I was stripping 12-gauge wire wrong for years until a foreman in Tacoma corrected me

I was using my linesman pliers to strip the insulation, which always left a few nicks in the copper. Last month, a foreman on a job site in Tacoma saw me do it and said, 'You're going to get a hot spot there.' He showed me how to use the actual stripping hole on my Klein 11055s, making a clean score and pull. Has anyone else had a basic tool habit they had to unlearn?

3 comments

3 Comments

price.tyler8d ago

The "hot spot" comment from that foreman is the real key. It's not just about a clean strip looking nice, it's about a real failure point you can't even see until it's too late. I've seen old panels where you can spot the DIY guy from a mile away just by the tiny cuts in the wire. That thin spot heats up every time you run the dryer, and over years it gets brittle. Makes you wonder how many mystery trips or flickering lights start with a bad strip.

jamiemiller19d ago

My buddy used a knife to strip wire for a decade before someone pointed out the notch on his strippers.

wells.brooke19d ago

But isn't a knife way faster for big wires?