Ton ton
Well-known member
Are the Knipex wire strippers decent quality? If yes, which model works well with fine stranded aluminum wire? Thank you for the help, everyone. Merry Christmas!
December 2023 wire stripper thread.
- Thread starter Ton ton
- Start date
thomfr
Well-known member
Knipex makes very nice strong tools which take a lot of abuse (until a certain point off course). For me they are the first choice.
Over her in Europe they have an excellent customer service department which tells you exactly which set of pliers to take for with job.
Thom
Over her in Europe they have an excellent customer service department which tells you exactly which set of pliers to take for with job.
Thom
Yes knipex are well regarded for electricians especially.
Plier choice depends on what you are used to. Personally I like automatic pliers. I think Knipex has a couple of the plastic style automatic pliers that are very common among electricians. The style I like the most is the all metal ones that look more like regular pliers.
Plier choice depends on what you are used to. Personally I like automatic pliers. I think Knipex has a couple of the plastic style automatic pliers that are very common among electricians. The style I like the most is the all metal ones that look more like regular pliers.
KnurledNut
Well-known member
Gauge? Application?
Which type?
www.kctool.com
And I'm fairly certain there are others that KC doesn't offer.
Wire Stripping Tools By Knipex, Stahlwille, NWS, Hazet, Gedore, Felo - KC Tool
Knipex, NWS, Stahlwille, Hazet, Felo, Gedore and Wiha Wire Stripping Tools extremely high quality German Tools with Lifetime Warranty.
www.kctool.com
And I'm fairly certain there are others that KC doesn't offer.
sparky 1971
Well-known member
Outside of the Knipex electricians pliers linked below, I haven't seen anything they make with a stripper so I can't make a well informed comment about everything. I can say that the above mentioned pliers aren't worth a pinch of **** as a stripper. They do strip, but not as well as a tool that is made for the sole purpose of stripping and cutting.
www.kctool.com
I've been stripping wires for 29 years, April will make 30 and I've tried a few different types of strippers. Without fail, I always end of going back to the old school Ideal T-strippers. There are at least three types so that anything from #32 up to #8 can be stripped. Day to day I use the T5 which covers 18-10, but there is the T6 that strips 16-26, the T7 that strips 24-32, and the T8 that covers 16-8. They also have the curved handle style that other swear by. I've tried those and they work as well as the old style, but I just don't like them.
www.idealind.com
www.idealind.com
Knipex Forged Wire Strippers, 8" - Plastic Grip | Knipex at KC Tool
Knipex 8" forged wire strippers with plastic dipped handles. Cuts 6-32 and 8-32 screws without threading, and from either side. Strips both stranded and soli...
www.kctool.com
I've been stripping wires for 29 years, April will make 30 and I've tried a few different types of strippers. Without fail, I always end of going back to the old school Ideal T-strippers. There are at least three types so that anything from #32 up to #8 can be stripped. Day to day I use the T5 which covers 18-10, but there is the T6 that strips 16-26, the T7 that strips 24-32, and the T8 that covers 16-8. They also have the curved handle style that other swear by. I've tried those and they work as well as the old style, but I just don't like them.
T®-Stripper Wire Stripper | Market Leader
IDEAL® T®-Stripper Wire Strippers have been an industry standard since 1956. Compact, lightweight and easy to use with features like precision-ground, knife-type blades, built-in looping holes and more!
www.idealind.com
IDEAL Wire Strippers - Market Leader | Made in USA
IDEAL invented the T®-Stripper Wire Stripper in 1956. Compact, lightweight and easy to use. Features built-in looping holes and knife-type blades. An industry standard for over 50 years.
CGarage
Well-known member
What gauge wire and what application do you intend to use the tool for?
Wamsutta
Well-known member
richfinn
Well-known member
I've got all manner of wire strippers but these are 100% the best I've found (better than the Knipex Versions)
Shop around I got mine for £20 on Amazon
They work awesome and lock in the closed position for storage, spare blades are also available.
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www.weicon.de
Shop around I got mine for £20 on Amazon
They work awesome and lock in the closed position for storage, spare blades are also available.
Wire Stripper No. 5 | for all common stranded and solid conductors I working range 0,2 - 6,0 mm² | 10006786
The WEICON Wire Stripper No. 5 is suitable for stripping all stranded and solid conductors from 0.2 – 6.0 mm². The wire stripper also has a visual length scale from 5 - 12mm. The length stop can be removed, if required. A well-accessible side cutter is i…
www.weicon.de
theoldwizard1
Well-known member
I am a cost conscience DIYer. I agree with sparky !
