Wire Stripper

[JayL]

If you were to purchase one which product would you choose to buy? They look the same to me but I am not sure about performance. tks

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00004SBDH/?tag=atomicindus08-20

or


http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00004SBDH/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[speed bump]

The Kleins I use them everyday. You can buy them for about $16 other places.

 

[Stephenw]

I have the Channellock ones. Good tool. I have no complaints.

 

[64merc]

I have handled several different brands that are almost identical to the strippers in question, and I say they are all about the same. If you're stuck on Amazon, I would buy the Channellocks since they are cheaper. If you buy it locally, buy whichever is cheaper.

 

[MAD]

They are both made by Stride tool. Stride sells a version under their own Imperial brand.
http://www.stridetool.com/tools/electrical_datatools/stripper_11.html

They also make wire stripping, crimping, and snap ring pliers for Craftsman and the truck brands.

 

[rickairmedic]

I have these and most of the electricians I know have them and love them

http://www.kleinconnection.com/weba...01&productId=14985&langId=-1&categoryId=13005

I also have these and they **** and most peaple I know who have both also hate these notice the differance in the clasp between the 2 both are available at homie desperate .

http://www.kleinconnection.com/weba...01&productId=14981&langId=-1&categoryId=13001


Rick

 

[kwhitelaw]

For once, I prefer something from Craftsman over anything else, including SO.

Sears offers their Craftman professional line of strippers, which work exactly like the ones you posted, but have more cushion on the handles. Being that I use wire strippers as my number 1 tool daily, it does help with fatigue in the palm.

That and the Craftsman are cheaper in store than the ones you posted, and still have a lifetime warranty when they dull out. Plus, they offer 2 sizes of wire gauge for the stripping, all the way down to like 30ga. or so.

 

[Sunrise]

i have blue-point one. also made in usa.

how about those auto wire cutter from wal mart?: any good?

 

[kwhitelaw]

They are both made by Stride tool. Stride sells a version under their own Imperial brand.
http://www.stridetool.com/tools/electrical_datatools/stripper_11.html

They also make wire stripping, crimping, and snap ring pliers for Craftsman and the truck brands.

that link appears to have tools wrapped in dipped vinyl. the craftsman have more of a cushion-y feel, much easier on the palm.

 

[Moose-LandTran]

I have these, which i love. Although, seems no-one else uses them?

 

[eschoendorff]

I like Channellock. I really do... and if the choice was Channellock or Klein, You know what I'd pick....

However, do cross-shop the Cman Pros. Kwhitelaw seems to be on to something here...

 

[JayL]

How about this set? tks

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00973589000P?vName=Tools

I too love Channellocks. In fact I'm already finished with this stripper part until amazon sent me the message below.

Hello from Amazon.com.

We are sorry to report that we will not be able to obtain the following item(s) from your order:

"Channellock 908 Wiring Tool"
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004SBDH/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Though we had expected to be able to send this item to you, we've since found that it is not available from any of our sources at this time. We realize this is disappointing news to hear, and we apologize for the inconvenience we have caused you.

We have cancelled this item from your order.

 

[kwhitelaw]

I have these, which i love. Although, seems no-one else uses them?

see, I'd put those in with the automatic stripper type gadgets, good for stripping wire around the house to wire a light switch or hang a lamp etc. But I couldnt see a mechanic using those one bit because you cant easily get in between wires in a grouping. Same reason those combo strippers/crimpers that everyone sells dont work well in an automotive environment.

I know guys who use just regular old cutters, using experience to apply pressure to strip insulation without cutting the wire itself. Too hard for me though. That, plus the fact that car manufacturers are stepping down to smaller gauge wiring makes it even harder to strip insulation without cutting the copper.

The SO ones work fine, along with the ones posted in the first couple links. I just prefer the Craftsman as they dont dig into my palm.

 

[kwhitelaw]

How about this set?

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00973589000P?vName=Tools

from that set, I own the 10-20 and 20-32 awg strippers. no personal use for the other 2 shown. The 10-20 I own have a red stripe on the handles, and are also a little bit smaller lengthwise than the gold striped ones. noticeable enough that once when I did a warranty swap and got the gold strip ones in the 10-20 size, I immed. returned them for a pair like I had turned in.

 

[JayL]

from that set, I own the 10-20 and 20-32 awg strippers. no personal use for the other 2 shown. The 10-20 I own have a red stripe on the handles, and are also a little bit smaller lengthwise than the gold striped ones. noticeable enough that once when I did a warranty swap and got the gold strip ones in the 10-20 size, I immed. returned them for a pair like I had turned in.

