Automatic Wire Strippers - your opinions and thoughts please

[DIYNotIan]

Hi all

I am a novice DIYer and a guitarist, so I have in the past tried to make my own audio leads, etc. About six months ago, I had an electrician doing work in the house and he whipped out some of these:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stanley-FMHT0-96230-FatMax-Stripping-Plier/dp/B00CD24EAK

I was amazed! Up until then I had always used a really crap set of strippers that were so bad that I usually resorted to a blade. Blades usually meant cutting strands of wire unintentionally, which usually left me with just my teeth!

So after a bit of reading, I saw that the CK strippers got rave reviews. These ones:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B002NZMM...m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=1P2TXDB4B595D6N9MDE7

I ended up getting those from eBay at a good price. They were new.

When I finally got around to using them I was very disappointed. They don't seem to strip very well at all. When I try to strip the outer sheath/jacket of Van Damme audio cable like this:

http://www.van-damme.com/19.html

it doesn't make a clean strip at all. A lot of the times it just pulls the jacket without actually cutting it.

Am I doing something wrong? Is it possible I have a dub pair or fakes? Should I have got the Stanley ones which I saw my sparky use? I have noticed that the blade on mine is very blunt... How sharp should it be?

One other point of interest... I've read in some places that the cheap ones you see for around a fiver are exactly the same as the expensive CK/Stanley type ones. The argument goes that they all come from the same factory (which is why they look identical). Firms like CK and Stanley just jazz them up with the logos and styling. I wondered what people think to that argument?

Cheers

Max

 

[plugwash]

Sheath stripping is always a PITA in my experiance. The cut needs to be deep enough to get a clean break but shallow enough to not damage what is inside. Something with an adjustable cut depth can work great for *one* type of cable once you take the time to adjust it (and you will have a number of bad strips before you get it adjusted) but if you want to do a cable type with a different sheath thickness you have to start again.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Is it possible I have a dub pair or fakes?

It is possible that they are fake.

But what is certain is that fake or genuine, faulty or perfect, they are not the right tool for removing the thick sheath of round cables like that.

Something like these would be better:



Or this: http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/cable-strippers/0663437/?searchTerm=663-437

 

[Monkeh]

They are entirely the wrong type of stripper for stretchy cable like that audio cable. They will not suit for neoprene, silicone, most types of rubber, or certain PVC blends.

You want a sharp knife or some thermal strippers.

 

[SimonH2]

I'm with Monkeh, not good for some types of cable. As well as "stretchy" materials, they tend to struggle with very hard materials as well (eg some "thinwall" automotive cables)

For materials where they struggle, I find that scoring with a knife (or thermally with the back of the soldering iron tip) helps - creates a stress raiser that helps the insulation/sheath break.

But for most situations with PVC cables I find that style brilliant.