The Best Way to Use Wire Strippers, And Which Ones You Need

The Best Way to Use Wire Strippers, And Which Ones You Need

If you need to remove the insulation surrounding a wire or splice loose wires together, the best tool which can do the job is a wire stripper. Take a peek into any professional electrician’s tool box or a DIY enthusiast’s waist bag; you are sure to find one of them.  

Wire strippers are one of the most essential tools which can also be used as plier jaws, cable/conduit cutting blades, and to cut bolts other than the wire stripping function.

What are wire strippers?

A hand-held portable tool, a wire stripper’s main function is to remove the protective insulation sheath from electric wires. If you need to replace a wire during maintenance, this tool is the best one to reach for. Also known as a cable stripper or a combination tool, wire strippers have many additional features and can be used to strip off the ends of an electric wire to make it easier to connect the ends to other wires, connectors or terminals.

Let’s take a look at the different parts of a wire stripper:

  • A tip to hold, twist or create hooks or loops in a wire
  • Several sized slotted cutting blades
  • Wire cutter
  • Small bolt shear 
  • Crimpers for crimp connectors
  • Loop hole to create hook or loop 
  • Handle

Do you have to deal with wires of different widths and materials? You need not worry because the slotted cutting blade comes in numerous sizes to fit any kind of wire. When you pull a wire through the slot that is located in the jaws of the stripper, the insulation is peeled off leaving the wires visible. 

Types of wire strippers

The different types of wire strippers are mentioned below

Manual wire stripper

As the name suggests, this wire stripping tool is the basic tool that can be used for smaller jobs that do not require much force. Manual wire strippers have a spring-loaded, self-opening handle and a safety lock and are available with different additional mechanisms.

  • Adjustable wire stripper comes with both a manual and automatic adjustment mechanism. Once a wire is inserted, the stripper will automatically adjust and strip the wire. But, if you need more accuracy, you will have to manually adjust the stripper.
  • Triple action wire strippers come with a triple action stripping function and can be used for spiral, linear, and rotary cutting action. 
  • Sheath strippers are auto-adjustable strippers and are used to cut thicker materials. 
  • Pistol wire stripper features a self-adjusting blade that can both do grip and strip cabling in a single motion.
  • Steel armoured strippers come with a reinforced blade intended to cut through the toughest materials like steel, copper, or aluminium shielding and conduits in fibre optic or armoured cables.
  • Insulated strippers have a VDE handle that provides insulation from electrostatic discharge.

Automatic wire strippers

Automatic wire strippers have synchronised jaws which allow users to easily cut through and strip away wire sheathing with a single squeeze of the handles.

Laser wire strippers

Another type of useful wire stripper, is a laser wire stripper that removes wire insulation using laser radiation. It is normally used to do high-precision jobs like stripping a narrow diameter cable or a wire with tough insulation. The inner wire or conduit is not damaged. 

For all types of RS Components wire strippers and other useful electrical parts and tools, visit the website and hunt through their excellent range.

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