Finally broke my habit of stripping wire with my side cutters

I used to just grab my lineman's and nick the insulation off with the cutting edge. But after ruining a 200 foot run of 12 gauge once, I bought a proper stripper for $12 at the supply house. Took me about two weeks to get used to it, but now I can strip a whole panel's worth of wires in half the time. Has anyone else had that moment where a basic tool just changed how you work?

2 comments

2 Comments

sarahhart1mo ago

Them cheap strippers really do make a difference. I was the same way, thought I could get by with my knife and pliers forever. Took busting one too many wires on a job to finally switch over and I'm never going back.

abbyk101mo ago

Keep using those cheap strippers long enough and you'll realize proper tools save way more time than they cost. Once I upgraded I stopped having to redo half my connections because of nicked wires or uneven cuts. It's one of those things where you wonder why you put it off so long after you finally make the switch.