Author Topic: Wire strippers  (Read 29380 times)

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Offline npelovTopic starter

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Wire strippers
« on: March 24, 2014, 05:28:28 pm »
I ordered wire strippers from dealextreme.com and they work fine for bigger cables, but I needed strippers for small cables (something to replace my teeth :)).
So I picked old cutters and grinded them to desired shape. And because I didn't have flat cutters to sacrifice I grinded those to be flat on the one side. They work pretty well. Better than I expected.

If you don't have strippers like these I highly recommend making them. The cutters only cost $2. and it took me more time to write this post than to make them.
 
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Offline mariush

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Re: Wire strippers
« Reply #1 on: March 24, 2014, 06:15:40 pm »
My first wire stripper was one that looked like this : http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/irwin-6-inch-vde-wire-stripper

They're just OK, not very good for thin wires because as you have to squeeze the handle to go through the insulation, you can also cut the thin wires. The one i bought was branded Black & Decker and was probably 5$.

Later, I found a "parrot" wire stripper from the same Black & Decker company for about 10-15$ .. obviously it's not made by them, they probably just rebrand it so probably any eBay one will work reasonably well. Here's an example of one that looks very very similar to mine: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AUTOMATIC-WIRE-STRIPPERS-PARROT-TYPE-JAW-/121059285324

This one works much better, even for thin wires. 

 

Offline robrenz

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Re: Wire strippers
« Reply #2 on: March 24, 2014, 07:12:20 pm »
Nice job  :-+  You can do more precisely and easily by using a tapered diamond mandrel.
Gently closing the cutters on the spinning mandrel at the right axial location for the diameter you want will generate a nice round tapered hole. Just grind deeper with the mandrel to get larger holes.

Offline nanofrog

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Re: Wire strippers
« Reply #3 on: March 24, 2014, 07:39:18 pm »
Nice. :)

I use a Pressmaster Embla.


Different blade cartridges makes it extremely versatile (3x different blade cartridges available), and the cost is reasonable as a result IMHO (frame w/ 1set of general purpose straight blades <grey cartridge> can be had for ~$54 in the US from here). Other cartridges are for large wire (red; 10-5AWG) and Teflon (blue; 28-10AWG). At least based on the pricing here, $125 gets you a stripper system that can do most anything you'd ever need for bench use IMHO.

Gets rebranded a lot, such as Wiha and Xcelite for example (quite a bit of markup vs. Waytek though @ ~$90 for the exact same tool). At least Pressmaster's own label is more available in Europe from what I understand, so that could help on pricing.
 

Offline georges80

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Re: Wire strippers
« Reply #4 on: March 24, 2014, 08:30:00 pm »
Yep, I have the Xcelite branded version (which I bought for ~$50 or so a whole bunch of years ago). Works really well for teflon insulated wire which I use for most hookup/test leads on my bench (I use high strand silicone for power test leads - but that is easily "stripped" with fingernails...). I'm still on the original teflon cartridge and still sharp as can be.

Highly recommended for teflon.

I have an Ideal Stripmaster (10 - 22 AWG jaw) for standard insulation, especially when doing vehicle accessory wiring etc.

I prefer a sized stripper to minimize nicking of wire (solid or typically stranded) versus a side cutter - but will use one of those if desperate.

cheers,
george.


 

Offline nanofrog

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Re: Wire strippers
« Reply #5 on: March 24, 2014, 08:55:59 pm »
I have an Ideal Stripmaster (10 - 22 AWG jaw) for standard insulation, especially when doing vehicle accessory wiring etc.
Any particular reason for this other than being able to use a sized nest to prevent nicking/cutting?

I ask, as I've used mine for this with the standard blades (grey cartridge), and generally, get excellent results (no nicks/cut strands).

Only time there's a problem, is when the insulation has hardened (blades don't cut deep enough, and scrape the insulation rather than stripping it). Can be overcome either by grabbing the jaws and applying a bit more pressure (do run the risk of nicking/cutting; practice helped  :o  :P), and/or swapping to a different cartridge (usually the blue one for Teflon, as the V shape cuts more surface area for most wire sizes).

