This is a tool that after one project I wondered how I worked without it. Getting a perfect strip on a wire with regular wire strippers is frustrating for me. So much so that typically a knife was my preferred method, it was just as fast and yielded similar results. Now all that has changed. This tool is, upon first use, a sort of magical instrument. With a squeeze of the handles wires come out perfect and the project gets done faster. After using this tool for some time now I can say I still love it but it isn't perfect(what is). Sometimes a second squeeze is needed as it doesn't strip perfectly every time on the first pull, no big deal. It is also heavy. The solid construction of this tool makes it a workstation tool not a "on the belt" carry with you. Regardless the time savings with this are considerable and it still earns 5 stars. Irwin Industrial Tools 2078300 8-Inch Self-Adjusting Wire Stripper with ProTouch Grips
bottom line: this irwin self-adjusting wire stripper did not work well with the 24 awg stranded wire i tried it on. however, it worked beautifully with 22 awg solid core wire.
this irwin stripper works by gripping the wire with two clamps, the left one for holding the wire and the right one for stripping it with a sharp edge. as you close your grip on the handles, both clamps lock down on the wire. when you completely close your grip on the handles, the two locked down clamps then come apart, stripping the wire. at least in theory.
the problem i had with the irwin stripper is that the clamps did not provide enough force to hold down a thin 24 awg stranded wire. as a result, the insulation becomes partially pierced by the stripper and stretched a bit without being completely removed. if you manually press down on the left clamp before completely closing your grip to strip the wire, then the insulation will come off, but you also make a dent in the wire, exposing a little part of the wire away from the tip.
there is a swivel knob to micro-adjust the irwin stripper for thin wire gauges. however, even with the micro adjuster at its tightest, the clamps are still too loose to really work with 24 awg.
i also tried this irwin stripper with 22 awg solid core wire, which worked exactly as it should. just beautiful. i really really wanted to like this product, but i bought this stripper to work with the thinnest wire gauge it is spec'd to handle and things just didn't work out. it's not a bad product for thicker wires though. irwin should advertise these wire strippers for 10-22 awg rather than 10-24 awg.
If you do any kind of wiring, whether installing a ceiling light in your house or tinkering with tiny circuit boards, you need this. I had one for years, and finally managed to break it. Thinking I could do without, I used various cheap wire strippers until I finally couldn't take it any more, and then ordered a new one of these - or at least I thought I did. Look closely before you buy one. There's a very similar-looking product that claims to be "automatic," but it's not. Instead, it has a series of grooves for different wire sizes, so you have to know what size wire you're stripping, and fit it into the right groove. That one is a piece of junk.
This tool is the one you want. The jaws on this one automatically adjust to the wire size, grip the insulation, cut just down to the wire, and then yank the insulation off, in one smooth motion. You don't need to know what size wire you have.
In fact, you don't even need to see the wire. I just finished connecting a new light circuit, and part of the job required splicing some wiring in a very cramped space between some ductwork and the floor joists. I could either see the wires or fit my hands in to touch them - not both. Reaching in with this tool, I fed each wire into the jaws, felt that it was in the correct position, then squeezed the handles. When I pulled my hands out and took a look, there were my perfectly-stripped wires waiting to be spliced.
This is my second one (wore the first one out). This one actually seems to be better built and the part that failed on my last one (wire stripping blade) is cast into this one as a solid piece. Very comfortable to use.
It does the job, and does it well. I am an Electrical Engineering student who buildings a lot of circuits. Having a stripper that selects the proper wire gauge automatically saves a bunch of time.
Buy it.
I could not believe how nice this tool stripped the #14 wire I tested it on. What it does is grab the wire with one set of jaws, then the other edge with a little knife like burr, for lack of a better word, nicks just the insulation and pulls it off the wire when you squeeze the handles. After a lifetime of using every other way of stripping wires, this tool is like magic.
Like other reviewers, I've tried everything out there (including my teeth) to strip wire... I've done my share of knuckle banging, finger cutting, and everything else you can imagine trying to strip wire for electrical outlets, recessed lighting, ceiling speakers, etc... I decided to give these a try (why not, I've used everything else and if they didn't work, I'd toss them just like many tools before it)... what a pleasant suprise... They work great and take just seconds to use... I get a clean strip 95% of the time (the other 5%, I have to run the wire stripper on the wire twice cause the first attempt didn't fully remove the insulation and only happens sometimes on heavy gauge wire)... No more using wire cutters (trying to delicately twist side to side on the insulation without actually cutting the wire), manual wire strippers, utility knives, and even my teeth... I'd pay double for these if I had too... I just wish I had found these years earlier~~~~
This tool save my a lot of time and headaches. I had to install a new multimedia system (tv, cable, game console, rv, surround sound), and boy this made my job a lot easier. Although, this tool is a lot more them the average wire striper it is by for worth the extra money. - Irwin - Automatic Stripper - Wire Strippers - Stripper Crimper'
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