Decathlon cable & housing cutters. Worth it !

Are good cutters for bike cable and  housing worth it ? (i.e. maybe £15-20)

YES. 

You can cut any bike cable or housing in a second, whereas cheap poor quality ones you might not cut them and/or make a frayed mess ! This likely includes decent 'home cutters' for DIY things (i.e. bolt cutters).

What's to cut ?

derailleur cable : easiest to cut, but you can still fail, or fray the ends (which could = nightmare).

brake cable : harder cos it's thicker and different twist (for safety reasons !).

derailleur housing : easier of the 2 housing. probably 2nd hardest to cut. it has metal wire twine through it for sturdiness.

brake housing : Toughest. This is thickest housing and has metal wire through it (probably safety again).

Good cutters are worth it. Maybe £10 (if lucky ?) - £20 ?

Here I use Decathlon cutters (£14.99 Jun22). Super. Even gives a clean cut edge (no burring needed probably, or fraying).

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/bike-cable-and-housing-cutting-pliers//R-p-120528

I would trust Halfords best cutters too.

It's worth the cost for good cutters as it will take a second rather than days or giving up or having to start again with new cable etc.    

What will good cutters look like ? (dunno really)

A guess :

Heavy at the cutting end. 

Large clamp action (i.e. cut edges widen to grip cable in clamping style), rather than traditional cutter V-cut.  

Things that go wrong using poor cutters  

1. can't cut cable easily (i.e. minutes/hours/days). end up damaging or frayed etc. may need to use another cable (more money).

2. frayed cable may unwind and end up making cable too short. need to replace again.

3. can't cut brake housing. give up.

4. can't put cable through housing as cut is a mess.

etc etc 

get good cutters like £15-£20 !!