Bit of a hack when I have to do this, but I find it easier than trying to size the nest, as I get it wrong enough times the same issues occur anyway (less than ideal eyesight).
 

Offline npelovTopic starter

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Re: Wire strippers
« Reply #6 on: March 24, 2014, 09:06:02 pm »
I tried to get one of these locally but they were pretty bad. there was gap between the ... 2 cutting edge just enough to pass small wire. So I didn't also bother ordering from ebay - didn't want to get 6 of them before realize they are all bad.
I had one of these (a cheaper one) and in order to work you need to put longer part of the cable inside. If you put shorter - it doesn't hold it well. And it's not a big deal - you cut it after you strip it, but why 2 actions instead of one. Also sometimes you need precise length to minimize the excess wire (and the mess). Of course if I pay $54 for a good brand things might be different, but I could buy a car for $54 :)... well not here, but there is probably some place you can.
The only good solution I could think of was the one I bought from DX (I mean this type of strippers), but I couldn't find one that can strip really thin wires.

The "Ideal Stripmaster" (looked it up) looks nice, but do you really need something to pull the insulation. You could just pull the cable. If you choose the correct size, most of the insulation is cut and you won't need too much force.

@robrenz I plan to have 1-2 of them. I love my proxxon. But in this case I was just frustrated that the strippers I got didn't work with small wires that I rushed into making one. Of course I knew at the time of ordering - it's on the photo, but it takes ages for these things to ship and I forgot. I thought I will have nice strippers.

I'll probably buy cheap flat cutters and make better ones. One disadvantage is that I cant' see where to put the cable on the flat side - the hole is too small to see and sometimes (not very often) I put it in a way the cable is damaged. So the next ones I'll grind on both sides, just to have guides.

Of course if I find good pair of these for smaller  cables, for reasonable price I would buy it. Cables always cause me troubles. I can't find thin colored cables sold by meter. I'm using alarm installation cable - strip it and take the wires out of it. I found some on farnell.com, but they only sell 100 meters. I found some on the internet, but they cost about $0.50 to $1.00 per meter. That's a robbery. I don't mind paying a lot, but the thing I'm buying must be worth.
 

Offline georges80

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Re: Wire strippers
« Reply #7 on: March 24, 2014, 09:12:15 pm »
I have an Ideal Stripmaster (10 - 22 AWG jaw) for standard insulation, especially when doing vehicle accessory wiring etc.
Any particular reason for this other than being able to use a sized nest to prevent nicking/cutting?

I ask, as I've used mine for this with the standard blades (grey cartridge), and generally, get excellent results (no nicks/cut strands).

Only time there's a problem, is when the insulation has hardened (blades don't cut deep enough, and scrape the insulation rather than stripping it). Can be overcome either by grabbing the jaws and applying a bit more pressure (do run the risk of nicking/cutting; practice helped  :o  :P), and/or swapping to a different cartridge (usually the blue one for Teflon, as the V shape cuts more surface area for most wire sizes).

Bit of a hack when I have to do this, but I find it easier than trying to size the nest, as I get it wrong enough times the same issues occur anyway (less than ideal eyesight).

Yep, specifically so the slot it sized correctly and to prevent nicking. Last thing I need when 4wding out into the middle of nowhere is an electrical issue that *I* created :)

I prefer to save the other stripper for teflon duties - I never trade out the cartridge from it. So, makes it easy, one tool for teflon insulation, the other tool for everything else.

OP:

Having the tool hold the insulation (both strippers do this) is MUCH better than trying to hold with your fingers and having the insulation stretch. When stripping a whole bunch of wires (harness etc), it is nice to have a tool that produces repeatable strips at the length you want it to and saves wear and tear on your hands.

cheers,
george.

 

Offline Neverther

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Re: Wire strippers
« Reply #8 on: March 24, 2014, 09:13:03 pm »
This tool at local shop is five times the price. The local one has more openings.

Ideal stripmaster as stated above, pretty nice for normal use.
That thing is good for the price if it works and atleast in 2012 it had good reviews.

