Rescue cutter tool

A hydraulically powered, hand-manipulatable rescue cutter tool comprising:

• a body having a longitudinal axis, said body including a fluid cylinder and a forward end structure;
• a pair of cutting blades pivotally connected on the forward end structure about an axis which is normal to the longitudinal axis of the body, said cutting blades each including opposite sides and cutting edges, and being movable between non-cutting open and closed cutting positions;
• a side of each cutting blade coming into contact with the other when the cutting blades are in their closed cutting position;
• fluid powered means pivoting said cutting blades between opened and closed positions, said fluid powered means including a piston slidable in said cylinder, a piston rod projecting outwardly through an opening in the forward end structure, and
• linking means including a pair of links, each of said links pivotally interconnecting a forward end of the piston rod with one of the cutting blades, each of said links being asymmetrically connected to one of the cutting blades only on the side opposite the side of each cutting blade which comes in contact with the other when the cutting blades are in their closed positions;
• a pair of handles secured to the tool for supporting and manipulating the tool;
• and control means adjacent at least one of the handles for controlling the fluid power means to open and close the cutting blades.