Knife Stripping

Knife stripping wires with a sharp knife may be used to strip the insulation from a conductor. The procedure is much the same as for sharpening a pencil. The knife should be held at approximately a 60º angle to the conductor.

Use extreme care when cutting through the insulation to avoid nicking or cutting the conductor. This procedure produces a taper on the cut insulation as shown in the figure below.

Knife stripping .

---

Locally Made Hot-Blade Wire Stripper

If you are required to strip a large number of wires, you can use a locally made hot-blade stripper (the figure below) as follows:

Locally made hot blade stripper.

---

1. In the end of a piece of copper strip, cut a sharp-edged "V." At the bottom of the "V," make a wire slot of suitable diameter for the size wire to be stripped.

2. Fasten the copper strip around the heating element of an electric soldering iron as shown in figure 2-4. The iron must be rated at 100 watts or greater in order to transfer enough heat to the copper strip to melt the wire insulation.

3. Lay the wire or cable to be stripped in the "V"; a clean channel will be melted in the insulation.

4. Remove the insulation with a slight pull.

General Wire-Stripping Instructions

When stripping wire with any of the tools mentioned, such as knife stripping, observe the following precautions:

1. Do not attempt to use a hot-blade stripper on wiring with glass braid or asbestos insulation. These insulators are highly heat resistant.

2. When using the hot-blade stripper, make sure the blades are clean. Clean the blades with a brass wire brush as necessary.

3. Make sure all stripping blades are sharp and free from nicks, dents, and so forth.

4. When using any type of wire stripper, hold the wire perpendicular to the cutting blades.

5. Make sure the insulation is clean-cut with no frayed or ragged edges; trim if necessary.

6. Make sure all insulation is removed from the stripped area. Some types of wire are supplied with a transparent layer between the conductor and the primary insulation. If this is present, remove it.

7. When the hand strippers are used to remove lengths of insulation longer than 3/4 inch, the stripping procedure must be done in two or more operations. The strippers will only strip about 3/4 inch at one time.

8. Retwist strands by hand, if necessary, to restore the natural lay and tightness of the strands.

9. Strip aluminum wires with a knife as described earlier. Aluminum wire should be stripped very carefully. Care should be taken not to nick the aluminum wire as the strands break very easily when nicked.

(back) (top) (next)