KLEIN TOOLSVDV200-010 Ratcheting Crimper Frame

I had a set of Klein crimpers for making cable TV ends, and found that they make replacement jaws for it that will also crimp on ends to my coaxial cables I utilize for Amateur Radio. I've used these numerous times and it crimps perfectly and makes a solid secure connection. Saves me from having to get out the soldering iron for the tedious time consuming work of installing a solder on connector.They fit perfectly in the crimpers, and seem like solid well made jaws.

I recently purchased a Doyle heavy duty ratcheting crimper from Harbor Freight, but it uses Phillips head screws instead of thumb screws. I purchased this in hopes it would be the same. It is and works well. No more reaching for a screwdriver when I need to change the crimping dies out.

First off, I've never used a really expensive crimper, so I might not know what I'm missing out on. Having said that, these seem to work really well once you understand the technique. The die is shaped such that it will crimp both the wire & insulation at the same time. The insulation crimp isn't all that strong, but if you put just that portion of the crimp into the next smaller part of the die and re-crimp, it will give you a very strong crimp. Couple it with solder and/or heat shrink and you'll be in business.I bought another set of crimpers with multiple dies off Amazon for around $30, but I also "sprung" for the Klein jaws. Comparing them side by side, these appear to be a "first casting" as opposed to something cheaper which was probably cast off a 2nd or 3rd generation mold, losing all the fine details along the way.But what made this great was that this die fit my super cheap Harbor Freight ratcheting crimper.

Have to update my review, original review is in quotes below- the Klein crimps are well made but not designed for the 3005CR. The crimp over area on mine are polished for smooth material transition. The problem I had and think a lot of the one star reviewer's had is Amazon shows these crimps were purchased with the Klein 3005CR crimpers (nice crimper by the way) leading purchasers to believe they work together but they don't, at least without modification."Very disappointing expected better from Klein. Wish I would have read review prior to purchasing because guess I'm not alone. Need to use them to finish a job so have grind out the holes. Hope it works!"

I bought these HOPING that they would work in my IDEAL Crimpmaster. WahLah, success. I'm a hobbyist and didn't want to layout $100 for a special crimper. Trusting my perception, I could buy these 'look-alikes" for cheap and get by, And that we did. Photos show th e installed dies, a ferule in the 0.137 hex and the crimp result. My guess is that most if not all the Kleins would retrofit the Ideal Crimpmaster tool. BTW, I tried to crimp the center pin with the smallest ring at the end but the tool left a barb and I had to file that off to insert the pin. Stick with soldering. Obviously this is not a Mil-Spec application, and would never propose that. But for a few cables and maybe having to scrap one, the VDV201-042 and its companion VDV201-040 are worth the $20.

I got it to work with my west mountain rig crimping tool with a little modification to the lower cast piece. I filed some of the cast with my wheel grinder to have the whole line up. Worked great.

They appear to be ok quality, but don't fit the 3005CR crimpers. The holes need to be drilled out oval (like the stock dies). And now I have 2 useless pieces of metal.

Bought this die set together with the Klein Tools VDV-200-010 ratcheting crimper frame to make auto custom wiring relays. The set (die and frame) is a bit pricier than other complete crimpers, but quality is great and the combination works to crimp open barrel terminals well. See picture of quick, first test crimp. After crimping the terminals, the crimp released from the jaws easily. This is unlike a cheaper alternative that I tried at the same time which required a pick to release the crimp from the jaws. I highly recommend this Klein Tools die set for open barrel terminals.