Wire strippers of choice

Weidmuller here too. I use the smaller one though:

http://www.weidmuller.com/bausteine.net/i/93290/90012800009999_214.jpg

BobB said:

Have used all of them apart from Phoenix and they all wear out in under 12 months. They are all generally quite expensive and not worth the money to be honest. Maybe I work too hard? Still looking for decent strippers - have a set at the moment - all metal apart from the wire stop - it broke! The rest is really good so far - cost me $30. Far cry from the cost of the others. Just have to guess the length.

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I'm old school too, but with all these votes for the trigger type, I'm going to get some from Automation Direct.
Price is right, and they have replacement blades.

mendonsy said:

These are kinda old school, but they work just fine.
http://www.idealindustries.ca/products/wire_processing/hand_tools/stripmaster.php

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I have had the same set of Stripmasters for 6 years.

All the different pairs of strippers I have lying around and more often than not, I end up with a pair of side cutters for stripping wires, I usually don't think about it till my fingers are blistered!!!! That only happens after a couple hundred though. Perhaps it cause they are always lying close to me.

For panel work, I've been using the Phoenix Contact CRIMPFOX 4in1 for a few months now and I must say it's excellent as an all-in-one tool. Something I'm usually very sceptical about using. A colleague ordered it in work and now I won't give it back. It CUTS, STRIPS, TWISTS and CRIMPS ferrules from 0.50 - 2.5mm2 (20-14 AWG). The stripper can do up to 6.0mm2 (10 AWG). There's a magazine to load the ferrules into and it dispenses them automatically into the tool. There's a video in the link above. A very clever tool and not too big in the hand.

I also use a KNIPEX 12 62 180 Automatic Insulation Stripper which is good for 0.2 - 6.0mm2 (24 - 10 AWG). There is also a cutter on the top but this just does up to 2.5mm2 (14 AWG). I use this when I'm just stripping and not crimping, like for POINT I/O, etc. I have this a few years now and it's been very reliable. The blade might be starting to go but you can get replacements.

I also have, but use less nowadays, a KNIPEX 11 15 160 Insulation Stripper which does a great job at stripping for small jobs. It does up to 10mm2 (7 AWG).

My trusty KNIPEX side cutters were stolen some time ago, the thieving rascals! But then there's always the backup - the gap between my two front teeth!

Regards,
George

I have used these for the last two years and love them. My understanding (though possibly wrong) is that the aircraft industry approached them for a design that would allow cable ties to be cut in tight places within the fuselage without causing damage to the wires.

http://www.datcominc.com/products/act-mg-1400-wire-stripper-and-cable-tie-cutter.html

Milwaukee. I've had several Klein and GreenLee variations but an electrician once recommended these to me a few years ago and I've been using them ever since.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwaukee-10-in-NexGen-Electricians-Wire-Strippers-48-22-3079/202966263

BobB said:

Have used all of them apart from Phoenix and they all wear out in under 12 months. They are all generally quite expensive and not worth the money to be honest. Maybe I work too hard? Still looking for decent strippers - have a set at the moment - all metal apart from the wire stop - it broke! The rest is really good so far - cost me $30. Far cry from the cost of the others. Just have to guess the length.

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Sounds a lot like the Irwin "VISE-GRIP" Self-Adjusting wire strippers.

If so, then you're already using the best IMO.

Of course, that really depends on intended usage and personal preference. But, I've found the Irwins to be the most flexible and reliable set for myself.

Hate those ones with the separate holes for different size cables - they are so slow it is not funny. Mainly used the Weidmuller ones in recent times and they fall apart after about 6 months. Yes - Irwin Vise Grip - good except for the plastic cable stop - very fragile. Have to be careful as well or you catch your hand in the closing handles - ouch! Inexpensive as well.



Slightly OT but crimpers are just as important. Have been using the Weidmuller die type with the rotating die. Wear them out in 6 months as well and they are very expensive. Had a look at the Phoenix one - WOW - are they expensive and do not look to be any better than anything else. When one considers I paid a heap for their strippers and only lasted 6 months decided no. Using these now - much cheaper and work really well. The square crimp is useful as well for all types of terminals I find. Very quick and easy to use as well. They are dieless. http://www.cabac.com.au/products/hand-tools/hand-crimpers/HNKE9

I've had a pair of the Automation Direct self adjusting strippers going strong since 2006 with just some blade replacements. I rarely use them in wire larger than 16awg though
For bigger wire I used the ergonomic handle Kleins for a long time until I found the stainless steel copy that Southwire makes. http://www.southwiretools.com/tools/tools/S1018SOL
These are great in corrosive environments.

BobB said:

...Slightly OT but crimpers are just as important...Had a look at the Phoenix one - WOW - are they expensive and do not look to be any better than anything else. When one considers I paid a heap for their strippers and only lasted 6 months decided no. Using these now - much cheaper and work really well. The square crimp is useful as well for all types of terminals I find. Very quick and easy to use as well. They are dieless. http://www.cabac.com.au/products/hand-tools/hand-crimpers/HNKE9

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Bob,

The Phoenix Contact CRIMPFOX 4in1, if that is what you are referring to, is pretty solid so far. I haven't been using long enough to say it's durable, even past 6 months yet. I'm probably not as hardcore a user as you seem to be so it won't get the "Bob test". But so far it has been reliable. If I don't like a tool I put it down pretty quickly, but this one I like. About €260 to buy.

Before this, for years I was using a square crimper from Radionics - 464 482 Y10. Solid as a rock as crimpers go. I can't find a picture online so here's one...

George's CRIMPFOX! - No One Else's!!...

I wire panels all the time and found the Crimpfox rather awkward and way too slow to be honest. Legrand had a similar tool as well and it was also slow and awkward to me.
The Phoenix one I used was just a crimper.
The Radionics one is a similar concept to the one I am using now - nice and quick and easy.

I used it a couple of weeks ago for a new panel we wired ourselves inhouse. That was the most I've used it in one go. It took me about half an hour to get into the rhythm of using it quickly. It's pretty light in the hand for a 4 in 1. I just had my terminal screwdriver and this. So I wasn't putting this tool down picking that tool up every few seconds. You'd have to time the difference, I suppose, but it definitely felt like I was working more efficiently.

If I had to pick one of the steps I'd skip on the tool to go quicker, it's probably step 3 TWIST. After you strip at 2 it leaves the stripped insulation on the end of the wire. 3 just grips this insulation and rolls it along the toothed strip at the top, twisting the strands inside. You then have to manually pulI off the insulation before crimping. Usually I don't twist before crimping with the square one, unless some strands have splayed out on me when trying to put the wire into the ferrule.

It would be nice if 3 twisted and pulled the insulation off automatically so you don't have to use the hand holding the tool to grab it. Slightly awkward but you don't have to put the tool down.

What'd be a really neat feature on the somewhat larger stripping tools is the ability to retain the stripped insulation in a pocket or removable tray that you can empty when it gets full. It would save a lot of cleaning up and could prevent strippings falling into things or places they shouldn't. I know a lot of strippers leave the insulation on the wire for you to dispose of but even then you can quickly pull it off and it falls where it shouldn't either way. I know for large jobs you'd probably have to empty it mid-work, once or twice even, but still, it'd be worth it in my opinion.

I dislike opening panel enclosures that someone here worked on, or worse still, has come in new from an OEM, and has strippings all over the panel floor. It does not give me much confidence in their attention to detail and it's certainly not professional looking. I clean up all I can see or find at jobs end and make sure I immediately retrieve any strippings that I see go where they shouldn't, if I can.

A little vacuum cleaning never hurts either.

G.