I need a variety of Guage stripping, mostly residential type of wire, both aluminum and copper. One wire stripper pliers I do not recommend is the Carlyle from Napa. They have a crimper @ the back and I pinched my finger in the crimper. The Milwaukee 6in 1 is ok but it doesn't strip really small aluminum wire that you find in electronic devices. Hopefully you can make some sense out of my paragraph. Thank you for your help!
bwringer
Well-known member
That tiny stuff is not aluminum wire; it's tinned copper.
Solid large gauge aluminum wire is sometimes used for supplying power to buildings. Kinda the opposite of what you're doing.
Copper-coated fine strand aluminum (CCA) wire in large gauges is also used in cheap jumper cables to deceive the unwary. It's coated with copper and looks like copper unless you look very closely at the cut ends, or hire a lawyer to sift the fine print for the term "CCA".
Anyway... if you KNOW what gauge wire you're working with, and that it's good old 'merkin AWG, and you can see the size markings and accurately target the correct hole every time, then the olde-fashioned strippers with an assortment of sharp-edged holes in them work well.
However, if you're working with a variety of unknown and unmarked wire, and it's sometimes metric gauge wire, and it's often that teensy-weensy-beensy stuff found in electronics, LEDs, etc. then an automated stripper will give you the best odds of consistent success.
This Irwin, for example. It works great, but the head is rather bulky and you need a fair bit of free length to work with. It works well in some situations, but not others.
Another good style was mentioned above, the plastic-handled "puller" style. This is the Knipex version, but there are many different brands selling the same basic thing. This fits into some spaces better.
Edit:
There are also specialty wire strippers for the ridiculously fine wires found in some electronics. For example:
Solid large gauge aluminum wire is sometimes used for supplying power to buildings. Kinda the opposite of what you're doing.
Copper-coated fine strand aluminum (CCA) wire in large gauges is also used in cheap jumper cables to deceive the unwary. It's coated with copper and looks like copper unless you look very closely at the cut ends, or hire a lawyer to sift the fine print for the term "CCA".
Anyway... if you KNOW what gauge wire you're working with, and that it's good old 'merkin AWG, and you can see the size markings and accurately target the correct hole every time, then the olde-fashioned strippers with an assortment of sharp-edged holes in them work well.
However, if you're working with a variety of unknown and unmarked wire, and it's sometimes metric gauge wire, and it's often that teensy-weensy-beensy stuff found in electronics, LEDs, etc. then an automated stripper will give you the best odds of consistent success.
This Irwin, for example. It works great, but the head is rather bulky and you need a fair bit of free length to work with. It works well in some situations, but not others.
Another good style was mentioned above, the plastic-handled "puller" style. This is the Knipex version, but there are many different brands selling the same basic thing. This fits into some spaces better.
Edit:
There are also specialty wire strippers for the ridiculously fine wires found in some electronics. For example:
Last edited:
richfinn
Well-known member
100% agree, except just buy a Weicon no. 5 (made in Germany), it works better on very small wire and is way cheaper than the Knipex.
These type of strippers are great for tight spots when you don't have much wire length to work with (particularly for automotive work).
They are not the cheap plastic gimmicky tool that you first imagine, and just so much easier and faster to operate with one hand
This has become my go to wire stripper over my Knipex/Snap-On/Engineer branded models.
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Tynee
Well-known member
Shame you had a bad experience with the Carlyle's. I've switched to the ones on the left in this pic, and like them better than any I've used:
By your description, sounds like maybe you had the ones in the middle?
bwringer
Well-known member
None of those will work for the teensy-tiny wires the OP is talking about. They can be useful for home or some vehicle wiring.Shame you had a bad experience with the Carlyle's. I've switched to the ones on the left in this pic, and like them better than any I've used:
By your description, sounds like maybe you had the ones in the middle?
RAS61
Well-known member
I'm just a home improvement person that only occasionally does wiring, but the T-5 is what I use and serves me just fine. Compact, light, and not very expensive. Pretty sure I got the idea for them from watching a Pro Electrician on a big job/renovation I contracted out
theoldwizard1
Well-known member
The absolute BEST strippers for anything over 20 gauge were Clauss No-Nik. One pair PER WIRE GAUGE ! They stopped making them probably because of price.
BUT THEY ARE BACK ! This time they are for fiber optic cable !!
BUT THEY ARE BACK ! This time they are for fiber optic cable !!
I'm a huge Knipex fan, but for stripping wires, I love the Klein Kurve. They may make the Williams linked above as it looks very similar. I have three sizes of the Klein, but use the middle one almost all of the time. I prefer separate tools for a stripper and a crimper.
woody 73
Well-known member
ton ton I use these but some of the others above will also work well,
www.kctool.com
Knipex Forged Wire Strippers, 8" - MultiGrip
Knipex Forged Wire Strippers, 8" - MultiGrip - high quality German engineering at the lowest price
www.kctool.com
Ohmthis
Well-known member
I prefer the Klein Kurves as well. I’ve used Klein strippers since 1998. I have Tsttippers, but the Klein felts better in my hand. To Be Honest, I want to try a set of auto strippers. I just want to Feel them to know which one feels best in my hand.
