"This - is wrong tool. No, not good. Never use this." -- Zathras

[GregDunn]

I was in a hurry and needed to strip a bunch of 30 gauge wire wrap wire for a repair.  Last time I did this, <mumble> years ago, I borrowed a customized tool which not only stripped the wire but let you gauge the bare end length so it would wrap properly.  They're $$$$$ today, and I needed the wire prepared right now so even ordering one wasn't a satisfactory option.  None of my stripping tools would even touch AWG30.

So off to Fry's, now the only place left in town which sells niche electronics tools.  This was all they had.  It looks (and is, actually) well made, with nice cushioned hand grips, a quality spring and a lock.  The problem?  All the wire notches are the wrong size!  Every single one barely scratches the insulation, and you have to pull the wire through at an extreme angle to get it to actually strip the wire - risking damage to the conductor.  I found another temporary solution, melting the insulation at the desired spot and separating it with tweezers.  I ordered a Klein stripper online, and when I tested it a few minutes ago, it worked perfectly on the same wires which the other one failed to strip.

Maybe this company has a QC issue and it's been fixed now, but you should be very suspicious if you plan to buy one.  In fact, order a quality tool right away so you'll have it when you need it on a Sunday afternoon and the snow is a foot deep.   

[The Soulman]

Did you wear safety goggles??

[GregDunn]

Did you wear safety goggles??

   Actually, for close-up work such as wiring I do use a pair of good magnifying glasses with shields.  But in all the years of cutting wires I don't think I've ever had a fragment come back at me - they almost always are heard hitting the wall or the back of the bench.  Nasty projectiles if they did hit me in the eye, for sure.

[nctnico]

they almost always are heard hitting the wall or the back of the bench.  Nasty projectiles if they did hit me in the eye, for sure.

I hate it when people do that. I always put my finger over the end I cut off and do the cutting over a bin so I don't have to do any cleaning afterwards. For some reason that seems not to be very obvious to people. Worst case I've seen is someone cutting 50 or-so plastic potmeter shafts and leaving the leftovers on the floor. When I said that I found it a moronic way to do things I got told people who clean exist. 

[GregDunn]

Since I'm the only one in the lab and the only person who cleans it...   

[alsetalokin4017]

Hmm. I have a similar tool from Pro'sKit that works and fits exactly perfectly on #30 Kynar wire-wrap wire. Strips cleanly without nicking. This is one of the five hand tools that never get put away. (The others are a bent-nose smoothjaw needlenose pliers, a Xelite esd-safe flush nippers, and two small screwdrivers.)

Mostly I like to use the stripper that comes in the handle of the old Radio-Shack wire wrap tool, which somehow I haven't lost over the years, but if I'm just making a bodge wire or something where I'm not actually wrapping wire, I'll use the green stripper which is always to hand.

Funny thing though -- the "lock" which is supposed to hold the thing closed when not in use is manky. I'll set the lock, put the tool down and in a few minutes SPROING it auto-releases and springs open, usually making me jump while doing something delicate. But I can't resist trying to lock it anyway.

[GregDunn]

Yes, it's all about the manufacturing quality, not the brand.  I've used many wire strippers over the years; in our prototyping lab 30 years ago, they had a bunch of different types from the one-size-only to the locking squeeze-type that allowed you to check the result before releasing the wire.  Never had a problem until now unless someone negligently damaged the tool.  In all fairness, Kynar insulation needs a properly-sized and milled tool so that you don't stretch it or damage the wire; but it doesn't seem to be that hard to make one right.

[coppercone2]

i noticed teflon wire of same gauge does not strip as good as pvc.. common cutters are optimized for pvc

It's just ever slightly so different.

[GregDunn]

True.  I also think stranded vs. solid of the same nominal gauge takes a very different sized notch for the stripper if you just want to squeeze and pull safely.  I used to have a stripper with continuously adjustable jaws which I operated mostly by tactile feedback; I was pretty good at taking the insulation off various gauges without damaging the wire, for some types of insulation.  I'm out of practice these days, so having one which just works is nice.  Somewhere I still have a self-adjusting stripper which you just put the wire in and squeeze - but it only works for standard thermoplastic insulation; teflon and kynar aren't suitable.

[coppercone2]

I actually like teflon wire alot, for chassis wiring its really great and its hard to find another reason to use other wire inside of the chassis in most cases, as stiff as it is.

I did have the feeling that if you have a heavy in soldered cable harness, or somethin you can't disconnect for some reason, and you need to unscrew and move a subassembly, the teflon insulation was putting a bit too much stress on the solder joints when it was moved around though...

Maybe my final thought on the matter is: teflon is great when you finish a prototype that you think will have excellent field reliability and you are ready to go into manufacturing. The extra expense is probobly not work it in a prototyping environment where you might need to adjust stuff alot and have bootleg mechanical design.

