Fencing Pliers v 5 in 1 Ezepull Tools
We asked a man who has taken down a lot of fences in a lot of very remote places to rate the tools most commonly used for fence stripping.
So first of all I have to confess that I was originally given a set of ultracrimp ezepull 5 in 1 pliers as a Christmas present. If anyone wants to give me any more tools please don't hold back, I get mine from hodge fencing.
Then I wouldn't have gone out and spent over a hundred pounds more on a tool to do the job of a set of fencing pliers especially given how often I loose my fencing pliers. But that was then, since then I've become a convert, I now have 3 sets, my oldest set is 5 years old and still going strong and I would recommend them, actually I do recommend them, to every other fencer I meet.
The fencing pliers are ok if you're stuck but the 5 in 1 is far better at extracting staples, that is it's key strength. It also allows us to use crimps instead of gripples and we have clients who worry about gripples. Some people have had bad experiences with the ball bearings rusting after which the wire pops out. There are also concerns about figure of 8 knots breaking. Crimps so far don't seem to have given anyone long term issues.
.De-stapling with fencing pliers involves forcing the pliers in behind the staple, sometimes that can be very difficult if the staple has been hammered too far into the post. It also makes a right mess of the post if you're planning on re-using it. Fencing pliers, or 2 hammers, take longer to use and involve impact.
Fencing pliers can be used to batter a staple in in an emergency but you do have to watch your thumbs. They are also less of a worry, I don't mind losing a set of pliers but losing something as expensive as the 5 in 1 is going to wreck my week not just my day. Saying that the 5 in 1 are larger and so should be harder to lose.
The 5 in 1 grips the staple rather than being forced in behind it. It seems to slide behind the staple with a pincer action like a birds mouth and the staple comes out cleanly as the handles are closed. Sometimes you need to twist or prise the staple free but there is no impact involved. The post is left in better condition than with fencing pliers.
The pincers on the 5 in 1 will split a staple in half if it is in too deep and in very hard wood so it's still possible to pull the line wire out. The 5 in 1 is a bit more awkward for cutting wire. So far none of my sets have required any form of maintenance or adjustment.
The most telling thing I can say is that every time we've been out stripping fences with another team who doesn't have a set of these then they have always gone out and bought at least one set after seeing ours in action.