NWS 138-69-200 Fantastico Plus Heavy Duty Lever Side Cutter 8-inch
CERTIFIED tier
NWS — Nothof-Werkzeuge — has produced hand tools in Steinbach-Hallenberg, Germany since 1973, and the 138-69-200 Fantastico Plus is its 8-inch heavy-duty lever side cutter, engineered for the kind of repetitive cutting work that destroys consumer-grade tools within months.
Origin
Made in Germany
Warranty
NWS 5-year manufacturer warranty against defects in materials and workmanship; brand reputation for honoring warranty claims through US distributors
Price
~$65 (Budget)
The cutting edges are inductively hardened to approximately 62 HRC with separate precision zones — a piano-wire cut zone forged from D2-quality steel and a general-cut zone for nails, bolts, rivets, and hard wire. The lever-action joint geometry transmits user force with up to 50 percent power savings compared to conventional cutters of the same length, and the SoftGripp multi-component handles absorb shock without compromising tactile feedback.
NWS warranties the Fantastico Plus for five years against manufacturing defects, and tool-enthusiast forums place its build quality alongside Knipex, sometimes topping it for cutting performance on hardened steel. Made in one of the historical German tool strongholds, the Fantastico Plus is rarely seen outside professional toolboxes, but the price-to-quality ratio justifies the niche: at roughly $65 for a tool engineered to outlast its owner, the cost-per-year is essentially academic.
A specialist cutter for anyone who works hardened wire for a living — and one of the few tools that the German trade press routinely ranks above its more famous Wuppertal competition.