Skip forward to 3:44!

 

Lol. I know where my strippers are. I have no idea where my stapler is!

 

Lol. I know where my strippers are. I have no idea where my stapler is!

Lol! In my case, the situation is reversed. My stapler is always on the same shelf. My wire strippers could be in my tool container, or any one of several project boxes, depending on which project I last used them!

 

When I was a kid I used my mom's scissors. The joint was a bit loose and it slipped the wire between the blades but cut the insulation. Worked pretty well - except for the spankings...

 

I have always rolled the wire with and between my thumb and my penknife blade.

 

I hate to admit it, but I use my teeth

 

I have about a dozen wire strippers; never have much trouble finding one. Same goes for needlenose pliers, tweezers, trimmer adjusters, ...

 

I hate to admit it, but I use my teeth

I used to do that, especially for the solid wire scavenged from chunks of 200 pair telco cable we used to be able to find by the poles. After a while I gained facility with flush cutters.

For jacketed cables, I use a knife on the jacket while bending the cable. You don’t actually have to cut down to the conductors if you do it right. I usually used the small blade on a Victorinox. On stage and in the studio, I terminated a lot of multiconductor cable.

Later, I got a Paladin mini Stripax. I recently tried to find a replacement blade cassette for it. Wow! The prices are insane. I may buy a new one because it’s a great tool but I have to convince myself the pain is worth it.

 

I hate to admit it, but I use my teeth

Me too until I need them all pulled. Gums don't work well.

 

Of course, that only works with some models of staplers and it definitely risks damaging solid core wire making it prone to break -- but most off-book stripping techniques risk this.

Like most, I've certainly used my teeth more than I should have. My favorite alternative is nail clippers. It doesn't take long to get a good feel for how much pressure you can apply to be able to strip the insulation without damaging the wire. The mechanical advantage really helps out in this since it takes a significant motion of the handle to close the blades just a little bit further.

 

I hate to admit it, but I use my teeth

In the Navy, they called us Wire Biters. An earned and embraced pejorative title.

 

I agree with shortbus. Gums don't work at all and my plastic teeth just pop out and fly across the room.

I do love my strippers from OK Industries. Kinda expensive, but they work perfectly on small gauge wire. I've got both the ST-500 and the ST-450. Best wire strippers I've ever had.
https://www.amazon.com/Jonard-Adjus...ywords=st-500&qid=1551841976&s=hi&sr=1-1&th=1

 

I agree with shortbus. Gums don't work at all and my plastic teeth just pop out and fly across the room.

I do love my strippers from OK Industries. Kinda expensive, but they work perfectly on small gauge wire. I've got both the ST-500 and the ST-450. Best wire strippers I've ever had.
https://www.amazon.com/Jonard-Adjus...ywords=st-500&qid=1551841976&s=hi&sr=1-1&th=1

Ok, I understand. I guess I don’t have that problem yet. I only have one plastic tooth and it’s out of range from my “stripping teeth”

 

I've used staplers before. Remove the staples, lay the wire where you normally put the paper, press down and pull. The hammer (the blade that pushes the staple into your paperwork) isn't sharp so it doesn't put too much risk of damaging wire strands and is enough to break the insulation. The bulk of the stapler is much easier to hang onto than that 1/8 to 1/4 inch of plastic insulation you're trying to pull off.

I've also used a round needle nose pliers - the kind jewelers use for loop work. You're not cutting into the insulation, but with enough pressure you can break the insulation top and bottom and pull it off. Use too much force on tiny wires and you can actually cut the wire.

Other methods for large conductors and shielded cable stuff - I've used the same method being described by @Yaakov where you nick the insulation with a blade but don't cut down to the conductor. Bend the wire and that forces the nick to break through to the conductor without risking nicking the wire. You extend the nick around the wire and bending you continue to migrate the break in the insulation until the break is complete.

Nicking the conductor is bad. It becomes a quick point where the wire will break. The installers who put in my neighbors heater nicked the wire. Her heater quit working and she called and asked if I could look at it. Didn't take long to find and fix the break. And I can't tell you how many times I've nicked small gauge wires then made the connections only to have them break within the first few minutes of manipulation.

I think I have about 10 different strippers. A couple I got at an automotive parts store for crimping butt splices and ring terminals, a couple from the big box home improvement stores, a couple for coax work and one my wife brought home; kind of like scissors with a screw you adjust for the wire gauge. Not accurate but quick. Also risky for nicking the wire. I found in the trash a mechanical stripper that has the jaws on one side and the blades on the other side. It's for very small gauge wires and needed a little fixing. As many probably experience - 'Where's that stripper I was just using?' In some cases even a fingernail was enough to strip a wire.