Wire stripper

[kent ct]

There is a v shaped notch on the can opener blade on my leatherman tools.  There is a u shaped notch on the bottle opener blade on my SAKS. Has anyone ever successfully stripped a wire with these tools? If so; how. I have tried every way I can think of without success. Are these a useful tool or just a selling feature?

Richard

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

I've tried it on both the Swisstools and saks, and while it can be done, it's not as effective as just using the knife blades

[Benner]

It can be done but IMO it is A LOT easier just to use the wire cutters.  I think I'd rather use my teeth than one of them. 

[Roadie]

It can be done but IMO it is A LOT easier just to use the wire cutters.  I think I'd rather use my teeth than one of them. 

Yup they're not the easiest things to use. As for the teeth method, it works really well for some cable but for others its just not possible! I find it easier to use my teeth on small diameter stuff than proper wire strippers.

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

You two must be confused, your suposed to add fibre in to your diet

[Benner]

You two must be confused, your suposed to add fibre in to your diet

So that's where I've been going wrong!

I always use my teeth for cheap speaker cable. 

[Roadie]

I always use my teeth for cheap speaker cable. 

Its the quickest easiest way! Not sure what the insulation is made of but its crap!

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

You two must be confused, your suposed to add fibre in to your diet

So that's where I've been going wrong!

I always use my teeth for cheap speaker cable. 

Seriously though, I always use the blade at a really acute angle, and just sort of whittle the cable sheath off

[Roadie]

Seriously though, I always use the blade at a really acute angle, and just sort of whittle the cable sheath off

Depends on how thick the insulation is to how i do it, i've got an automatic stripper that sees a fair amount of use for small to medium cables. If i'm stripping thick power cable though i use a knife and cut along the length i'm removing then peel it back and trim off around the circumference.

[Benner]

Seriously though, I always use the blade at a really acute angle, and just sort of whittle the cable sheath off

Depends on how thick the insulation is to how i do it, i've got an automatic stripper that sees a fair amount of use for small to medium cables. If i'm stripping thick power cable though i use a knife and cut along the length i'm removing then peel it back and trim off around the circumference.

In my last job a large part of it was installing white goods which involved MANY plug removals (damn worktops!) and also cooker installations using 6mm cable.  I used the same set of side cutters the whole time I was there but sadly broke then a few weeks ago. 

[Roadie]

Seriously though, I always use the blade at a really acute angle, and just sort of whittle the cable sheath off

Depends on how thick the insulation is to how i do it, i've got an automatic stripper that sees a fair amount of use for small to medium cables. If i'm stripping thick power cable though i use a knife and cut along the length i'm removing then peel it back and trim off around the circumference.

In my last job a large part of it was installing white goods which involved MANY plug removals (damn worktops!) and also cooker installations using 6mm cable.  I used the same set of side cutters the whole time I was there but sadly broke then a few weeks ago. 

Unlucky always sad to have a good tool break. I bet 6mm cable is not fun to handle! I don't often have to strip thick cables as most of the cable i make/fix tend to be audio/video cable, the insulation tend to be a bit softer and easier to cut. Did make myself a set of nice extension cables last year though and that cable had the toughest sheath i've ever encountered (not including armoured cable!) Very nice handling cable though

[Benner]

Working with the cable was fine.  The 2 bites I suffered in the 2 years I worked there were not so nice. 

[Leatherman123]

I usually just use one of the serrations on my SURGE! The wire cutters are a good way to strip wire as well... Also, the V shaped notch doesn't work well for me!

[Sea Monster]

on up to around 2.5mm cable I'll use the cutters, anything bigger (usually double-insulated) Involves a knife, and occasionally some foul language.

Oh, and I've never used any of those Notch type wire strippers, so I couldn't say either way as to their worth.

[ringzero]

It can be done but IMO it is A LOT easier just to use the wire cutters.  I think I'd rather use my teeth than one of them. 

A cautionary tale:

An electrician habitually did this multiple times a day on the job for years with no problems.  But, eventually he started to become very forgetful and also became increasingly irritable - to the point that he lost his job.

After some months, his doctor eventually deduced that he had low level lead poisoning, but couldn't figure out how he was ingesting lead into his body.

Turned out that for several months he had been biting into a new type of wire.

Purchased from a different supplier, it had high lead levels in the insulation.  Lead wasn't supposed to be there - it was a contaminant accidentally introduced when insulation was installed on the wire.  Lead is a fairly common contaminant in plastic, rubber, etc.

.

[kent ct]

It can be done but IMO it is A LOT easier just to use the wire cutters.  I think I'd rather use my teeth than one of them. 

Yup they're not the easiest things to use. As for the teeth method, it works really well for some cable but for others its just not possible! I find it easier to use my teeth on small diameter stuff than proper wire strippers.

Sounds good to me. The next false teeth I get maybe the dentist could grind opposing v notches in two teeth. Would have to be done just right as I would not like to pull the teeth out of my head when stripping. Could also get some tactical canine teeth too. A multitool of the mouth. Should this be in the Modding forum?

[NeitherExtreme]

I agree they're not the easiest to use... (talking about LM's, don't know about SAKs) I'm sure you know to place the wire in the notch, put pressure on it with your thumb, rotate the tool around the wire, and pull. I did electric work for about three years, and carried a LM for about 1 year of that, so I got some practice and they do get easier with use! They tend to work better on solid wire rather than stranded, though stranded is possible too.