Quality wire strippers?

D

dpsnacks

Member
The $3 wire strippers I'm using to make cables (SP500 / Mogami 2319) are starting to cut so poorly that the outer rubber shield moves when I go to strip the inner cable. Anyone got any recommendations for wire strippers? I don't think I need the fancy automatic ones unless you think I do. Based in USA, Amazon is fine, or whatever storefront.
 
Last edited:
These are the ones I use. I picked them up from Home Depot a couple years ago and they've held up fine through hundreds of builds.

commercial-electric-wire-strippers-ce100821-64_1000.jpg
 
Those wont strip the thinner wire gauges. I don't think I ever use anything thicker than 22 so I wouldn't be able to use them.
 
Ah, I didn't notice the range. I'm only using 10 12 and 22 AWG slots on my shitty strippers now but I'll take a look for something by Commercial Electric that goes a few sizes thinner. Are Klein Tools also reputable (in the opinion of the reader)?
 
I got this Irwin Vice Grip stripper and im kinda over the moon with it. It works all the way down to 24 awg. Perfect for working with audio cabling, its pretty satisfying to use and honestly increased my efficiency by 33% when it comes to making cabling and switch hardware, i love it bunches.
 

Attachments

  • s-l640.jpg
    s-l640.jpg
    18.5 KB · Views: 6
I bought the Klein 20-30 AWG stripers and they were life changing. The ones I had before were absolute garbage.

I tried one of the auto strippers before the Klein's and it hit the garbage before the packaging it came in did. Not the Irwin's above (Irwin is a reputable brand) but the one common on Amazon was terrible.
 
Picked these up earlier today: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Klein-T...-Tool-Wire-Stripper-Crimper-1019SEN/305303655

They are lovely, a huge step above what I was using yesterday. Before, I had to use the 10 AWG slot to cut the shielding mostly, then gently cut it with the 12 slot to prevent from slicing through the strands, then go back to the 10 slot to pull the sleeve off... now everything works in one grab like it's supposed to. I do sort of wish they had a spring like the one @Knotty Pine showed above, but otherwise, love it. $20 probably saved me an hour today alone and they'll probably last ten years. Thanks to all who advised.
 
peccary said:
I bought the Klein 20-30 AWG stripers and they were life changing. The ones I had before were absolute garbage.

I tried one of the auto strippers before the Klein's and it hit the garbage before the packaging it came in did. Not the Irwin's above (Irwin is a reputable brand) but the one common on Amazon was terrible.
Click to expand...
Agreed. I work in aviation and all the avionics guys seem to like Klein. So I got a pair and they seem to work pretty good.
 
as with any cutting edge they will all dull over time. better steel, correct edge angle, and of course user care all contribute to longer life.

why do I sound like Bob Vila?
 
I really have valued the purchase of an automatic wire stripper - they're nice for ribbon and bonded wire, which I've been trying to incorporate more into my builds. Being able to set the strip length is nice for me as someone who cannot for the life of me strip two wires to the same length with a regular pair of strippers. Pic for reference but can't endorse this exact model personally but it looks just like the one I bought.

1617097261978.png
 
finebyfine said:
I really have valued the purchase of an automatic wire stripper - they're nice for ribbon and bonded wire, which I've been trying to incorporate more into my builds. Being able to set the strip length is nice for me as someone who cannot for the life of me strip two wires to the same length with a regular pair of strippers. Pic for reference but can't endorse this exact model personally but it looks just like the one I bought.

View attachment 10676
Click to expand...

I got one similar to that from Amazon but it's blue and orange instead of black and I had really bad luck with it: it would either cut the wire entirely or it wouldn't cut at all. This is with the pre-bonded wire from Love my Switches. I played with it for about 30 minutes before I tossed it aside and ordered some Kleins. I was bummed because I wanted it to work so I could cut the ends to a uniform length.
 
peccary said:
I got one similar to that from Amazon but it's blue and orange instead of black and I had really bad luck with it: it would either cut the wire entirely or it wouldn't cut at all. This is with the pre-bonded wire from Love my Switches. I played with it for about 30 minutes before I tossed it aside and ordered some Kleins. I was bummed because I wanted it to work so I could cut the ends to a uniform length.
Click to expand...
Ah that's a bummer to hear because thats probably the exact one I have and like. I had to undo the tension pretty much as far as it could go to not mangle 22g and 24g. I think I even got it to work on 26g but I don't use that thin of wire often enough to remember
 
finebyfine said:
Ah that's a bummer to hear because thats probably the exact one I have and like. I had to undo the tension pretty much as far as it could go to not mangle 22g and 24g. I think I even got it to work on 26g but I don't use that thin of wire often enough to remember
Click to expand...
I probably got a bum pair, or I'm just too dense to figure it out :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top