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Review on πŸ”§ IRWIN VISE-GRIP Wire Stripper, Self-Adjusting, 8-Inch – Ideal for Efficient Wire Stripping (2078300) by Eloy Boelkens

Revainrating 3 out of 5

Almost magic on strippers

[edit] I downgraded my rating from 5 to 3 stars after the stripper stopped working after only about 100 wires. It will no longer hold insulation on a standard 14 gauge Romex piece. Magic turned it into a garbage dump. It was fun while it lasted. [edit2] Another update: Irwin gets 5 stars for customer support. They replace my failed unit. When I get a new one I try to figure out why my original one failed because so many people had the same problem. Maybe there is a solution. I'm an electrical engineer and have used dozens of different wire stripping tools over the past fifty years. Most of them are designed to fit specific sizes and will not fit other sizes. They all use a variation of using a fixed size die to strip insulation from stranded or solid wire. If you use a die that is too small with these tools, you will score a solid wire or strip some strands from a stranded wire. If you use a die that is too large, you will simply stretch the insulation, which will not result in a clean cut on the removed insulation when you reinsert the wire into the next smaller die. In fact, this tool works with everything from 12 gauge Romex to 24 gauge patch cords. It magically removes insulation without cutting the wire. No need to waste time looking for the right die size: you simply insert the wire, pull the handles and the wire is stripped. Magic. . This reduces the time it takes to prepare ten wires for crimp connectors to seconds instead of minutes. Rarely have I been so excited and enthusiastic about an instrument purchase. If this ever gets damaged or even stops working at some point I will be buying a new one before the day is out.

Pros
  • strippers
Cons
  • flimsy