Stripper

IIRC automatics will cover a limited range without adjustment, but nothing like you're asking for. There is no perfect wire stripper.

NT

I always used a sharp penknife, plus skill. This combination served me well for fifty years of working life. The penknives were the small Swiss army ones, with two blades. The larger blade is less than 3" long, so legal to carry.

Bill

Not for stripping insulation off. It's great for getting the sheath off T+E, but I never use it for the ends. They are £10 at my local wholesaler.

No sadly my last ones, made in Malta were pretty good but eventually the different jaw pieces began to wear and not work very well. I also think modern wire seems to have a much stronger grip between wire and sleeping than it used to which can put a lot of strain on such devices. I'm on the look out for something like this too, as since losing sight its hard to judge the side cutters cut depth. Brian

Your header reminds of a pub landlord near a large builders yard who once put out a chalkboard declaring " Stripper this Lunchtime".

The lads from the yard piled down in to find the landlords attractive daughter in a pair of bib and braces ,a can or two of nitromoors and scrapers removing layers of old paint from the fire place surround , can any of you lads give a hand she said sweetly.

G.Harman

Why not for the ends?

Almost everywhere else is cheaper than Screwfix but I have a gift card...

He he, I was going to work something like that in but I've not been aware of pub strippers (as in ladies removing their clothing) for quite a while. I guess such things are no longer "politically correct".

You never hear of "Kissograms" these days either.

I remember going to various parties with stripping policewomen, nuns and salvation army women. Everybody ready with cameras to catch the embarassing photos!

Mostly "leaving does".

I have had a Knipex wire stripper for years and find it excellent. I also have one of their sheath struppers which is also handy if a bit fiddly. I'm only a diy electrician so these don't get extensive use.

I've got just about every variety known to man here.

The self adjusting types can be OK, but not my favourites.

My favourites have jaws with clearance for the conductor so only the insulation gets cut.

The jaws have four cable sizes. My pair do the two sizes of cable I use for electronics, and 1.5 and 2.5mm mains cable too. And most common car cables too.

Get yourself down the Seven Stars in Brick Lane on a Friday night. Amusing how many people come out of the mosque next door and into the pub ...

I found this video useful.

(No affiliation)

Too late, apparently ...

I cant imagine a life so dull that that s*it would be 'interesting'

I find them OK for the ends but work better on the thicker wires but it will still work on alarm type wire. The unsheathed wire has to be around a inch long to be able to strip it - one of the jaws has to grip the wire with intact insulation.

They don't work well on PTFE insulation - too tough/slippery. On some poor quality wire with very soft insulation the jaws can/will leave an indentation mark.

There was an interesting article on a radio 4 program recently about s*it transplants

There are three bars in close proximity in Edinburgh that have strippers. The area they're located in is informally known as the Pubic Triangle.

Bit late into this, but these seem to be quite good for wires (not cables) - recommended in here, IIRC:

One of these might be better for cable:

For FT&E the chaps at work had a bit of wood with a sharp screw adjustable in to a hole - used it for long pieces as it needed the screw turning in and out. Something similar with a slit and a hinge would be a lot quicker - DIY and all that!

They are not accurate enough, you need sheath in both jaws to pull them apart, they sometimes pull on the 'fixed' end, so the bit you want is actually smaller than you need, if it does that, you have to start again. OK if you are happy to strip the insulation, then snip the excess cable off. I'm not sure they are much use for smaller than 1mm cable, even that slips sometimes.