The tool you are referring to was a design originally made by T&B (Thomas and Betts) and for many years it has been an industrial standard. It works bets with T&B crimp terminals and it provides crimping by embossing a deep impression on the back side of the terminal port. It is important to know which side of the terminal to emboss. On terminals made by T&B they use a zig-zag pattern to form the joint along the barrel. That seam is along the top side of the terminal, and you don't want to breach it by crimping on that side. So the dimple on the tool is placed along the back side which is smooth. There are definite advantages to this method. I still have my T&B crimper that was given to me by a company that made traffic signals and controls. I still use it frequently being that T&B used hardened steel that hasn't dulled or lost its shape after 40 years. The best thing was that I never had one of those crimps pull loose. The cheap kinds that cross crimp the wires can all be pulled loose before the wire breaks, and this is because they actually weaken the wire where they squeeze it cross-wise along a narrow gap. Using a tool that crimps longitudinally will give a superior crimp because it applies pressure to the wire over a large area and distributes that force along the entire inner surface of the barrel. T&Bs zig-zag seam is welded to maintain the integrity of the terminal. The West Mountain tool works in reverse, applying a uniform (Hex) force from the outside inward. These are both superior methods to squeezing a couple "nicks" in a thin folded barrel. Al WA6VNN
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