Fast and effective wire-strippers

[tacitus]

Another question for the hive mind: what are some fast and easy to use wire-strippers that will save me time and hassle making up mike cables and the like? I use a knife at the moment but it’s slow and I can’t see as well as I used to.

I don’t mind spending, what, £50. I’d expect them to see me out, but I won’t be using them incessantly, by any means. What do you all use?

[pk.roberts]

Over the (far too many) years, I've tried lots of wire stripping gadgets, but I seem to alway come back to these for the outer sheath;
https://cpc.farnell.com/toggle/00020/fl ... 20stripper
and these (suitably adjusted) for the inner core;
https://cpc.farnell.com/stanley/stht0-7 ... 20stripper
For larger or heavier duty cable (e.g. mains cable) then I like the Jokari range.

[Tomás Mulcahy]

Interesting. Those tools look like I'd injure myself using them but that's just me. In all my time making audio cables (30 years?), this Knipex is the best tool I have found. A sharp craft knife is also useful for helping with certain kinds of cable. I sometimes also use this swiss army knife, because I always have it in my pocket. I became deft with a scissors as a kid before I discovered wire strippers. For electrical cable Knipex make a similar tool of a different gauge/ strength.

[James Perrett]

When I was about 10 my father bought some strippers similar to these

https://cpc.farnell.com/ideal/45-092/st ... dp/TL00598

I still have them and use them regularly. There are a variety of different variants to suit different wire sizes and insulation types although the ones that I've linked to are the ones that I bought my son a few years ago.

https://cpc.farnell.com/ideal/45-098/wi ... dp/TL23556

would be better for thinner wire.

I use a knife for cutting the outer insulation from large cables. Over the years I have also become fairly skilled at stripping wires with side cutters although it is easy to nick and weaken the cores if you aren't careful.

[Drew Stephenson]

In all my time making audio cables (30 years?), this Knipex is the best tool I have found.

We used to use ones very similar to this for speaker cable when I worked in a hifi shop. It's what I'd reach for if I had a lot to do.

[Folderol]

I use side cutters almost all the time. However I first use them to make two small nicks in the insulation creating weak points. This works particularly well for thicker wires. For outer insulation I just use a knife, slightly the bending the cable away from the blade so I can see how far it's going through (so it's not nicking the cores).

[Hugh Robjohns]

I'm similar to PK. I use one of these for the outer cable sheath:



https://cpc.farnell.com/knipex/16-30-13 ... dp/TL23649

And something very similar to these (but with slimmer handles) for the inner cores:



https://cpc.farnell.com/stanley/stht0-7 ... 20stripper

Both were given to me when I joined the Beeb and are still in fine fettle, but the latter I'd been using for years before as they are standard GPO issue which my father leant to me as a kid when I first got into electronics!

Both tools need careful setting prior to attaching the cable to set the appropriate cut depth.

[Tomás Mulcahy]

In all my time making audio cables (30 years?), this Knipex is the best tool I have found.

We used to use ones very similar to this for speaker cable when I worked in a hifi shop. It's what I'd reach for if I had a lot to do.

Yes, it is very quick, does all parts of the cable without changing tools. That Knipex is the posh version of what I was taught to work with at college, all ex Navy or Post and Telegraph people, many of them close to retirement in 1991 when I was there. We even learned how to solder all the different ways to join 12 AWG wire, telegraph style!

[jacobvosmaer]

I like these for inner wires: (Jonard JIC-2030).

[tacitus]

Golly! What on earth have I lifted the lid on? I’ve seen and used some of these suggestions but I’ll have to investigate further. I’ve never done very well with the end-cut ones Hugh says you need to adjust carefully; not because I don’t do that, but I seem to get carried away and squeeze harder than I should. Not good on finer cables. I get steadily weaker as I age but I can still give anything like pliers hell!

[Hugh Robjohns]

Mine have slimmer handles and I find I can feel when the tension is right for the cable -- to the extent that I usually have them set very low and just feel the bite as I grip and pull...

Stop laughing at the back!

[Studio Support Gnome]

When I was about 10 my father bought some strippers similar to these

https://cpc.farnell.com/ideal/45-092/st ... dp/TL00598

I still have them and use them regularly. There are a variety of different variants to suit different wire sizes and insulation types although the ones that I've linked to are the ones that I bought my son a few years ago.

https://cpc.farnell.com/ideal/45-098/wi ... dp/TL23556

would be better for thinner wire.

I use a knife for cutting the outer insulation from large cables. Over the years I have also become fairly skilled at stripping wires with side cutters although it is easy to nick and weaken the cores if you aren't careful.

I’ve had my set of auto strippers about 35 years still going strong .

I also have the crocodile end pliers , and Stanley knife , and natures calcium based ceramics , my teeth , which still routinely manage single core and thin multi strand , and my thumb nail , which is usually effective on mic cable and cat V inner cores

[ef37a]

Like Will I have used sidecutters all my working life but you need good ones!
Small and well made, not some clunky Woolie's things. I can still strip very fine wires, sort of stuff you get in USB cables and nary a strand cut.

However, when I had ten 15 way plugs to do at Blackstar (S1 MIDI) I borrowed tech directors automatics: https://www.enrgtech.co.uk/product/wire ... OMQAvD_BwE

Really do save time. Also, invest in one of those multi-plug cable testers.

Dave.

[Tomás Mulcahy]

However, when I had ten 15 way plugs to do at Blackstar (S1 MIDI) I borrowed tech directors automatics: https://www.enrgtech.co.uk/product/wire ... OMQAvD_BwE

Really do save time. Also, invest in one of those multi-plug cable testers.

Dave.

