While a cutter or spreader tool is designed for a particular application, a combination tool, or combi-tool as popularly referred to by the fire department, is also available, which combines the cutting and spreading functions of separate tools into a single tool. In operation, the tips of the spreader-cutter's blades are wedged into a seam or gap—for example, around a vehicle door—and the device engaged. The hydraulic pump, attached to the tool or as a separate unit, powers a piston that pushes the blades apart with great force and spreads the seam. Once the seam has been spread, the now-open blades can be repositioned around the metal. The device is engaged in reverse and the blades close, cutting through metal. Repeating this process allows a rescuer to quickly open a gap wide enough to pull free a trapped victim. The blades can spread or cut with a force of several tons or kilo-newtons with the tips of the blades spreading up to a meter.