5 Best Fence Tightening Tools For Beginners Old Farmers Swear By

Nothing sours a morning faster than seeing your goats grazing in the neighbor’s prize-winning petunias. A sagging fence isn’t just an eyesore; it’s a failure of your farm’s most basic security system. For a hobby farmer, a tight, reliable fence means peace of mind, keeping your animals in and predators and pests out. But wrestling with wire can be one of the most frustrating jobs on the homestead if you don’t have the right leverage.

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Dutton-Lainson Stretcher: The Classic Go-To

This is the tool you probably picture when you think of fence stretching. The Dutton-Lainson is a simple, robust "walking" stretcher that has been used for generations for a reason: it works. You clamp it onto the wire, and its mechanism allows you to pull slack out with a ratcheting action, effectively walking the tool down the wire as it tightens.

Its beauty is in its simplicity. There are no complex parts to break, and it’s built from heavy steel that will likely outlast you. It’s perfect for long, straight runs of barbed wire or smooth high-tensile wire where you can get a good rhythm going. It’s a purely mechanical process that gives you a great feel for the wire’s tension.

The tradeoff, of course, is effort and speed. It’s a slower, more methodical process that requires a fair bit of muscle, especially on a hot day. For a small repair, it can feel like overkill, but for stringing a new 300-foot pasture line, its reliability is deeply comforting. This is the tool you buy once and pass down.

Gripple Torq Tool: Modern Speed and Simplicity

If the Dutton-Lainson is the old reliable farm truck, the Gripple system is the modern, zippy ATV. The system uses a proprietary wire joiner called a "Gripple" and a special tensioning tool that pulls the wire through it. The tool has a built-in gauge, allowing you to dial in the exact tension you need—no guesswork involved.

This is, without a doubt, the fastest way to repair a broken line or tension a short run. You can fix a snapped high-tensile wire in under a minute. For subdividing pastures with new lines or constantly tweaking electric fence tension, its speed is a massive time-saver for a busy hobby farmer.

The convenience comes at a price. You are locked into buying the Gripple connectors, which are a consumable cost. While invaluable for repairs, using them for an entire, brand-new fencing project can get expensive. Think of it less as a primary installation tool and more as the ultimate problem-solver for maintenance and modifications.

Maasdam Pow’R Pull for Heavy-Duty Straining

Sometimes you need more than just leverage; you need raw power. The Maasdam Pow’R Pull, or any quality come-along, is the answer for the heaviest fencing jobs. This isn’t a dedicated fencing tool, but its versatility makes it indispensable on a small farm. When you’re putting up woven wire or field fence, you need to pull the entire height of the mesh with even tension, and a simple stretcher can’t do that.

Paired with a stretcher bar (more on that later), a come-along allows you to pull an entire 50-foot section of heavy-gauge woven wire taut with minimal physical effort. You anchor it to a sturdy corner post or even the hitch of your truck and let the tool’s gearing do the work. It’s also fantastic for pulling multiple strands of high-tensile wire at the same time, ensuring they all have uniform tension.

Be warned: with great power comes great responsibility. It is incredibly easy to over-tighten and snap wires, lift brace posts out of the ground, or collapse a corner assembly. You must use it with a slow, steady hand and a healthy respect for the forces involved. It requires more setup than other tools, but for big jobs, there is no substitute.

Strainrite Chain Strainer for Tough Fencing Jobs

Think of the Strainrite as the professional-grade evolution of the classic stretcher. Instead of a simple clamp, it uses a chain and a more aggressive gripping jaw that holds wire securely without slipping or kinking it. This is especially important when working with modern high-tensile wire, which can be notoriously smooth and slippery.

The chain design provides a long, smooth pull, and the handle gives you excellent leverage and control over the tensioning process. It’s built for daily use, so it can handle the abuse of being thrown in a truck bed or left out in the rain. It combines the reliability of an old-school tool with the improved performance needed for modern fencing materials.

