Recommend me a small wire stripper please

N8Nagel

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Putting together an order for Mouser, one hole in my tool collection is a wire stripper that will do >20AWG, seeing as I'm playing with audio more and more these days I kind of need one. If you have a recommendation please let me know. Searching doesn't yield a lot of results but someone has to have a favorite tool for this job so I'm not using my dykes for small wires and risking messing them up.
 
May I suggest one of these? Hot knife. Never really needed one until I started doing more and more tonearm re-wires.Now I use it almost all of the time for everything,and no more cut strands or nicked solid cores.This is the same exact cheapie model I have,around ten buck.You can get them at most craft stores:

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Oh,and bonus,it even works on Teflon insulation!
 
I may have to pick up one of those. ^

Right now, I have this stripper, and it's great. Effortless, nick-free stripping. I have a Klein for heavier gauge wire, and it's crude by comparison.
 
I still use these occasionally,and I have three different pairs that cover the range from around 10ga down to 30ga. I've had them forever,and I don't think they even make them anymore.Of all of the hand strippers I have tried,I have always found these to be the best.Kinda old-fashioned,but they get the job done.

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I like the Ideal Stripmaster. They will have them at Mouser and alike.
Not that cheap but worth the investment. Although.....it seems to be much more expensive since I bought them some 5 years ago.....
 
I still use these occasionally,and I have three different pairs that cover the range from around 10ga down to 30ga. I've had them forever,and I don't think they even make them anymore.Of all of the hand strippers I have tried,I have always found these to be the best.Kinda old-fashioned,but they get the job done.

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Those look exactly like my Channellock branded ones, I would be happy if I could find a smaller one.
 
I have a Klein and an Ideal that are for smaller wires. Both go down to 24 or 26ga, depending stranded or solid.

The Stripmaster gslikker mentioned is nice but I do not have the small gauge stripping dies for mine so it is only used for larger tasks.

A Micro-Strip setup would be nice if one worked regularly with small gauge.
 
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Paladin. 28-10awg (!)
https://www.amazon.com/Greenlee-111...467498&sr=8-3&keywords=paladin+stripping+tool
My original one, circa 70s still works fine, but I picked up another one, and a mini-paladin on EB for real cheap last year (they apparently didn't know what it was). Now have one for each toolbox!
Have seen them used in production, and the assemblers went nuts over 'em.

I bought my Paladin in the late 80s, I still have it and would use no other with one exception. I bought a vintage Teledyne heat stripper for Teflon.
 
Interestingly, my first use of the paladins (not mine, at HE physics electronics shop) was with Teflon...I think they made (then) a separate blade kit for that?
BTW, I looked it up - I paid $30 for those Paladins total, and both are essentially NIB condition. Sometimes it pays to be patient and wait for someone to post something they're not familiar with :)
 
Interestingly, my first use of the paladins (not mine, at HE physics electronics shop) was with Teflon...I think they made (then) a separate blade kit for that?
BTW, I looked it up - I paid $30 for those Paladins total, and both are essentially NIB condition. Sometimes it pays to be patient and wait for someone to post something they're not familiar with :)

What the Paladin really excels at is working in tight spaces. Strippers that require you to pull laterally like the 7-in-1 type can sometimes be tough to fish into place and use.

Mine will strip Teflon but it may stretch it without cutting too. I've used it a lot on larger gauge wire so it may be a bit dull. IIRC you can get new blade cartridges for them.

I got the Teledyne thermal stripper at a flea market ($1 or thereabouts), couldn't resist at that price. It works on everything, even cloth or cambric insulation -


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Got one of these from the same guy. If you are tie-wrapping a long run of cable these are the bomb. Equally tensions and cuts with a couple squeezes -

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Yes, and the 'mini' Paladin is even smaller, for tighter spaces. I was also told by assemblers that the paladins required less hand strength and so were less fatiguing than the traditional 'grip n pull' style they had been using.
The mini Paladin is perfect for a 'tiny toolbox' I'm putting together in one of the Festool mini-systainers...good place to keep all the multi-tools, and tired of running back and forth between toolboxes, and the main one is now too heavy to carry!
Have another mini-systainer that holds a Fluke 287 & cables perfectly, so makes for a nice little mini-stack 'o cases!
Cripes, yes, I'd forgotten about the Teflon stretchy/scraps! Ugh...that was frustrating, even with the right cutter blades.
That Teledyne looks like a heck of a find...will keep it in mind if I ever work with that stuff again.
Miss having a tie-wrap gun, too, but also don't have much need...but, again, for a buck or so?
Great stuff, Thanks!
 
I see some Vessel brand strippers for cheap, are they good? I ask because their JIS bits are great. The mini Paladin looks like a strong option too but the price! Will have to see what replacement cutters go for as used may be an option if they work as well as you all say.
 
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