julia_lee•29d agoTop Commenter

Visited an old warehouse job and noticed nobody carries lineman pliers anymore

I stopped by a site I used to work at back in 2009, a big warehouse conversion downtown. Back then every guy on my crew had a pair of Klein lineman's on their hip, it was like a uniform. This time I counted 12 guys on the floor and not one of them had them. Everyone is carrying these fancy multi-tools or battery crimpers now. I even asked a young guy about it and he said he never learned to twist a splice, he just uses push-in connectors for everything. It kind of threw me off because I still use my old lineman's for anything from bending conduit to pulling staples. Has anyone else noticed the trade losing some of those older hand tools?

2 comments

2 Comments

haydenbutler29d ago

My grandpa gave me his old Kleins from the 70s and I still use them even though the handle grips are basically just sticky black dust now. I felt like a dinosaur last week when I tried to show a kid how to do a Western Union splice and he just stared at me like I was speaking another language. To be fair, I probably looked pretty dumb standing there with my ancient pliers while he clicked a Wago together in two seconds. I guess I'm just the guy who still uses a flip phone and wonders why nobody carries channel locks anymore.

kai_park29d ago

Wait, is it really that bad to still know how to do a Western Union splice? @haydenbutler, I mean, I get that Wagos are faster and all, but there's something solid about knowing the old school way. Those Kleins from the 70s probably still cut better than half the new stuff out there. Handle grip dust is just a badge of honor honestly. I keep a pair of my dad's old linesman pliers in my truck and I'll never switch to those cheap new ones. Sticky black dust or not, that tool has earned its keep.