Are these wire strippers Made in USA? tks

 

[kwhitelaw]

honestly, no clue. I dont shop by origin of manufacture.

 

[billymade]

I like these; they are german and sold under a number of brands, I think Ideal has one too, in blue/black. I haven't figured out who the OEM is but Hazet sells some too! With a quick squeeze and release; they strip the insulation off of a wire and are ready for the next step in your re-wiring job! Below the stripping jaws is a cutting pliers for clipping your wires.

Wire Stripper/Cutter, Automatic, (AWG 12 to 20), 7 1/4"
Stock#: PWC22A

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item...1&group_ID=796&store=snapon-store&dir=catalog


For crimping I love these Blue Point crimping pliers; they are machined perfectly and with solderless connectors they make a very strong crimp that sets the crimp; they makes a secure bond that is hard to pull the wire out of the connector (try that with those cheap stamped steel crimping pliers!). Again, there are similar models out there by Ideal, Klein tools and others...

Pliers, Terminal Crimping / Cutter, 9 3/8" Stock#: 29CP
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item....re&dir=catalog

 

[MachineTech]

I got a pair of these. The crimping I have a seperate special tool for because not all are the same. But these are the best I have seen for fast, automatic stripping of wires. These are made by IDEAL tools and are available at SEARS.

 

[billymade]

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00973655000P?keyword=ideal+stripmaster&sLevel=0

 

[MAD]

that link appears to have tools wrapped in dipped vinyl. the craftsman have more of a cushion-y feel, much easier on the palm.

I have some of the Stride made Strippers with the double dipped cushion grips as well. I like them the best too. There seems to be three different styles of grips available- vinyl dip. vinyl dip with air pocket cushion grip, and double vinyl dip with air pocket cushion grip.

 

[JayL]

I saw this from a previous post here. Seems like We Bike World had something good to say about this Irwin Wire Stripper.

http://www.webbikeworld.com/motorcycle-tools/vise-grip/self-adjusting-wire-stripper.htm

 

[kwhitelaw]

what is your intended use for the strippers? Interface work in vehicles (alarms, audio, adding electronics) or just around the house type electrical work?

If it's the first, imo, you need to stick with the kind you/I posted from sears, or the klein/channelock equivalent. If it's more around the house type stuff, the automatic strippers like billymade just posted will work. I wouldnt recommend using that type though for anything other than the most basic wire stripping in a vehicle.

 

[kwhitelaw]

For crimping I love these Blue Point crimping pliers; they are machined perfectly and with solderless connectors they make a very strong crimp that sets the crimp; they makes a secure bond that is hard to pull the wire out of the connector (try that with those cheap stamped steel crimping pliers!). Again, there are similar models out there by Ideal, Klein tools and others...

Pliers, Terminal Crimping / Cutter, 9 3/8" Stock#: 29CP
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item....re&dir=catalog

x2 on these for crimping. These get used most often for crimping at the shop unless I have to to up to 4ga./0ga. etc.

and yes, you can get the klein equiv. for these also. I just prefer the handle on the SO over the vinyl dip of the home depot type versions.

 

[JayL]

what is your intended use for the strippers? Interface work in vehicles (alarms, audio, adding electronics) or just around the house type electrical work?

If it's the first, imo, you need to stick with the kind you/I posted from sears, or the klein/channelock equivalent. If it's more around the house type stuff, the automatic strippers like billymade just posted will work. I wouldnt recommend using that type though for anything other than the most basic wire stripping in a vehicle.

It will be for all around automotive & motorcycle use. It looks like several stripper designs will be needed to cover bases like wire sizes, clearance issues and possibly ease of use.

 

[kwhitelaw]

eh, as much as some guys on here swear by the automatic type strippers, I swear against them. no big deal.

for me, I can strip/crimp anything with 4 tools,

the 2 Craftsman strippers in that 4 pc set you posted.
the crimpers that I quoted that are from SO
and a big set of crimpers ($150+) for anything over 8ga.

you can leave the big crimpers off if you wont see a need to do such a large crimp.

get the 2 strippers from sears and a set of the crimpers from either SO or a cheaper from Klein.

thats it.

 

[Lightning]

I have the Snap On PWCS9 which is combination wire stripper, crimpler, and cutter. Very high quality tool.

 

[billymade]

Wire Stripper/Cutter/Crimper/Bolt Cutter, (AWG 20 to 10 Stranded), 8 3/4"
Stock#: PWCS9
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp?store=snapon-store&item_ID=76201&group_ID=796
I hadn't seen this one before does it do all the jobs well?

