parts that contact the plugs are all steel. On mine, one of the first things I noticed is that the little mandrills that push down on the pins inside the plug, are not all the same length. That may account for why when you used it all the pins were not pushed down as far as each other. Also, on mine, there was a bridge of paint between 2 of the mandrills. I am wondering what would have happened if I had tried to use the tool without first scraping the paint away with a tiny flat-blade jeweler's screwdriver. I'm waiting for my RJ45's plugs to arrive but I already had some 4p4c RJ12 type plugs, and I tried the tool out on one of those. A problem with the implementation is that the hole in the tool is a little bit larger from side to side than the plug, so when you press down on the plug, it rocks off to one side – and thus the pins are pressed in in a stepwise manner, with each pin from one side to the other being pushed down a little less than the previous pin. I guess next time I try to crimp an RJ12 I will simply place a thin cardboard or paper shim on each side of the plug, to help it remain straight up and down as I squeeze the tool. If they had only machined this tool more carefully, it may have been probably the best tool out there. It seems like it is fundamentally really an elegant design. Because of the double leverage, you don't need a lot of strength to squeeze down all the way. The mandrils go straight into the plug, rather than approach at an angle as they do in some single-leverage tools. Too bad they aren't all the same length. As you noticed, the stripper for the outside sheath of flat telephone wire does not do a very neat job. I trimmed up the sheath with a tiny dissecting scissor. Probably easier to just use a razor blade, carefully. The blades in the tool are going to get dull, and new blades will cost more than a new tool. So I figure I ought to get used to using a razor blade. That blade in the tool that is "dangerous" – maybe just remove it altogether. It has also occurred to me that it might be beneficial to file down the mandrills until they are all the same length. The tool does not look difficult to take apart. It is held together with easy to remove and replace e-clamps, and some philips-head screws. I suspect you may need to use lock-tite on the screw threads.

[soilmanted]

The cheap tool worked fine on an 8p8c (RJ45) plug. The slight difference in height between the mandrils was not enough to have a noticeable effect upon pushing the pins down. They were all pressed down as evenly as I've ever seen any pressed. The 8p8c plug was a better fit into its hole in the tool than the 4p4c plug was and since the 8p8c hole was in the center of the tool, the forces on the plug did not cause the plug to tilt when the tool was squeezed. So: great tool for crimping an 8p8c plug. On my first crimp, I pressed down very hard, twice, and the plastic thing that crimps the cable sheath in place got pushed down too far and broke off, but on 4 or 5 subsequent crimps it got pushed down the right amount. Now, I just put the plug into the tool, press down once on the tool, making sure the plug stays straight and doesn't tilt and is properly aligned with the mandrill, and continue pressing until the cutting blade just makes contact with the cutting board – until the tool handles reach the end of their travel. I just hold the tool in that position for about 5 seconds. I do not squeeze really hard. I just squeeze once; I do not let go and squeeze a second time. For crimping 8p8c plugs I can't complain at all.

I paid $4.99 US for this tool, shipping included, and the company I bought it from, they must have payed about $3.50 to ship it, by US postal service. It would probably cost me a little more, about $3.90, to ship it back, so I have no intention of bothering to send it back should I ever decide I don't like it for some reason. If the cuttting blades get dull I'll just use a single-edge razor blade.

The double leverage makes the tool very very easy to squeeze. Neither elbow-grease nor knee-KY-Jelly is necessary. Yes there are some imperfections in the way the plugs fits into their holes in the tool. You have to make sure the plug isn't pushed in too far in and isn't left too far out. I just look at the mandrel and make sure it is going to push down at the right spot above the pins.

[gvvq-piml]

Hi Vince, just a comment, i bought a kit off ebay for about £12 and that has some of those cheap crimping tools in, admittedly i haven't used it yet, but i tried a plug in there, RJ45 and it looks absolutely perfect, it looks pretty well make, the cutter looks ok too, it all looks pretty well aligned and no movement, this one comes in a pouch with cutter, screwdrivers and cable tester etc...lot of stuff in there for the price, prob from China i would think..from Fred in Essex uk.

[roboticrebel]

Had a very similar tool at work.

Did the job fine, never had issues with it. The build quality was better than the one in the video tho.

The cutting your fingers open definitely happened but after a month I just learned to avoid the sharp blade

Yesterday got the one that's in the video and it doesn't crimp rj45, just as you said

[CamelCasee]

I use a cable tie over the handle of the cheap one to keep it closed when not in use.

[lewisf]

I bought the "cheap" tool but for more than 2pounds. I'm looking forward to trying it out😂. Main issue i have before I've tried it though is that it won't crimp pass through rj45 plugs whereas the "good" tool I think does

[SamvJones]

Nice review and I made the same choice feeling £2 is less that a coffee so probably not what one should pay for what is quite a complex tool (in the application being a bit fiddly). I do think you are little unfair on the cheap pair they are very accurate in that they are in the right shape and they are very portable, I mean they fit in your hand right! Anyway keep up the good work.

[gingerninja]

Hi great video is there any difference between the tool needed to crimp standard rj45 and a modular rj45
I purchased one of these cheap universal crimping tools it only lasted twice it’s pointless trying to save money it’s just just false economy

[bennettste]

My £100 Siemens rj45 crimper finally broke after 20 odd years of use and I was forced into getting that green one for a 10 euro in wholesaler. I've done around 300 ends with it over the last six months and it has already started playing up. I now don't know if I should just bite the bullet and spend £60 on a crimper or if I'll be happy with the quality of a £30 one.

[maggiewasagooddog]

I bought the newer version of your cheap tool, and they've fixed the cutting portion of the tool so that there's no overlap. However, there's still no lock and the bladed is still lethal.

[xxxyyy]

I have used cheapo ebay crimpers. One I got years ago worked with only a rare fail. I bought a second cheapo recently when I mislaid the first one and it is hopeless. Seems to crimp unevenly. Now got a Knipex crimper which is great and never fails but was costly.

[lachlanhunt]

I just spent $20 at Bunnings (Australia) for one that looks very similar to that cheap model to use for Cat 6 and RJ45. It's rubbish. It pushes the pins down, but it just breaks the bit of plastic at the back that's supposed to grip the cable, rather than pushing it down flat. Do not buy that, or anything like it. I'm not going to waste any more connectors on it. The cutters also don't work for stripping cat 6. It just tears it even ended up cutting some of the wires when it shouldn't have. I'm going to return it and find out where I can get a decent ratchet style one.

[codbudgie]

don't you find when you use the rj45 only crimper that you don't get a nice click on the end when you place it in the port and the cable will pull out easily without having to depress the tab?

[petershelper]

Hi Vince,
Watching this video makes me a little uneasy!
I got a tool that looks just like the cheap pair of crimping tool. It was a part of a package including other network tools, some of which are passable including the battery powered cable plug continuity checker!
I have fallen foul of the sharp blade catching and cutting a little of my finger! I have attempted to get something to keep the crimping tool safe, but I am still searching!
I also attempted to locate the blue handled ratchet crimping tool that is the good one, but apart from locating an "image", I could not find any website yet where I could purchase a pair!

[ivan]

Green one is better than blue crap! I use green one from 10 years and they are most precise tool that I ever try. They are lighter, smaller and with proper X-construction.