I'm looking for a really good wire stripper.

May 7, 2005 3:10 PM

I'm looking for a really good pair of wire strippers.

I've been suffering with bad tools for long enough. I don't do a ton of electronics work, but I wouldn't mind investing in a pair that I will have forever. I tried out a Paladin Stripex, and don't like the big handle, flat blade, and need to adjust the jaw depth for different wires.

My uncle had a beautiful German (?) stripper, with lots of little blades that fit to the contour of the wire, and then you had to pull. So they weren't "double action" like the Stripex, in that they didn't pull of the plastic on their own, but they were smaller and could fit into smaller places.

Any brands or outlets I should check out? I keep finding the same tools everywhere on the web.

posted by Jack Karaoke to Technology (8 answers total)

Jack Karaoke posted My uncle had a beautiful German (?) stripper, "

I think Pretty_Generic mentioned having had a similar one, with a big head; you might ask him about it.
posted by orthogonality at 4:09 PM on May 7, 2005

I have had something that looks about like this for 5 or 6 years, and I am pretty happy with it. The small form-factor means your had is close to the wires being stripped, which gives me a lot more feel for the wire than with something like this, which my father had when I was growing up. Also, there is a shorter range of motion, since you're closer to the wire, so it puts less strain/repetitive motion on your wrist.

Neither is very pricey. i believe my pair came from Home Depot? But they are more than satisfactory for my occasional wiring needs.

I did see one of these recently (automatic strippers that autosense the wire gauge), and they are quite sexy, but my gut told me it was more gimmick than everyday practical. But that might just be me.
posted by misterbrandt at 5:15 PM on May 7, 2005

I'm pretty sure I have used a good pair of the sliding screw adjustable type that I could modulate by feel and get a pretty good stripping action. The one I have right now is crappy though, and it is constantly frustrating.

Doing a google image search is informative, there are only about 7 types available. The side cutter with stripper in the back seemed pretty interesting, anyone have experience with them?

The ultimate solution is a thermal wire stripper of course. Stripall indeed!
posted by Chuckles at 5:31 PM on May 7, 2005

I've got a $12 automatic stripper from Princess Auto that has stripped a few thousand ends so far with the only problem being a stripped casing getting stuck in the stripper occasionally. I'm never going back to the non automatic style unless I've got to get into a tight place.
posted by Mitheral at 7:56 PM on May 7, 2005

The first link misterbrandt supplies is a winner!

I use a pair of strippers almost identical to those at work every day for a couple of years now to strip wire wrap wire and they're EXCELLENT.

IIRC, mine were made by a company called "Ideal" and are named "T-Strippers".

(specifically, I use these)

BTW: Pre-set strippers like those should be used based on the TYPE of wire you plan to strip. They are sized for either solid or stranded wire. Using the wrong type of wire in the stripper will mean you have to put it in the wrong hole (no big deal, really, I suppose).
posted by shepd at 8:02 PM on May 7, 2005

I've got a set of Greenlee strippers, from Grainger, in my kit. They're automatic (fantastic from lamp cord on down) and are equally as good as sets costing over 100 bucks.

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/productdetail.jsp?xi=xi&ItemId=1611699214&ccitem=

The automatic strippers are not a gimmic. I've been using them on a weekly/sometimes daily basis for over 15 years, and they're awesome.
posted by asavage at 9:46 PM on May 7, 2005

Double on a good set of auto strippers. But they must be a good set, otherwise, they'll nick the wire.

The test -- strip, then heat the wire a bit, which will cause the insulation to shrink a bit. Examine the wire at the strip point, since it is now exposed.

Also -- auto strippers really only work for a certain range, and it is usually smaller than they claim. So, if you're always using 22 gauge, get one optimized for 18-24, not 16-22.

Note that the Western Electric used *only* specific strippers for each size wire, period. If you're ever in doubt as to the closest-to-ideal way to deal with wire, check out the old WE specs. A WE lineman carried 4 single-wire strippers, one for each gauge of wire he was likely to encounter. Indeed, stripping without damage was such an issue that WE developed many terminations that didn't require strippers -- thus, the 66 and 110 punchdown blocks that run phones and networks everywere.

Yeah, WE could be anal. But work done to thier specs was solid work. (It's when somebody took shortcuts that things got ugly, fast -- the WE system was built assuming it would be used as a whole, not peicemeal.)

I still prefer the Western Electric splice, as opposed to the pigtail splice, when splicing wire. See here you'll need to scroll down. Note that the Tap Splice is a degenerate case of a WE splice, and that both autostrippers and the WE strippers could easily strip a tap point into a wire.

Note the fixture splice, one that most people don't know, and should -- it is really the only correct way to join stranded and solid wires that aren't soldered.
posted by eriko at 9:30 AM on May 8, 2005

i've used fancy semi-automatic things (you close the handles and the wire is gripped, then the outer cut, then stripped) that worked to a fixed length for wire wrapping etc, and at one place i worked we had something that was vaguely like tweasers, but heated(!), that melted through the wire and then pulled it off, but the strippers i use at home for odd jobs are a pair i inherited from my grandfather - they look like pliers but have a jaw at the end (so the wire lies along the line of the tool, and doesn't come in at the side) with v shaped notches. you can adjust the size with a screw, but really you don't need to bother because you can feel the wire (unless it's tiny). they've very simple and easy to use. however, looking at eriko's post i'm now feeling hopelessly amateur.
posted by andrew cooke at 5:13 PM on May 8, 2005