Can anyone help with wire stripper advice

ThomasLayne · Feb 20, 2013

Hello Everyone

I am looking at getting some new wire strippers, I want to get a good all round wire stripper I can use for most jobs. but which type do you think is best?

I have narrowed my choices too these three:

http://www.newark.com/knipex/12-62-1...8mm/dp/06R6274

http://www.newark.com/duratool/d0162...mm2/dp/41R5485

http://www.newark.com/weidmuller/str...6mm/dp/24M7939

But there are so many wire strippers not sure if I have made the best choice.

Any ideas, what are you using?

Thank you
Thomas

Aetsh · Feb 20, 2013

I like knipex personally

egfdevos · Feb 20, 2013

Jokari Super 4 plus

Monte · Feb 20, 2013

i have the knipex one which works very good

CWP1616L · Feb 20, 2013

These are fantastic and would be my 1st choice. Don't let the price fool you.

http://store.harryepstein.com/cp/WesternForge/73573.html

kngelv · Feb 20, 2013

What kind of jobs are you doing?

James

Monte · Feb 20, 2013

i had a manual wire stripper, then i tried a automatic one and never looked back....

CWP1616L · Feb 20, 2013

I have an automatic wire stripper; it needs a lot of wire to grab onto so it can make the strip. If you're in a situation where you have to make a strip on a short piece of wire, the manual strippers with the dies in the front are the way to go.

frankush · Feb 20, 2013

I use wire strippers every day and I've never liked the automatic ones. I use the Klein version of the Craftsman in the picture above.

CWP1616L · Feb 20, 2013

frankush said:
I use the Klein version of the Craftsman in the picture above.

Believe it or not, I got the Klein version too. From my experience, the Kleins don't bite into the insulation far enough on multi-strand wires. If I'm stripping a 14AWG wire, I have to first bite into the insulation with the 16AWG die and then switch to the 14AWG die to pull the insulation off. However, for solid strand wires, the Kleins work excellent.

Rezeppa · Feb 20, 2013

I hate automatic wire strippers and I have used a lot of them. I have a set of Matco that have sat unused for at least a year I actually use my snapon PWCS7 for almost all of my wire stripping needs. Sometimes I use it as a wire stripper and use I different tool to crimp idk why I like it so much but I think it is just the sharpest or has the tightest tolerances but I have found it hands down to be the fastest for me at least.

Paul Bee · Feb 20, 2013

Vaco 1863 combination stripper and crimper for most jobs. I like Ideal Stripmaster automatic strippers if I am doing a big job.

Brownsfan · Feb 20, 2013

I use these all day long. I have had them for at least 10 years. I used them for about 8 of those years 6 days a week 10+ hours a day and they still work great. They are like 18 bucks and worth every penny. http://www.toolaid.com/content/wire-stripper

vhol5 · Feb 20, 2013

Brownsfan said:
I use these all day long. I have had them for at least 10 years. I used them for about 8 of those years 6 days a week 10+ hours a day and they still work great. They are like 18 bucks and worth every penny.

What are "these"?

AV tinker er · Feb 21, 2013

I use the automatic strippers on an almost daily basis. When it comes to the automatic ones the “dies” are what make the difference. Most of the time the dies are not correct for the type of wiring that is being stripped. As an example on the aircraft we have Kapton coated wiring and Teflon coated, using the strippers that have dies designed for Teflon will not effectively stripe Kapton wiring (even though both are “X” gauge). If you have the correct die they are fantastic, they do not put as much stress on the wire as other types of strippers do, and for me at least, they do not knick the wire as much.

That being said check out Ideal Strippers, I like these.

lbgradwell · Feb 21, 2013

As always, there are many different opinions on this...

Monte said:
i had a manual wire stripper, then i tried a automatic one and never looked back....

CWP1616L said:
I have an automatic wire stripper; it needs a lot of wire to grab onto so it can make the strip. If you're in a situation where you have to make a strip on a short piece of wire, the manual strippers with the dies in the front are the way to go.

AV tinker er said:
That being said check out Ideal Strippers, I like these.

