Aviation Snips vs. Tin Snips: Which to Use?

Tin Snips vs. Aviation Snips

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If you are planning on cutting some sheet metal, then you need to have the right tools at your disposal. The best tools to use for cutting sheet metal are known as tin snips or tin scissors.

Now, there are actually many different kinds of tin snips, with your regular tin snips being the most common. However, there are also other types of tin snips out there, more specialized types, such as aviation snips. Today we want to figure out what both are, what makes them different, and what tasks they are best used for.

Aviation Snips and Tin Snips: The Basics

Before we start talking about the similarities and differences between these two, let’s first determine what both tin snips and aviation snips are.

What Are Tin Snips?

Tin Snips First, we have tin snips, which as you might be able to guess are specialized types of snips or scissors used for cutting sheet metal. Yes, tin is one of the metals that these snips can be used to cut, but there are also others, such as very thin gauges of steel, aluminum, and many more. Tin snips look very similar to scissors and have a simplistic design.

However, when compared to regular scissors, they have much shorter blades combined with longer handles, which allows for more cutting control, accuracy, and power. Some more advanced models may also come with a compound lever that reduces the force needed to make cuts.

Tin snips can come with blades with various angles, although they are generally straight and best used for cutting long and straight lines in relatively thin gauges of sheet metal. However, they are usually not strong enough to cut through thicker pieces of sheet metal.

What Are Aviation Snips?

Aviation Snips We then have aviation snips, which technically speaking, are a type of tin snip. Aviation snips look fairly similar to tin snips and regular scissors, although they may have even shorter blades and longer handles than your average tin snips. This, therefore, allows for even more cutting accuracy and power.

Aviation snips often have two pivot points instead of just one, therefore compounding the leverage you apply to the handles twice, allowing you to use a small amount of force to produce a lot of power, thus allowing you to cut through fairly thick materials.

Another defining feature of aviation snips is that they often have a spring-loaded feature, which makes them open back up on their own, thus making them easier to use as they cause less fatigue. This type of snip will usually also have very small teeth on the blades, which make it easier to grip and hold onto the material being cut.

Aviation snips also tend to have three major cut angles, denoted by color. Red aviation snips are made for straight and right angle cuts with a tight curve, green aviation snips are made for straight or left angle cuts with a tight curve, and yellow aviation snips are made for straight cuts and wide curves.

Similarities of Aviation Snips and Tin Snips

Now that we know what both tin snips and aviation snips are, let’s figure out what makes them similar to one another.

1. They’re Both Types of the Same Tool

We know that this may be a bit confusing, but technically speaking, these are both two types of the same tool. Yes, they do technically have different names, but if you look up what the different types of tin snips are, aviation snips will always be listed as a subcategory. So, although they are two different tools, they are both parts of the same category and serve the same general purpose.

2. They Feature the Same Basic Design

Another similarity here is that tin snips and aviation snips do look fairly similar. As mentioned above, both have blades that are shorter than regular scissors, yet handles that are longer. They kind of look like a mix between pliers and scissors. Now, there are of course some design and functionality differences here, but to the untrained eye, both are going to look extremely similar, if not the same. They just look like high-tech scissors.

3. There Are Subcategories of Both

This is where things can get even more confusing. Just like there are various types of tin snips, such as aviation snips, there are then also various types of aviation snips, mainly the red, green, and yellow varieties as discussed above.

4. They Serve the Same General Purpose

The other basic similarity that both of these tools share is that they are both used for cutting sheet metal. Sure, tin snips and aviation snips are designed for slightly different purposes, more specialized purposes, but they are both made for cutting sheet metal.

Differences Between Aviation Snips and Tin Snips

Now that we know what makes tin snips and aviation snips similar, let’s figure out what makes them different from each other.

1. Some Design Differences

Tin snips and aviation snips will have some design differences. First, aviation snips may have shorter and thicker blades, as well as longer handles than regular tin snips, all of which allow for greater cutting power. Next, normal tin snips have one pivot point, whereas aviation snips have two pivot points, which also allows for more power. Regular tin snips also usually don’t have a spring-loaded feature, whereas aviation snips do, plus aviation snips usually have small teeth on the blades, whereas regular tin snips don’t.

2. Cost

Because aviation snips are more specialized and higher quality types of tin snips, expect to pay more for them, up to two or three times more in fact.

3. Versatility

The fact of the matter is that aviation snips are more versatile than tin snips. Tin snips can cut through relatively thin sheets of metal, but nothing too thick, and generally work best for straight lines. Aviation snips, on the other hand, can cut through both thin and much thicker pieces of sheet metal. Moreover, depending on the exact type you get, they can also be used to cut both straight lines and curves.

4. The Specific Purpose

The main purpose of tin snips is to cut straight lines in thin pieces of metal, whereas aviation snips are used to cut straight lines and curves in both thin and thicker stock. Moreover, as you can probably tell, aviation snips are often used in the aviation industry.

5. Ease of Use

Aviation snips are a bit harder to use than regular tin snips and may require a good deal of practice to use properly. Cutting tight curves into sheet metal is not very easy no matter the specific tool being used.

Aviation Snips vs. Tin Snips: Which of the Two Should You Use?

If you just need to cut some straight lines into thin gauges of sheet metal, then regular tin snips will work just fine. However, if you need to cut tight curves, especially into thicker pieces of sheet metal, then you will want to use aviation snips. Aviation snips just have more power and cutting accuracy.

Summary

There you have it, folks. You should now know everything there is to know about the differences between tin and aviation snips. Now you should be able to choose the right tool for your next sheet metal cutting task.