The rod cutter (1) comprises a triangular frame having a base (2), a rigid side limb (3) and a collapsible side limb (4). One end of the rigid side limb is hinged (5) to the base at one end of the base and one end of the collapsible side limb is rotatably held at the other end of the base (6). The one end of the collapsible side limb is rotatable at the same plane and is provided with a handle (7). The other ends of the side limbs are hinged (8) together. The base comprises a first shearing element (9) at the one end top surface thereof and having a first rod feed through hole (10) across it. The rigid side limb comprises a second shearing element (11) at the one end bottom surface thereof and having a second rod feed through hole (12) across it. The second shearing element is smaller than the first shearing element and is positioned by the side of the first shearing element and is movable up and down relative to the first shearing element to align and misalign the second rod feed hole with the first rod feed hole by contracting and expanding the collapsible limb (Fig 1). Besides providing increased mechanical advantage, the cutter of the invention also provides other advantages like compactness, simplicity of construction and cost effectiveness.