Comments on: Hands-On: Irwin’s Self-Adjusting Wire Stripper

By: crimpersstrippers.check4cheap.com » Blog Archive

crimpersstrippers.check4cheap.com » Blog Archive — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 14:18:23 +0000

[...] Toolmonger ” Blog Archive ” Hands-On: Irwin’s Self-Adjusting Wire Stripper … Irwin’s (semi-)new self-adjusting wire strippers, so we thought we’d give you a … shop — we have a couple of good crimpers as well — we did try them out … [...]

By: RawCode » Awesome self adjusting Wire strippers!

RawCode » Awesome self adjusting Wire strippers! — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 10:10:41 +0000

[...] The one thing I have always hated about rewiring home theater, or running cable for any reason was stripping the cable. The tools I had were a pain in the ass, or I had to manually cut the insulator with a knife and pull off with a pair of pliers. But with Toolmonger’s review, I’ll just spend 20 bucks, and end my problems. [...]

By: Stuey

Stuey — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 20:48:57 +0000

Thanks James - since I couldn’t find the Irwin stripper on Amazon, I picked up a GB one for $15 and change. I use GB accessories such as cable ties, but haven’t used any of their tools yet.

By: Wim L

Wim L — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 03:05:20 +0000

I’ve *used* automatic wire strippers that worked well on stranded wire, but I’ve never managed to *buy* a pair. The good ones I’ve used were always bought somewhere three states away that went out of business last decade. I’ve bought a few pieces of crap, though, and have always given up and gone back to the penknife or choose-a-hole methods of wire stripping. Sigh. Maybe I’ll give these a shot; $20 isn’t too much to risk on another experiment.

By: Don

Don — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 23:03:57 +0000

I’ve been looking for a good wire stripper. I’ve had two other’s that ended up being total crap. I think I’ll give this one a try. If it’s good I’ll be happy, if it’s crap I’ll come looking for you:p

By: Nate Bezanson

Nate Bezanson — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 01:15:53 +0000

These are fine for solid wire, but I’ve never found “automatic” strippers that could handle stranded wire without breaking a few strands. Your mileage may vary but I got sick of mine.

By: Brent

Brent — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 18:10:32 +0000

I have a similar pair, and I like them. However, they are not easily usable for stripping wires inside a j-box, or other confined enclosure. The space the tool itself takes up interferes with making nice looking terminations.

For working on wires outside of a wall, they rock.

By: Toolmonger » Blog Archive » Toolmonger’s Top 5: The Week in Tools

Sat, 24 Feb 2007 01:09:34 +0000

[...] Hands-On: Irwin’s Self-Adjusting Wire Stripper This tool (which is new to the Irwin line, but not new to any old-hand electronics buff) proves to be a winner. We tried it out on a variety of wire types and posted lots of pictures to help you get a feel for it. (And if you’re still using a manual stripper — or one that requires you to pick the right hole – you should definitely check out a self-adjusting model. They rock.) [...]

By: James

James — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 22:31:31 +0000

D’oh!

I just made a patch cable last night and I didn’t think to use my auto stripper for the outer jacket. My crimper has a blade for stripping the outer jacket, but since I have cat6 instead of cat5, it always cuts into the wires. I ended up doing it very carefully the hard way.

I’ll definitely try the auto stripper the next time.

By: Rick

Rick — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 20:25:59 +0000

Brian, it’s been a while, but I believe I have used them to make some Ethernet patch cables. The way the tool works is that it grabs the outer most jacket and strips that, but it should leave the inner pairs intact.

By: Brian C.

Brian C. — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 19:39:13 +0000

Has anyone tried these on bundled wire? Like telephone or Cat-5? I do a fair amount of wiring for networks and these might be handy, but in standard Cat-5 there is an insulated jacket surrounding 8 insulated wires. When creating patch cables, for example, you strip the outer jacket back but leave the inner insulation on the individual wires alone.

By: TimG

TimG — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 16:25:06 +0000

I have a ‘non-Irwin’ version and love it! I had a cheapie plastic version before and upgraded to the metal one. Sometimes it has to be adjusted so it doesn’t pull/cut some of the wire along with the insulation.

Great tool, and DEFENITELY worth the price. This isn’t an overpriced tool here, doing ANY sort of electrical work it’ll save tons of time. The ‘old method’ is terrible.

Tim

By: Bruce

Bruce — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 15:02:21 +0000

Looks like a great tool … Irwin makes some great tools!

By: Paul

Paul — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 12:51:01 +0000

nrChris’ comment about a knife around a wire got me to thinking about one odd stripper I do have. One of those rotating coax strippers. Mine looks a lot like this one:
http://www.impulseelectronics.com/stripper.htm

With different dies, and some setup, these can be made to strip a lot of different jacket types. Once you have it setup, these are really faster than the bend it method of knifing through an outer sheath of insulation.

I’m sure if you shop around better deals can be had on this tool.

By: Daniel Rutter

Daniel Rutter — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 06:51:22 +0000

I have a functionally similar pair too - no depth stop and no crimper, cheaper handles, but otherwise the same. Mine are at least 10 years old, and still work perfectly; there really doesn’t seem to be much to go wrong in them.

The ones you review appear to be the current version of my old ones; here they are on sale in Australia.

Note that these things strip by clamping the insulation and pulling, so on wire with stretchy insulation they don’t work well. Ordinary PVC or silicone rubber insulated wire strips fine, though.

I agree about the other “T Rex” kind of automatic wire stripper. Those generally work well when new, but they wear out fast.

By: Rick

Rick — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 04:23:27 +0000

Ok.. I just took a look at mine.. I bought them at Radio Shack - of all places..
It’s the Kronus. They still have them there for $16.99 ::link::

By: nrChris

nrChris — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 03:45:23 +0000

While I am in the same boat as Paul, the ones previously mentioned will have to do for me at the price point. But damn, these are sturdy looking. I am so sick of using my wire strippers and having to go back with an exacto knife to finish the job, particularly with the smaller wire diameters.

By: Paul

Paul — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 02:14:05 +0000

While these are awfully nice I don’t strip enough wires to justify getting it I don’t think. Though if I had them I’d use them over what I got.

By: Chuck Cage

Chuck Cage — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 23:27:58 +0000

Rick: “Irwin’s (semi-)new…” (They’re new for Irwin, not new for the market.) And sadly, they’re new to me as well. I haven’t done a ton of wiring, so I was always using the older type.

By: James

James — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 23:22:21 +0000

I have the Gardner-Bender (red handles) version of this and I love it as well.

What I hate, however, are the older “automatic” wire strippers. The action is somewhat similar, but it’s worse than useless.

By: Rick

Rick — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 22:32:53 +0000

How are these even remotely new?
I have what appears to be the exact same stripper, but with red handles, and not Irwin branded that I’ve had for at least 5 or 6 years. Can’t recall where I got it though. But the mechanism looks exactly the same.. down to the little plastic flap that you can set to the length of the strip.. Only mine is red, not yellow.

In any case.. I have to agree.. they rock..