Best tool for stripping 4awg and larger

[quattroJoe]

What are you guys using to strip stranded wire 4awg or larger? I do a fair amount of 4, particularly for batteries, and would like the capability to do up to 1/0awg. I've been using a utility knife or razor blade, but that's getting real old, and I'd much rather get a tool that's suited to this purpose.

 

[shawhite]

Usually something that big I use a knife anything from 8 up I use my Klein wire strippers

 

[franzdom]

This is the perfect tool for 4AWG and larger

 

[bluebolt]

That should work great but the price isn't cheap! Since I only do battery cable a few times a year I wonder I could modify a pipe cutter to work?

 

[franzdom]

I haven't tried a pipe cutter but it may work really well. This is what we use at work, but we do a LOT of 1/0 - 4/0. It is spring loaded and so easy to use.

 

[cosmik binturong]

the "Knipex" one is quite nice too:

if you do find it cheap that is...

best bet would be one of the rebranded Jokari, made in Germany too and awesome quality with a lower price.

*click!*

lots of rebrands that stay under the radar on eBay.com 'cause they're not known and then sell for peanuts(see this "Vellemann" and this "Knipex" for example: same product, almost half price for the first one )

(better prices from amazon though: *clicky!*)

 

[JDon99]

For battery cables, I always just used my OLFA knife with a sharp blade. Unless you are doing them all day, they work just fine.

 

[bluebolt]

I found an Ancor brand (marine suppler) has their part number Ancor 702065 which actually says Jakari on the handle. Best price $21.98 with shipping! http://marine.gdcomus.com/marine_pr..._229575.html?gclid=COmn3vDSzL8CFS0LMgodJQ8AjA

 

[Westly]

I used to wire up a lot of industrial motors, using wires that big and larger. I was taught to use a very sharp knife and just cut the insulation as if you were sharpening a pencil. Once you've gone all the way around, it should pull off pretty easily. Easy enough unless maybe you were on a production line.

 

[cosmik binturong]

whatever happened to the "hey guys, look! i got a good reason to buy a tool i don't have!", the "right tool for the job" and the "N+1" rules?

get what you want and like even if for using it a few times per year.


you'll only live once, like most of us.

 

[bill in in]

Most use a knife. For the really big stuff, a drawknife- Greenlee makes one for that purpose but it is identical to most woodworking tools.

 

[rdn2blazer]

Google. There are a million great video's of FAST home made wire strippers out there. SUPER simple ones with materials we all already have laying around. From manual to power strippers and everything in between.

He're a super easy one in video I saw. Just as easy to explain it:

Drill a hole in a 2x4 the diameter the wire is needing stripping. At 90 degree's but on center of the drilled hole screw a sharp new wood screw with a needle point into the block of wood so it protrudes into the drilled hole.

Clamp the block in a vise with the hole horizontal so you can pull the wire through. Start a split, pull it back a few inches, feed it through, screw the sharp wood screw down so it cuts the plastic. Start pulling and spread as you pull. Should pull and split easy and work just like in the video. I'd do this if I didn't have a bunch of wire to do. Otherwise there're plenty of power driven home built's that work awesome to search for. A fun search to do indeed. Show us what you end up doing.

 

[quattroJoe]

Thanks for all the suggestions! I'm not stripping heavy gauge wire daily, but it seems to come in waves. Sometimes it might be once a month, other times it seems like I do a few in a week. It's been one of those weeks and once again I'm wishing I had gotten around to buying the right tool before. Blades and knives are alright, but it takes more time to get a nice square cut and not nick any copper strands. Plus like cosmik said, any excuse to buy a new tool!

The Greenlee and Knipex models look nice, and I wouldn't question the quality of either sight unseen, but they're a little more spendy than what I was hoping for. And the 2x4 with a wood screw (actually I'd probably use multiple holes sized for different gauges) ought to work nicely, but space is at a premium in my 26" stacker, even after I just added an intermediate chest.

I think I'll try a Jokari or the rebranded Anchor. Amazon suggested a similar model from Ideal too that is made in the USA. Anyone have any experience with the Ideal model?

 

[shampoop]

practice with a utility knife with a sharp new blade. It's pretty easy. Like has been said, unless you're doing it ALL DAY there's not much reason to buy a special tool. I have sometimes stripped very large wire all day, and the fancy contraption didn't work as good as a basic utility knife.

 

[Wamsutta]

That should work great but the price isn't cheap!

What else are you going to spend your money on?

Tools are an excellent investment; they don't get burned in a combustion chamber and they don't get digested.

 

[cyato]

I've cut and stripped a lot of 4 gauge and larger wire over the years and my favorite/only wire cutter/stripper is the Ronan Multi-Cut.

http://www.ronantools.com/multi-cut-xp-2

They also sell them as Craftsman Handi-Cut.

http://www.sears.com/craftsman-3-7-8-in-handi-cut/p-00937301000P

With a fresh blade, they will slice through large gauge wire like buttah. You can slice very thin segments of wire without wire bits going everywhere. A lot of people on here probably already have a pair.



It takes a little practice to strip the wire, but they work great. After cutting the wire insulation radially, I snip in perpendicular from the end and it peels right off.

The great thing is that they are useful for cutting so many other things, so it's not a wire specific tool/investment. When the blade gets dull or nicked, it's easily replaced, unlike a regular wire cutter. My Snap On and Klein wire cutters haven't been used since about 1997.

 

[jontar]

As an Industrial electrician, I use a line knife. http://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0002RI508/?tag=atomicindus04-20 along with most other electricians,

Very rarely a razor balde (but sometimes), we only use the penicalling tools on medium voltage cable with a semi conductor so we don't hit the semi-conductor, no electrician uses a pencilling tool on 1000v and less cable/wire.

 

[jontar]

As an Industrial electrician, I use a line knife. http://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0002RI508/?tag=atomicindus04-20 along with most other electricians,

Very rarely a razor balde (but sometimes), we only use the penicalling tools on medium voltage cable with a semi conductor so we don't hit the semi-conductor, no electrician uses a pencilling tool on 1000v and less cable/wire.

 

[skruft]

A knife. I do have a tool something like the one pictured somewhere, but I don't strip the larger sizes enough to need anything special.

 

[bluebolt]

What else are you going to spend your money on?

Tools are an excellent investment; they don't get burned in a combustion chamber and they don't get digested.

Work doesn't get done if I don't have money for something I can digest LOL.

 

[Adam48]

I use these from knipex: http://www.knipex.com/index.php?id=1216&L=1&page=group_detail&parentID=1371&groupID=1432

I use the first cutter to cut a ring through the insulation and then, depending on the wire, I can pull it off or use a knife for a vertical cut and peel it off. Keeps things very tidy for terminating.

 

[SuzukiGS750EZ]

I do car audio installs and just use a sharp razor blade. Cut the insulation around the perimeter of the wire, then one slice straight up and peel.