Best speaker wire stripping tool

I just looked and it's a craftsman. I don't think they make them anymore.
It's almost identical to this one, but it's good for 22-10 gauge wire.

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Radio Shack had a model of that, probably made by the same manufacturer, back in the late 70's. I bought two back then. One for the bench, and one for use in the field as I was a Cable TV Linesman while I worked my way through College during summer breaks.

Those marvelous tools saved the day when you had to cut and strip and fit 100 or so CATV RG-59u connections every day. After weeks of practice in the field, I got to the point where I could strip the outer jacket and then the inner dielectric white insulation without pulling back the braided copper or aluminum strands. It saved me so much headache. It was so handy other Linesmen would buy them after they saw me strip and fit connectors in seconds. I remember that we electrical-taped coiled telephone cord to one handle and the other end of the cord to our utility belts so they would always be at the ready, and you'd never drop them when you were at height working on a pole.

I lost both of mine. I have no idea what happened to them over the years.
They were fantastic.
 
I have the automatic strippers from Parts Express that Allsmith is talking about. Although they had some negative reviews they have preformed flawlessly for me. I have a couple Paladin brand tools that are excellent. I would bet the make some pretty good strippers.
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Most versatile stripper money can buy, does double duty as a hammer if needed, deburs 1/2" and 3/4" conduit, removes stuck broken light bulb sockets, etc etc. Easily the most versatile tool in the electricians arsenal.

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THIS is absolutely the best. But you need a couple to cover the whole awg spectrum.

Well, technically I suppose that's true of any stripper. No one covers the whole spectrum of gauges.

But, that one covers 22-10ga. so most of what one works with can be handled by one unit.
 
Don't have one, but I know someone who uses the insulation melting wire stripper sold by McMaster Carr for fine wire, like you'd find in a tonearm.
 
I just looked and it's a craftsman. I don't think they make them anymore.
It's almost identical to this one, but it's good for 22-10 gauge wire.

IDA_45-637.jpg

I have a red one similar to all the ones people are posting here of this type. I believe it's Snap-On. Probably 5-8 years old. Cost me about $35. Last one I'll ever need to buy.
 
I futzed around stripping wires with wire cutters for many years and finally got tired of accidentally cutting through some of the strands. My father in law had an auto stripper and it was SO nice when I used it that I decided life was too short to keep screwing around. Now some of us may do little enough wiring that it doesn't matter, so if you're happy with your dykes or knife or teeth, more power to ya, but I suspect the OP is looking to upgrade or they would not have asked.
 
I might have mentioned this here years ago, but it bears repeating: never strip wire with your teeth. The insulation can contain lead, and other chemicals that aren't good for you.
 
My assortment of dedicated strippers.

Ideal Stripmaster on left, Ideal manual stripper in the middle, Klein on the right. The Stripmaster is tbe best automatic I've used so far...but I don't remember the other brands. Cheap copies is all I remember.

Unless you're doing an assload of stripping the manual ones work pretty good.

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I bought an 'Ideal' manual stripper years ago, similar to the center one, and it's become my favorite.
I've tried a few others since, including some cheap automatics, but keep going back to the Ideal.
And yes, Klein also makes some great high quality tools too, BTW. Simple and effective, that's all I need.
 
I don't do enough to matter - so I use a regular pair of scissors. In a skilled hand they are fast(ish), don't cut the wire strands, and fit all sizes. A good clean stripped end takes maybe 3 seconds? I know wire strippers are better for a repeatable process and accuracy. I've always just used scissors.
 
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