Klein Tools High-Tension Hacksaw

Yes. The Klein 702-12 high-tension hacksaw runs a 12 inch (30.5 cm) blade, and it ships with a 24 TPI bi-metal blade installed. Klein lists 1218BI, 1218BIP, 1224BI, 1224BIP, 1232BI and 1232BIP as the replacement blades, so you can move between 18, 24 and 32 TPI depending on whether you are cutting rigid conduit or thin wall EMT and strut.

That is what the 45 degree alternative mounting position is for. Set the blade at 45 degrees and you can run a cut flush to a surface instead of being stopped by the frame, which is the usual problem when you are trimming an all-thread rod or a conduit stub tight to a deck. The frame also front-mounts a reciprocating saw blade for cuts the full frame cannot reach at all.

No. Klein's own warning on the 702-12 is to never use it on or near live electrical circuits, and to always wear approved eye protection. The frame is not an insulated tool. De-energize and verify before you cut anything in or around a panel.

Throat depth on the 702-12 is 24, which is what limits how far you can cut into wide flat stock before the frame bottoms out. For anything deeper than the frame allows, mount a reciprocating blade in the front position instead, since that runs open-ended with no frame behind it.

Blade tension is what keeps the cut straight. The 702-12 tensions a hand saw blade up to 30,000 PSI, and a blade held that tight wanders less and flexes less, so cuts on conduit and threaded rod come out square instead of drifting off the mark. It is the difference between a coupling threading on clean and having to file the end back flat.

Yes for thin wall. The rule of thumb is at least three teeth engaged in the material at all times, and 24 TPI keeps that true on EMT wall thickness so the teeth do not catch and strip. The bi-metal construction is what lets those fine teeth survive steel without snapping the blade. If you are cutting heavier rigid conduit or solid rod, step down to the 18 TPI blade (1218BI) so the gullets clear the chips.

Spare blades store inside the handle of the 702-12, so extras ride with the saw instead of loose in the bag. That matters on a service call where you are switching tooth counts partway through a job. The saw comes with a 12 inch 24 TPI bi-metal hacksaw blade plus a 6 inch (152 mm) 24 TPI bi-metal reciprocating blade for the front mount.

Overall length is 16.25 inches (41.3 cm), width 6.3 inches and height 1.017 inches, at 1.45 lbs. That is a full-size frame, so it will not drop into a small pouch, but at under a pound and a half it hangs on the outside of a bag or lays across a bucket without adding real weight to the climb.

The high-tension hacksaw is Klein Tools model 702-12. That is the number to quote when ordering the saw itself; blades are ordered separately by their own numbers, such as 1224BI for a 12 inch 24 TPI bi-metal replacement.