The Hayes wire strainer has stood the test of time, its been around for a hundred years and anything that lasts that long has to be good !

It does however, have its problems;

1. Slipping ( Sometimes you can't get tension on the wire because the grippers keep sliding down the wire) - this is due, because either poor quality metal was used to make the grippers (and a groove forms), there is a build up of plating from the coating on the wire, or the gripper to chain arms are flexing so the load from the chain is not being transferred to the wire.
2. The wire grippers fall of the wire - some load has to be placed on the grippers so if you let go of the chain, they drop off.
3. The handle and chain walking arms are difficult to to use, because it takes a fair amount of strength to get a fence up to tension and you usually have to keep one hand on the chain arms as you walk it up or down the chain.
4. You don't really know how much load you are actually putting on the wire. 

In the last few years most of these problems have been solved, but not all in one design that was easy and simple to use, So at WIREMAN HQ we set out to solve the problems and the StraineX Wire strainer was created, With it's pair of JACK THE GRIPPERs.

The biggest issues with wire strainers is slipping, so StraineX grips the wire between hardened steel (that also work hardens, so the more you use it, the harder it gets) and replaceable cap screws, so if you do have a problem with plating build up it is easily fixed, by simply replacing the screws.  We also placed the spring centrally to get full load transfer to the wire. So it definitely will not slip !

Spring loaded grippers solve the problem of the strainer falling off the wire but we found opening the Jaws of other manufacturers grippers could be made easier and more intuitive. So we designed the JACK THE GRIPPER to work like a pair of pliers.

The decision to use a modern leaver hoist for tensioning was a no brainer because it makes it so easy to put load onto the wire (your Mrs could do it!). And you can use the hoist for other jobs around the farm.

Finally, we live in a modern world where electronic equipment is highly accurate and easily available, so why not use it to set the tension precisely so you get the longest life out of a fence you can. After all, you don't want to do it twice !

StraineX Wire Strainers - Quick, Easy, Accurate.