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The new HURST Jaws of Life® JL-500 5,000 psi cutter features an innovative blade design engineered to address the larger diameters and stronger metals being encountered by rescuers today. Unlike traditional rescue cutters, the forged shock-resistant steel blades of the JL-500 offer greater cutting capability near the fully-open position where it’s needed most and eliminates the tendency of the tool to rotate into the passenger compartment.

 “We are excited to offer our customers the JL-500 cutter, which features the same innovative blade design and similar cutting capability found in our 10,000 psi S 700 Series,” said Bill Simmons, vice president and general manager for HURST Jaws of Life. “This new cutter emphasizes our dedication to providing a full range of innovative rescue tool options for our customers.”

The JL-500 cutter blades feature three distinct cutting angles which are crucial when cutting the ultra-high-strength press-hardened Boron sheet metal and Martensite Boron Steel found in large diameter A, B and C posts of modern vehicles. With maximum compressive forces in the near open position, as the JL-500 blades begin to close the press-hardened Boron sheet metal and Martensite steel cracks and fractures. As the cutter continues to close, blade angles change resulting in improved draw of the post material to the strongest cutting area at the rear of the blades.

All HURST Jaws of Life cutter blades, including those on the new JL-500, feature a forged shock-resistant tool steel that has been uniquely heat treated using a four-step tempering process, which makes the blades dent and chip resistant while maintaining blade ductility. This is crucial when cutting today’s high-strength steels.

The JL-500’s extrication capabilities include passenger and over-the-road vehicles, structural collapse, aircraft egress and hundreds of other real world challenges. The JL-500 is fully equipped with built-in safety features, such as dead man controls, hand-guards, and preset internal relief valves.

HURST Jaws of Life JL-500 Cutter Technical Specifications:

  • Weight: 47 lbs.
  • Blade Opening: 7.3 in.
  • Length: 43.4 in.
  • Width: 11.3 in.
  • Height: 8.4 in.

HURST Jaws of Life is a division of Hale Products Inc. Hale Products Inc. is a world leading provider of emergency service products in applications such as defense, rescue, firefighting and industry, and is one of the largest manufacturers of products to the emergency services worldwide. Hale Products Inc. is a unit of IDEX Corporation, an applied solutions company.