Just starting out ? Here is some tips, how to strip those (pesky) tiny wires.

[sleemanj]

Silicone insulated wire strips, for even as thick as 18AWG with just pulling gently between your thumbnail and index finger, no tools required, no damage done.

Also more flexible and more temperature resistant so can carry higher current for the same AWG (if you can tolerate the voltage drop) and doesn't retreat when soldering.

I very seldom reach for strippers these days.

[jbeng]

A pair of these from Ideal Industries are my go-to wire strippers.  Have been for years.

[Simon]

Those really small wires with low temperature coatings would be ideal to just dip. I also found that due to the way the coating shrivels up with heat just having a small amount of visible wire poking out to touch with my iron was enough so I would sometimes not strip at all and if I did always by a fraction of what I needed as with what disappears during soldering you quickly end up with more exposed wire than you want. I always wished I had a tinning pot for those.

[Renate]

Me, I use CK Tools.
They had the old "Nickless" line with side action.
These are the new ones that come in fixed and adjustable.
https://www.newark.com/ck-tools/330013/wire-stripper-98mm-0-25-0-8mm/dp/50M6745

[tooki]

Me, I use CK Tools.
They had the old "Nickless" line with side action.
These are the new ones that come in fixed and adjustable.
https://www.newark.com/ck-tools/330013/wire-stripper-98mm-0-25-0-8mm/dp/50M6745

I use these at work and they are excellent. One thing I really like about them (compared to most automatic strippers) is that the strip depth stop can be set very short, which is often needed for small crimp terminals where you may need to strip only 2-3mm of insulation. (FWIW, these aren’t really new, they’ve been around for decades. We have a bunch of them at work that have the old Siemens logo on them, the logo used from 1973-1991.)

Just beware that the wire gauges printed on them are
a) for solid wire (for stranded, go one size bigger)
b) the mm gauge isn’t in mm², but is the conductor diameter

At home, I have a Hakko-badged (Pierluigi OEM) stripper similar to the Ideal one shown above. Works great, but of course has no depth stop. Klein Tools makes a really nice version of this in their Klein Curve line with ergonomic grips. I have one of those for larger gauge wires, and it’s extremely well made, with very precisely ground cutting jaws.

[tooki]

Me, I use CK Tools.
They had the old "Nickless" line with side action.
These are the new ones that come in fixed and adjustable.
https://www.newark.com/ck-tools/330013/wire-stripper-98mm-0-25-0-8mm/dp/50M6745

Oh yeah, I also recently discovered a stripper that looks to be an auto-adjusting version of those, the WEICON 51000002 “Precision Wire Stripper S”.

We have one on the way, so hopefully this week I should be able to give some initial impressions of it.

[Renate]

One thing I really like about them (compared to most automatic strippers) is that the strip depth stop can be set very short, which is often needed for small crimp terminals...

I make up JST XH connectors which take a very short strip, maybe 1.5 mm?
I move the slider back to clear the old stripped bit (which tends to stay there when it's set very tight).
I put my wire through the side and close the slider.
That gives me the perfect distance.
Then I put the wire through the end and strip it.

FWIW, these aren’t really new, they’ve been around for decades.

Ahh! Found it! I was thinking of the Clauss "NO-NIK" strippers we used for wire wrapping.
https://www.efibertools.com/fiber-optic-tools/fiber-strippers/clauss-nn016-no-nik-new-surplus-wire-stripper/
(These are the ones for fiber but they had ones for wire.)

[tooki]

One thing I really like about them (compared to most automatic strippers) is that the strip depth stop can be set very short, which is often needed for small crimp terminals...

I make up JST XH connectors which take a very short strip, maybe 1.5 mm?

2.3 nominally (acceptable range 1.9-2.5mm)

I move the slider back to clear the old stripped bit (which tends to stay there when it's set very tight).
I put my wire through the side and close the slider.
That gives me the perfect distance.
Then I put the wire through the end and strip it.

That sounds about right, since your wire likely has a diameter around 1.3mm (for AWG 24, for example), and the blades aren’t quite flush with the slider. I’ll have to give that method a try!

FWIW, these aren’t really new, they’ve been around for decades.

Ahh! Found it! I was thinking of the Clauss "NO-NIK" strippers we used for wire wrapping.
https://www.efibertools.com/fiber-optic-tools/fiber-strippers/clauss-nn016-no-nik-new-surplus-wire-stripper/
(These are the ones for fiber but they had ones for wire.)

Looks like they’re probably not made any more? I found one page mentioning that the Clauss name had been bought, but not that product line, or something like that.

[Renate]

Looks like they’re probably not made any more? I found one page mentioning that the Clauss name had been bought, but not that product line, or something like that.

I'd advise you not to Google "Claus strippers" unless you're in the holiday mood.

[rfclown]

A pair of these from Ideal Industries are my go-to wire strippers.  Have been for years.

Your looks shiny new. Mine (same model) are much older. This is what I grab at my home bench. I bought a pair of Paladins which I really like. I took them to work because I use them more there, and the strippers that have at work are crap.