I will also side with the automatic strippers, although, as noted, the Ideal/Speedex style do require a lot of wire. Having said that, they are still the style I prefer if the above objection is not an issue.

If the amount of wire is an issue, you will benefit by owning an end-stripping style like the manual Knipex or automatic Weidmüller. (The Weidmüllers pictured above are from the late 1980s and are new to me; they seem to work very well and newer versions claim to offer "improvements")

I still have the pressed steel type too as they can be useful for cutting off and re-threading bolts in addition to stripping wire and crimping connectors...

baron405 · Feb 21, 2013

Snap on PWCS7... Very affordable and compact. I have two pairs and love them.

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item...roup_ID=742282&store=snapon-store&dir=catalog

stonesfan68 · Feb 21, 2013

I have the Paladin 1117 wire stripper and really like it. IIRC it is made in the USA.

I also have used the Williams 23506 and like it as well, and it is made in the USA.

Jsf721 · Feb 21, 2013

I just purchased a set from HF to fix a break in the alarm wire that I cut doing dry wall work. Worked like a charm and looks like my Craftsman what got totalled in a recent hurricane flood.

Monte · Feb 21, 2013

lbgradwell · Feb 21, 2013

Monte, do you know if all these German companies truly independently manufacture these suspiciously-similar strippers or is there a common OEM?

zmaxmotorsports · Feb 21, 2013

CWP1616L said:
These are fantastic and would be my 1st choice. Don't let the price fool you.

http://store.harryepstein.com/cp/WesternForge/73573.html

Ivused lots of different styles of strippers over the years as a contractor,but I always end up back to using that basic style.
I use Ideal or klein depending on what supply house Im around at the time.

Brownsfan · Feb 21, 2013

vhol5 said:
What are "these"?

Sorry forgot the link. Here it is again. http://www.toolaid.com/content/wire-stripper. They are great for the price

nanofrog · Feb 21, 2013

lbgradwell said:
Monte, do you know if all these German companies truly independently manufacture these suspiciously-similar strippers or is there a common OEM?

I'd suspect many are rebranded (seen Weidmuller models under other names).

One example that turns up under multiple names, and is an excellent model, is a Pressmaster Embla. Swedish made though, not German. These turn up under Wiha, Xcelite, Greenlee, and a few others.

One thing I really like about them, is there are different cartridges for them for different types of wire (3x; PVC, Teflon, large gauge & easily identified by color).

Mr_fixit · Feb 21, 2013

NEWARK is overpriced.
I like the Ideal, I've been using some of the same ones for 20+ years. And bough a few more, for different wiire sizes. On newark they're about 45 bucks, In local stores they're about 25 bucks.

rshadd · Feb 21, 2013

I have a few different sytles.

Some autos...

This is what a grab most of the time though...

One of these days I'll break down and buy the Snap-on PWCS7.

Monte · Feb 22, 2013

lbgradwell said:
Monte, do you know if all these German companies truly independently manufacture these suspiciously-similar strippers or is there a common OEM?

there are only a few OEM´s .....and many rebranded products....
the german OEM´s are...: Rennsteig/Knipex (www.Knipex.com / www.Rennsteig.com), Weicon (www.Weicon.com), Jokari (www.Jokari.de), Weidmüller (www.Weidmueller.com) and Wezag (www.Wezag.de)

lbgradwell · Feb 22, 2013

Monte said:
there are only a few OEM´s .....and many rebranded products....
the german OEM´s are...: Rennsteig/Knipex (www.Knipex.com / www.Rennsteig.com), Weicon (www.Weicon.com), Jokari (www.Jokari.de), Weidmüller (www.Weidmueller.com) and Wezag (www.Wezag.de)

That's still more actual manufacturers than I was expecting. I wonder why the products are all so very similar..? :dunno:

Monte · Feb 22, 2013

lbgradwell said:
That's still more actual manufacturers than I was expecting. I wonder why the products are all so very similar..?

i dunno....a Levi´s looks like a Lee which looks like a Wrangler

Can anyone help with wire stripper advice

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