Wamsutta
Well-known member
Nobody likes the Williams ?!!? They're bad-***, made by Stride-Imperial USA. They used to make them for Milbar back in the day too.
Just bought three of them this morning. Not a fan of the model with the crimper or the bolt cutter however.
Wamsutta
Well-known member
The 23503 ? I use that one for the spark plug terminal crimper. It works the same as an open barrel crimper for spark plug terminals.
Yup. Nothing wrong with that tool but I often find that in a lot of circumstances when I grab a combination tool like that it's hard to maneuver in tight spaces.
I like the most compact tool possible so I don't run into clearance issues.
Wamsutta
Well-known member
In that case the 23533 is the one to have for sure. I have one and I like it better than my Klein Kurves.
Just ordered three different styles from Williams a few seconds ago!
Williams is starting to become my new favorite industrial brand versus Proto. The Proto pliers seem like they're getting worse and worse
.Wamsutta
Well-known member
They're definitely underrated for sure.
Yes , the one in the middle is the one I used. I have the other wire strippers as well.Shame you had a bad experience with the Carlyle's. I've switched to the ones on the left in this pic, and like them better than any I've used:
By your description, sounds like maybe you had the ones in the middle?
richfinn
Well-known member
These are the Engineer wire strippers I mentioned (good for small gauge wire but not as easy to use as the Weicon no.5)
www.engineertools-jp.com
PA-06 / PA-07 / PA-14 | ENGINEER INC.-Global
Wire strippers giving a very round finish of conductors (wires) PA-06 PA-07 PA-14
www.engineertools-jp.com
CGarage
Well-known member
The Klein auto wire strippers work well for me even on 18-20 gauge stuff.
The rest I have is Wiha, Facom, and Tyco. For various uses.
The rest I have is Wiha, Facom, and Tyco. For various uses.
89MustangGX
Well-known member
Wamsutta
Well-known member
These are the Engineer wire strippers I mentioned (good for small gauge wire but not as easy to use as the Weicon no.5)
PA-06 / PA-07 / PA-14 | ENGINEER INC.-Global
Wire strippers giving a very round finish of conductors (wires) PA-06 PA-07 PA-14
I'm thinking "ouch" when I look at those handles.
richfinn
Well-known member
I've got a few tools from Engineer, strippers/crimpers/screw extractor pliers.
I don't know what the story is with the crazy looking grips, but in everyday use they are pretty nice to use (but very compact compared to Euro/USA tools)
Bookmarked their site to remember to look at them later.
Quintessentially Japanese when the website loads this "chatbot" graphic.
I love it.
Attachments
CGarage
Well-known member
The Engineer handles are comfortable. Great tools.
But you need to pick the right stripper for the job…..
The Ideal Stripmaster auto stripper design format seems to be an industry standard. I have Klein and Facom auto strippers that are this exact pattern.
I am surprised no one has mentioned Jokari.
But you need to pick the right stripper for the job…..
The Ideal Stripmaster auto stripper design format seems to be an industry standard. I have Klein and Facom auto strippers that are this exact pattern.
I am surprised no one has mentioned Jokari.
CGarage
Well-known member
Crazy to me that no one has mentioned:
jokari.de
Home | JOKARI
Die JOKARI GmbH & Co. KG ist Spezialist in der Abisolier- und Entmantelungstechnik für sämtliche Kabel- und Leitungstypen. Jetzt Abisolierwerkzeug finden!
jokari.de
bwringer
Well-known member
Their website is shite, but they do seem to have some good options for the tiny wires the OP is working with.Crazy to me that no one has mentioned:
Home | JOKARI
Die JOKARI GmbH & Co. KG ist Spezialist in der Abisolier- und Entmantelungstechnik für sämtliche Kabel- und Leitungstypen. Jetzt Abisolierwerkzeug finden!
For example, this fella for AWG 26 - 36:
Products & solutions
Jokari-Krampe GmbH (Limited) is specialist in the stripping and dismantling technology for all types of wires, cables, and conductors.
I use these Stanley auto wire strippers (also sold by a bunch of other brands) for pretty much all wiring, from little auto wires like can bus up to household wiring. They’re great because they just work on every wire, without having to figure out which is the correct little grove in a traditional style stripper, and cheap enough I can just have a set in every tool box, I think I have around 4 sets.