I kind of get this feeling when I use PVC insulation that I am being a cheap fuck, with the other problem silicone insulated wire also seems to not work great with conventional wire cutters. I also need to weaken and tear it, other wise I had a decent probability of getting nicked conductors.. but it was OK with a 10$ klein tool one so long you were careful.. but it was not a go/no go operation, definatly working in the 'analog zone' of the hand tool.

But silicone wire is too nimble to be used inside of a chassis in most cases, unless you figure out the wire harness and put all the zip ties, heat shrink and jackets its gonna look like someone poured a buncha pasta into your chassis. I do like it for custom cables, but I am not really comfortable using it for things other then careful lab work unless it has nylon or other jacket material on it.

Because of this I only ever invested in cheap klein-tools wire strippers. I need to find a good teflon wire solution. I think what I did when I worked with teflon wire alot (now I honestly kind of forgot), was use light pressure and rotation to weaken it, then use the larger hole to rip it after its weakened.. it kinda worked... but the standard for the teflon wire was to use a bench pnumatic unit with micrometer adjust. That kind of tool is just way too expensive for my home use unfortunately.

I kind of want a kit of 1 foot long lengths of all the different insulation materials to play around with in a few different gauges. I need to ask for a wire sample kit. Then maybe a sane choice about high end hand tool strippers can be made

I think someone once recommended that one of those adjustable 'flat' wire strippers should be used for kynar. They are like 30 dollars and have the appearance of a razor-blade floor scraper. It does not seem like the right tool for heavy use though.

[KL27x]

30AWG is a size of stripper i will always have on hand.

Mostly I like to use the stripper that comes in the handle of the old Radio-Shack wire wrap tool, which somehow I haven't lost over the years

This is the kind I use the most, but the metal stick is way too short for regular use. If you cut and notch the end with a dremel, you can joint it to a suitable steel handle and soft solder it in place. It will be plenty strong enough if you make a good joint. With a decent joint, you can even epoxy it to wood. Don't try to hard solder it; the metal will melt at that high a temp.

I have 4 or 5 of these on my bench, at any given time. They are on the other end of rework chisels and wire wrap tools. I was thinking just the other day that I ought to try fitting one into the butt end of my favorite tweezers.

Radioshack doesn't make the good ones, anymore, though. I have a couple of the original Radioshack wrap/strip tools, and they are superior in stripping and wrapping.

[GregDunn]

I've had pretty good luck with the multi-notch Klein strippers overall; they seem to hit the sweet spot between no control over the pressure applied, and too much care required.  For most thermoplastic insulation at my design job, we used one like the multi-notch spring-loaded Klein below (not sure what the brand was).  It was fast and pretty reliable for the hookup wire we were supplied with.  For Kynar, we used one similar to the Knipex below that, only it was custom-machined for just one size and the jaws were just the right length to measure the wrap against so that it would make the exact number of turns around the post.

[tkamiya]

I have several of those and wire size markings are almost always off.  I can eyeball pretty well, so I'd go with that followed by a test strip or two.

[shteii01]

I have several of those and wire size markings are almost always off.  I can eyeball pretty well, so I'd go with that followed by a test strip or two.

The wire size marking are probably off because solid wire and stranded wire don't use the same size.

[GregDunn]

I have several of those and wire size markings are almost always off.  I can eyeball pretty well, so I'd go with that followed by a test strip or two.

The wire size marking are probably off because solid wire and stranded wire don't use the same size.

Truth.  Neither tool that I have indicated stranded or solid, but the Klein works well with both as long as you don't just mash down on the handles and yank the wire through; you can feel when it's through the insulation if you're careful.  I never nicked the conductor at all despite many attempts.  The Jonard absolutely would not work with solid 30ga wire - it was far too big and even if you squeezed tightly the wire would just slide through.   

[David Hess]

I have some similar strippers which work perfectly with 30 gauge wire wrap wire so I do not think the problem is with the design.

[mojoe]

I haven't checked this forum in a while, but I just had to login and say that I loved your thread title. I got a good chuckle out of it.

[VariousPickles]

I've personally fallen in love with the wire strippers/cutters/pliers made by CHP, a subsidiary of Hakko (the Japanese soldering stuff guys with a thing for bright blue and yellow).

I first bought the micro flush cutters after Amazon wouldn't STFU about them and was amazed that they only cost a few bucks; the first truly flush cutters I've ever had.

[blacksheeplogic]

I was in a hurry and needed to strip a bunch of 30 gauge wire wrap wire for a repair.

This was all they had.  It looks (and is, actually) well made, with nice cushioned hand grips, a quality spring and a lock.  The problem?  All the wire notches are the wrong size!  Every single one barely scratches the insulation.

I use a OKI Industries ST-450 for this type of work. It strips 26-36 AWG, very small, low cost,  slips into a shirt pocket.