Nanofrog:
I've stripped wires from center for stealing signal/power. It does it easily just by pushing the insulator a bit.
It is fast when you get hold of it.
I borrowed mine once and my friend tried pulling the wire out without releasing the grip at all.
Then he released all the way and flattened the strands...

Releasing the grip a little frees the wire but keeps the cutting jaws shut and the ends pulled apart.

Npelov:
Pulling the cable is sometimes nono.
And that thing is just nice to use.
 

Offline FrankenPC

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Re: Wire strippers
« Reply #9 on: March 24, 2014, 09:45:54 pm »
Show and tell:  These are my only automatic strippers.  I've had them for about 25 years now.  Never replaced or sharpened the blades.  Amazing workmanship.  I don't see it on Google (quick search).  Maybe it's just re-branded from something else.

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Offline nanofrog

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Re: Wire strippers
« Reply #10 on: March 24, 2014, 09:56:08 pm »
I tried to get one of these locally but they were pretty bad. there was gap between the ... 2 cutting edge just enough to pass small wire. So I didn't also bother ordering from ebay - didn't want to get 6 of them before realize they are all bad.
I had one of these (a cheaper one) and in order to work you need to put longer part of the cable inside. If you put shorter - it doesn't hold it well. And it's not a big deal - you cut it after you strip it, but why 2 actions instead of one.

The only good solution I could think of was the one I bought from DX (I mean this type of strippers), but I couldn't find one that can strip really thin wires.

The "Ideal Stripmaster" (looked it up) looks nice, but do you really need something to pull the insulation. You could just pull the cable. If you choose the correct size, most of the insulation is cut and you won't need too much force.

@robrenz I plan to have 1-2 of them. I love my proxxon. But in this case I was just frustrated that the strippers I got didn't work with small wires that I rushed into making one. Of course I knew at the time of ordering - it's on the photo, but it takes ages for these things to ship and I forgot. I thought I will have nice strippers.

I'll probably buy cheap flat cutters and make better ones. One disadvantage is that I cant' see where to put the cable on the flat side - the hole is too small to see and sometimes (not very often) I put it in a way the cable is damaged. So the next ones I'll grind on both sides, just to have guides.

Of course if I find good pair of these for smaller  cables, for reasonable price I would buy it. Cables always cause me troubles. I can't find thin colored cables sold by meter. I'm using alarm installation cable - strip it and take the wires out of it. I found some on farnell.com, but they only sell 100 meters. I found some on the internet, but they cost about $0.50 to $1.00 per meter. That's a robbery. I don't mind paying a lot, but the thing I'm buying must be worth.
Never been a fan of the first type (PITA to set properly IME). The one you tried may not have been rated to as small a wire as you were using (do check the specs, as there's no true one-size-fits-all).

Second type work well, if manufactured correctly (Pressmaster, Knipex, Wiedmuller, Rennsteig, Wekzug, ...). The cheap ones, not so much. Lots of mixed reviews to what I would assume is highly variable QC.

Third type work, but I've had nicked wire too often for my taste, even when there wasn't a mistake on my end (put the wire in the correct sized nest).

As per wire, look for remnants of large spools.

Yep, specifically so the slot it sized correctly and to prevent nicking. Last thing I need when 4wding out into the middle of nowhere is an electrical issue that *I* created :)

I prefer to save the other stripper for teflon duties - I never trade out the cartridge from it. So, makes it easy, one tool for teflon insulation, the other tool for everything else.
Simple enough.  :)

And given the costs of both strippers, quite reasonable for separate tools IMHO.  ;D

Nanofrog:
I've stripped wires from center for stealing signal/power. It does it easily just by pushing the insulator a bit.
It is fast when you get hold of it.
I borrowed mine once and my friend tried pulling the wire out without releasing the grip at all.
Then he released all the way and flattened the strands...

Releasing the grip a little frees the wire but keeps the cutting jaws shut and the ends pulled apart.
Never used one of that type for stripping in the middle of a wire. Seen a Tor used for this though, and they work (cut a ring, spiral, then cut another ring, and peel the spiral off).