While it costs more than a basic stretcher, the investment pays off in pure frustration-reduction. A wire slipping out of the clamp for the fifth time is enough to make anyone want to quit. The Strainrite’s secure grip means you do the job once. For someone planning to install a significant amount of permanent high-tensile fencing, this tool is a worthwhile upgrade.

Zareba In-Line Strainers for Easy Adjustments

This isn’t a tool for the initial pull, but rather a permanent part of the fence line that makes future tightening a breeze. An in-line strainer is a small ratcheting device that you install directly into the fence line every few hundred feet and near the ends. Once the fence is up, any future sagging can be fixed in seconds.

Wires expand in the summer heat and contract in the winter cold, meaning a fence that was drum-tight in January might be floppy by July. Instead of getting out the big stretcher again, you just grab the small handle (or a wrench) for the in-line strainer and give it a few clicks. The tension is back, and the job is done in less time than it takes to walk back to the barn.

For any permanent high-tensile or electric fence, these are non-negotiable. They turn a half-day project of re-tensioning into a 10-minute maintenance task. They are the key to keeping a fence perfect over its entire lifespan, not just on the day you build it.

Channellock Fencing Pliers: The Essential Multi-Tool

Let’s be clear: this tool will not tighten your fence. But you absolutely cannot tighten a fence without it. A good pair of fencing pliers is the Swiss Army Knife for this kind of work, combining multiple tools into one convenient package you can keep on your hip.

These pliers are designed for the specific tasks of fencing. They have a heavy head for hammering staples, a claw for pulling old staples out, cutters for snipping tough wire, and grips for twisting and splicing. You use them to cut the wire to length, secure it to the post once it’s tight, and build your brace assemblies.

Trying to do a fencing job with a separate hammer, wire cutters, and a pair of standard pliers is clumsy and inefficient. Having one tool that does it all means fewer trips back to the workshop and a much smoother workflow. Don’t even start a fencing project until you have a quality pair of these.

Using a Stretcher Bar for Even Wire Mesh Pulls

Just like fencing pliers, a stretcher bar isn’t a puller itself, but a critical accessory for doing the job right. This tool is essential when working with woven wire, field fence, or horse mesh. It’s a rigid metal bar that you clamp vertically onto the end of the mesh fence.

Its purpose is to distribute the pulling force evenly from the top of the fence to the bottom. If you try to pull woven wire with just a chain or a single clamp, you’ll tighten the one or two wires you’re attached to, leaving the rest of the mesh loose and puckered. The stretcher bar ensures the entire fence panel moves as one unit, resulting in a uniformly taut and professional-looking finish. You attach your come-along to the center of the bar and pull the whole thing at once.

You can buy a commercial one or even make one yourself from a sturdy piece of angle iron and some bolts. Skipping this step is the most common mistake beginners make with woven wire. It is the difference between a fence that will last 20 years and one that will sag and fail in two.

Matching the Right Tool to Your Fencing Type

There is no single "best" tool; there is only the best tool for the specific fence you’re building or fixing. Trying to use one tool for every job is a recipe for a weak fence and a strong headache.

Here’s a simple breakdown for making a decision:

• New Barbed or High-Tensile Runs: A Dutton-Lainson or Strainrite Chain Strainer is your workhorse for the initial installation. Install In-Line Strainers as you go for easy future maintenance.
• Woven Wire or Field Fence: A Maasdam Pow’R Pull combined with a Stretcher Bar is the only proper way. Don’t even attempt it with a smaller tool.
• Quick Repairs and Adjustments: The Gripple Torq Tool is the undisputed champion for speed and precision on any wire type.
• All Jobs, All the Time: A pair of Fencing Pliers should be on your belt, no matter what other tool you’re using.

Ultimately, a well-equipped hobby farm might have two or three of these options. You might use a come-along for the initial build of a woven wire goat pasture, but keep a Gripple tool in the UTV for quick repairs on the high-tensile cattle fence a month later.

A fence is a system, and building it right means having a system of tools. Investing in the right stretcher for your specific needs saves you more than just time and sore muscles; it protects your livestock, your garden, and your relationship with your neighbors. A tight fence is a quiet, hardworking employee, and with these tools, you can be sure it’s always doing its job.