Agreed, but spend another £20 for the Knippex, it is genuinely better.

[ef37a]

However, when I had ten 15 way plugs to do at Blackstar (S1 MIDI) I borrowed tech directors automatics: https://www.enrgtech.co.uk/product/wire ... OMQAvD_BwE

Really do save time. Also, invest in one of those multi-plug cable testers.

Dave.

Agreed, but spend another £20 for the Knippex, it is genuinely better.

I'll take your word for it Tom!

Can I also say..."People! DON'T use your teeth"! I did this macho stunt in my 20s and split my front tooth, got infected and hurt like ****! Dentist* said it could not be saved and suggested a "post crown". The injections for that are a B****STD!

*And dentristy has improved a LOT in 60 years!

Dave.

[Nazard]

Golly! What on earth have I lifted the lid on?

And there are a whole series of coaxial cable strippers available, that range from the cheap and cheerful, to rather expensive.

[ef37a]

Perhaps the ultimate wire "stripper"? At the network factory they bought a machine about the size of a modest suitcase* (but bloody heavy!) and you programmed it, stuffed the end of a drum of CATX cable in the back end, hit the tit and it quietly spewed out precise lengths of cable with each outer casing perfectly stripped to the required length.

They had something similar I guess at J Beam antennas but I never saw it.

*Think of the size and weight of a Bell& Howell 16mm projector if you are of a certain age.

Dave.

[shufflebeat]

My current faves but alongside a blade for scoring precision:

https://www.screwfix.com/p/stanley-fatm ... xUQAvD_BwE

[Studio Support Gnome]

However, when I had ten 15 way plugs to do at Blackstar (S1 MIDI) I borrowed tech directors automatics: https://www.enrgtech.co.uk/product/wire ... OMQAvD_BwE

Really do save time. Also, invest in one of those multi-plug cable testers.

Dave.

Agreed, but spend another £20 for the Knippex, it is genuinely better.

I'll take your word for it Tom!

Can I also say..."People! DON'T use your teeth"! I did this macho stunt in my 20s and split my front tooth, got infected and hurt like ****! Dentist* said it could not be saved and suggested a "post crown". The injections for that are a B****STD!

*And dentristy has improved a LOT in 60 years!

Dave.

You’ll love this , you’ve reminded me that the corner I use is in fact a post crown on a tooth I broke playing rugby 45 years ago . Thing is bullet proof

[ef37a]

However, when I had ten 15 way plugs to do at Blackstar (S1 MIDI) I borrowed tech directors automatics: https://www.enrgtech.co.uk/product/wire ... OMQAvD_BwE

Really do save time. Also, invest in one of those multi-plug cable testers.

Dave.

Agreed, but spend another £20 for the Knippex, it is genuinely better.

I'll take your word for it Tom!

Can I also say..."People! DON'T use your teeth"! I did this macho stunt in my 20s and split my front tooth, got infected and hurt like ****! Dentist* said it could not be saved and suggested a "post crown". The injections for that are a B****STD!

*And dentristy has improved a LOT in 60 years!

Dave.

You’ll love this , you’ve reminded me that the corner I use is in fact a post crown on a tooth I broke playing rugby 45 years ago . Thing is bullet proof

Great! Just the heavy metals poisoning to contend with then!

Dave.

[Studio Support Gnome]

You know what they say Dave Rock n roll ain’t noise pollution , well heavy metal ain’t all bad either mate



I don’t tend to chew soldered ends , and uranium cabling is not publicly available the post in my front tooth is surgical steel . And the crown is ceramic

[ef37a]

You know what they say Dave Rock n roll ain’t noise pollution , well heavy metal ain’t all bad either mate



I don’t tend to chew soldered ends , and uranium cabling is not publicly available the post in my front tooth is surgical steel . And the crown is ceramic

Copper is poisonous and most cable was "tinned" with lead solder! Tin is harmless as a coating in cans but I am not sure about ingesting it over years? Even gold is poisonous if you eat the fekker for long enough!

But do as you like friend Gnome, just a caution to others.

Dave.

[onre]

Looks like my weapons of choice are of German origin. For a couple of decades I only used sidecutters, in an emergency even my teeth, and would consider myself skilled in said technique, but these two tools make the job just so much easier. Apologies in advance if the following comes across almost like an advertisement, but these things have saved me from a few metric tons of frustration.



For installation work, this thing is absolutely clever and indispensable. If I were to ever misplace it, I'd get another one in an instant. It can do round cables down to 0,2 mm², mains wiring inner & outer jackets, flat cables and longitudal outer jacker cuts, which are handy for stuff like fanning out individual cables from inside a multicore.

Manufacturer's page - some of the product photos raise more questions than they answer...



In my workshop I've got this one. The adjustable stop is actually rather useful, making things like multi-pin solder connections tidy-looking as all the wire ends are uniform.

Manufacturer's page

[tacitus]

Thank you all so much, guys, for sharing your stripping secrets. I've read wit great interest and followed up with more research and another dig in my toolbox. From the latter, out came the "end bite" stripping pliers so I gritted my teeth and got to know the tool all over again with Hugh's praise and warnings both in mind.I was surprised to find that the warning to set the bite carefully before use was enough to make a big difference - feeling the depth of cut when the setting's pretty close is a LOT easier than when you just have a vague guess. I set the hole size, squeezed at various pressures and stripped both ends of a length of Sommer SC-Octave Tube mike cable perfectly. With a method, however simple, it's much clearer!

I haven't tried it on speaker cable again yet, but I remember that being fairly easy, before. So thanks for all the suggestions and if I need something for a job this old thing can't manage I'll be back to the thread like a flash, or at least, a slowish pensioner-type flash ...