As per the Ideal type, I was taught by an avionics tech to not squeeze all the way; just enough to separate it from the rest of the insulation, then pull it off gently by hand (don't want the stripped insulation to fly off, as the wire can get nicked that way). That lesson is still stuck in my head all these years later.
 

Offline FrankBuss

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Re: Wire strippers
« Reply #11 on: March 24, 2014, 11:33:42 pm »
Nice. :)

I use a Pressmaster Embla.
This looks similar to the one I use, a Weidmüller stripax:
http://www.amazon.de/Abisolierzange-stripax-0-08-10qmm-Weidmüller/dp/B000T7SGWI
Works very well and fast, much better than the teeth or wire-cutter method, for a wide range of wire diameters.
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Offline npelovTopic starter

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Re: Wire strippers
« Reply #12 on: March 24, 2014, 11:56:37 pm »
What does 'nicking' mean? Is it scratching the wire or cutting few of the wires of multi-wire cable? I don't see any damage on the cable although I would expect the ones I made to damage the cable once in a while.
I'm not too picky about wire stripping. I just needed something that does it fast and it had to be able to strip 3-4 mm to avoid cutting the excess. And it's only for prototyping. If I had to do tons of production wires then I would probably get something from well known brand. Sometimes it's not worth the money for buying all the best on the market. If I had all the best pliers, cutters, screwdrivers and a lot of other tools ... it would cost me the price of an decent oscilloscope. So I'm not fan of always buying the best out there. Even if you have the money you should think if there is a better way to spend it.

@Neverther I missed this one when I was looking. It has 0.5mm ... but it jumps to 1.2. I would rather have few in between.

But anyway. I never had a pair a good strippers in my hands. If I had one and used it for 10 minutes I might decide to buy it. But for 60+ EUR it has to do the dishes too...
 

Offline nanofrog

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Re: Wire strippers
« Reply #13 on: March 25, 2014, 02:41:42 am »
What does 'nicking' mean? Is it scratching the wire or cutting few of the wires of multi-wire cable?
Nicking is when there's a partial cut or scrape on one or more of the copper strands (or solid wire, if it's a single conductor). Essentially, any damage to the copper, but none is fully cut through and missing.

Missing strands are more severe damage, aka cut strands, and either type of damage reduces the current capacity of the wire (reduced cross section at the point where it's damaged, thus increasing resistance).

Sometimes it's not worth the money for buying all the best on the market.
True, but for something used as often as strippers, pliers, and cutters, you don't want to scrape the bottom of the barrel either IMHO (more expensive in the long run, and a lot of aggravation tacked on as well due to poor performance). There's very well priced tools out there if you look, even in pricier markets such as Europe. One example in the pliers and cutters category, would be Schmitz (rare instance they are absolute top quality without costing an arm and a leg; much cheaper than Knipex, Erem, Tronex, or Lindstrom for example). ~$16 - 23EUR per pair vs. 2-3x that or more for brands mentioned.

In the case of wire strippers, the Ideal Stripmaster can be had for ~$43USD here while say a top notch pair of Knipex can run ~$150 of similar construction. Quite a difference for example, and both are excellent tools.

Lots of info here that could help you locate such tools. All this said, for rarely used tools, I agree less expensive can make a lot more sense for a hobbyist IMHO.

But for 60+ EUR it has to do the dishes too...
Sadly, those haven't been invented yet, let alone would make it at that price point.  :P
 

Offline Blechi

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Re: Wire strippers
« Reply #14 on: March 25, 2014, 03:33:38 am »
Depending on the job i use several different strippers:
Knipex 11 06 160 VDE Abisolierzange (general purpose)
Knipex WZ KN 62 (fine wires, teflon etc., an expensive, but very precise tool. Unlike the cheap ones it doesn't wear out.)
WEICON Abisolierzange No.5 (switching cabinet, wiring in the house)
Weicon Rundkabel-Stripper No. 13
Weicon Kabelmesser Nr. 4-28H (for the bigger ones)

btw what would you guys use to strip 1200(!) ends of enameled wire (0.6mm diameter, the high temperature variety) ?
 

