I do occasionally strip wires with linemen's pliers, mostly 'cause I got a strong talent for storing my stuff somewhere I'll never find it again. A pair of old linemen's is usually the easiest thing to find somewhere. I try just to score the plastic but not cut it all the way through on either side, then I take it with the pliers and pull it off. Works good but definitely isn't ideal. I used to have something like the tool on the picture, it even autosensed the wire thickness, but after half a year of moderate use it fell apart. *GRRRR*