 

[kwhitelaw]

Wire Stripper/Cutter/Crimper/Bolt Cutter, (AWG 20 to 10 Stranded), 8 3/4"
Stock#: PWCS9
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp?store=snapon-store&item_ID=76201&group_ID=796
I hadn't seen this one before does it do all the jobs well?

imo, too long. if you are trying to strip a wire, and your hand is farther back on the handle, you are more likely to apply too much pressure and cut the wire completely, rather than strip it. with the shorter handled setup, you have more control over the tool.

 

[billymade]

kwhitelaw, can you expound on crimping tools for the larger gages of wire that won't work with the above mentioned Blue Point 29CP; I am curios to see the other models that you use to tackle all types of wiring needs. I know on the higher lines brands they offer some with many removable "dies" to crimp pretty much anything you would run into; these usually go into the hundreds of dollars if you get them with all the different types of dies; definitely a investment!

 

[Merkava_4]

My Milbar strippers are the red handled ones that are in the back row 5th from the right. My automatic strippers are in the front row far left, and my Ideal crimpers are the ones with the pail yellow grips in the front row 3rd from left.

By the way, the Ideal crimpers are extremely sweet.

 

[billymade]

I tend to think "universal, do it all" tools don't do anything particularly well; I'm coming to the conclusion as time goes on, that getting "specific" tools for particular jobs tend to do these better then "all in one" tool solutions.
Merkava, the Ideal crimpers look similar to the Klein and the Blue Points!

 

[kwhitelaw]

Merkava, the Ideal crimpers look similar to the Klein and the Blue Points!

yep!

except my SO crimpers are rusted

 

[Merkava_4]

Merkava, the Ideal crimpers look similar to the Klein and the Blue Points!

They're kind of mildly polished with some kind of clear finish. The joint is nice and tight. They're a real pleasure to use.

 

[kwhitelaw]

kwhitelaw, can you expound on crimping tools for the larger gages of wire that won't work with the above mentioned Blue Point 29CP; I am curios to see the other models that you use to tackle all types of wiring needs. I know on the higher lines brands they offer some with many removable "dies" to crimp pretty much anything you would run into; these usually go into the hundreds of dollars if you get them with all the different types of dies; definitely a investment!

I got them from SO, but it was one of the companies that they distribute, not an actual SO branded part.


similar to these in design, but not cosmetics

http://www.mobilesolutions-usa.com/smartparts/hexcrimper.htm

I cant tell on the one I posted, but on mine, there is a threaded knob that adjusts the "depth" of the crimp, I think it goes from 4ga/ to 2/0awg, maybe bigger.

ive successfully crimped 4ga. using the crimpers you posted, but I always follow up with some butane and solder to play it safe.

you can also use the hammer crimp tool

http://us.st12.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/wind-sun_2017_7054924

works well but one misplaced hammer can ruin the crimp and still not provide a solid connection. not fun when you are using pricier 0ga. copper terminals etc.

 

[JayL]

I tend to think "universal, do it all" tools don't do anything particularly well; I'm coming to the conclusion as time goes on, that getting "specific" tools for particular jobs tend to do these better then "all in one" tool solutions.
Merkava, the Ideal crimpers look similar to the Klein and the Blue Points!

I'm slowly getting into the same conclusion too. Somehow I'm ending up getting duplicate tools because of the reason you mentioned above.

Merkava - what is the white handled crimping tool in your drawer? Also the 2 red pliers in the center with bent handles - are these modified or stock?

 

[Merkava_4]

Merkava - what is the white handled crimping tool in your drawer? Also the 2 red pliers in the center with bent handles - are these modified or stock?

I don't know which one is the white handled ones because none of them have white handles that I know of.

The bent pliers in the center are these -

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item...1&group_ID=762&store=snapon-store&dir=catalog

 

[kwhitelaw]

think he's talking about the crimpers that everyone keeps referencing.

 

[JayL]

crimp.

get the 2 strippers from sears and a set of the crimpers from either SO or a cheaper from Klein.

thats it.

How long are these wire strippers?

 

[JayL]

I don't know which one is the white handled ones because none of them have white handles that I know of.

The bent pliers in the center are these -

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item...1&group_ID=762&store=snapon-store&dir=catalog

Maybe it's not white but its the one between the longest long nose and the linesman plier.

 

[kwhitelaw]

How long are these wire strippers?

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00973574000P?vName=Tools

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00973572000P?vName=Tools

http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=204609081&listingid=27055713&dcaid=17902

just get these 3 and you will be good to go. the 2 top strippers are around 6" or so iirc.