Offline calzap

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Re: Wire strippers
« Reply #15 on: March 25, 2014, 04:28:01 am »
For small wire, I use a cheap, small soldering iron with a chisel tip, one that dedicated to this purpose and other non-soldering tasks.  Just burn a groove most of the way around and pull the insulation bit off.  It's quick, and you won't nick the metal or remove any strands from stranded wire.  Not for teflon though.

Mike
 

Offline calexanian

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Re: Wire strippers
« Reply #16 on: March 25, 2014, 06:32:04 am »
We use these paladin strippers. I have actually found that i like the older design better but for most sane people these new ones would be more than fine. Ours have hundreds of thousands of stripping operations on them and we have only had one out of 5 fail in 25 years.


http://www.amazon.com/Paladin-1113-Stripax-Stripper-Cutter/dp/B0006BHCFO
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Offline npelovTopic starter

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Re: Wire strippers
« Reply #17 on: March 25, 2014, 11:17:00 am »
Well it's not perfect. I did nick the wire once (it's visible on the photo) in 18 strips:
http://download.nicksoft.info/pics/stripped.jpg
but it does the job. There were no cut strands.
 

Offline 128er

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Re: Wire strippers
« Reply #18 on: March 26, 2014, 12:46:56 am »
Hey,
interestingly, the wirestripper from calexanian, looks like a rebranded Weidmüller Stripax. But the old design. Not so long ago, they decided for a new design.

The old one (below) i used daily for more than 6 years. And its still pretty good. The new one is a little bit wider and is better in the hand. Both are rated for 0,08 - 10 mm²
 

Offline calexanian

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Re: Wire strippers
« Reply #19 on: March 26, 2014, 01:26:57 am »
In the U.S. they were under the name paladin. Same strippers. Looked at them all today. The newest ones say stripax.
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Offline ElektroQuark

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Re: Wire strippers
« Reply #20 on: March 26, 2014, 09:40:24 am »
It seems they are a bunch of models that are made by many brands, but the quality varies, so a same looking model do not stands for same performance.

I have just buy this



55€ here:

 CLICK!

The KNIPEX 1242195. There is a good looking animation of how it works here:

CLICK!



Offline kayvee

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Re: Wire strippers
« Reply #21 on: March 26, 2014, 10:01:34 am »
We use these paladin strippers. I have actually found that i like the older design better but for most sane people these new ones would be more than fine. Ours have hundreds of thousands of stripping operations on them and we have only had one out of 5 fail in 25 years.


http://www.amazon.com/Paladin-1113-Stripax-Stripper-Cutter/dp/B0006BHCFO

Yeah we use these too (the old style), and average about 4000 strips per month.

My only complaint would be that the orange plastic wire end stop wears away with extended use.  So instead of a nice straight 90 degree face you end up a sloping face which has been eroded by the jagged ends of the copper wire after prolonged use, resulting is a variable length strip depending on the angle of the wire insertion before the jaws closed.  Although I have tried. you can't get spare end stops for replacement.

That said they do work very well.
 

Offline robrenz

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Re: Wire strippers
« Reply #22 on: March 26, 2014, 12:11:44 pm »
It seems they are a bunch of models that are made by many brands, but the quality varies, so a same looking model do not stands for same performance.

I have just buy this



55€ here:

 CLICK!

The KNIPEX 1242195. There is a good looking animation of how it works here:

CLICK!

I have had these for a couple of years. You will be very happy :)  Available here for $89.95 in the US.
« Last Edit: March 26, 2014, 12:15:31 pm by robrenz »
 

Offline neslekkim

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Re: Wire strippers
« Reply #23 on: March 26, 2014, 12:22:25 pm »
+1 to the KNIPEX 1242195, kinda expensive, but very very nice for small wires.
 

Offline robrenz

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Re: Wire strippers
« Reply #24 on: March 26, 2014, 01:44:07 pm »
They are also Incredibly lightweight and very light force to actuate.


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