is there a good stripper for 12/3 and 14/3 romex?

is there a good stripper to remove the sheathing from these types of romex wires without cutting through the sheathing on the wires inside? there's gotta be an easier and safer way to strip it other than useing my utility knife.

mike

I use an electricians knife made by klein Tools, I've found a utility knife is actually to sharp, it's very easy to knick the insulation on the wire.

You can do it with the razor knife with practice. I like to cut length-wise, just scoring the jacket, then dig in deeper at the end. peel the jacket back, then clip it off with your diagonal cutters.

i know what you mean, that is the problem i run into. i have, and use, the same knife and sometimes cut into the inner wire sheathing and have to start over. i'm not going to put wires into a box with a knick in them.

mike

the inner wires twist together and it is kinda hard to cut straight on the outer sheathing.

Why noy try one of the all in one strippers. One cut will remove the outer jacket, then you can use the stripping holes for the conductors. www.kleintools.com
Look for item #1412 in the tool catalog. They are less than $20.

Jim, he's looking to strip 3 conductor NM. I recently bought the 1412 and really like it.

Sorry, I missed the part about being 3 wire.

I usually cut about 1" of jacket(pulling the knife toward you, with no regard for damaging the conductor insulation) from one side of the end of the cable.
Then push an electricians knife(pointed seems to work better than sheepsfoot)into the stripped part and push away from you.
Sometimes it slips out, but with practice you will be able to remove 2-3 feet of jacket in one pass.

I'll take my utility knife and cut the sheath on the end about a 1/2", and then take the lineman pliers and pull the ground wire back. This splits the sheath, and I cut off the outer covering with the linemans. Works great for 12/2 and 14/4. 3 conductor is another story. I go through the same motions, being careful, because the ground wire turns around the other wires. As I pull back the ground, I have to turn the cable, to go with the turns.

I saw this on an insert for my new MC cutter. I was planning on buying one to see how well they work. Anyone else tried one??
http://www.seatekco.com/sa-200l.htm

Good ole $5 utility knife

I've tried every "new fangled" gadget out there for stripping NM cable, but I still like the razor knife the best. I would recommend the Klein K1412 for flat cables however.

[This message has been edited by CTwireman (edited 03-22-2004).]

I use a utility knife but started to use Lennox blades, I think, they have a squared end which makes stripping less likely to skin the conductors.

...I gotta go with CT wireman on this one,...I use a regular utility knife,and NEVER cut the conductors,..even on twisted 3 wire,..I've tried everything else,and this is the best way for me...
Anyone know of an easy way to strip UF..?? it's a real pain...I usually skin one side,pull out the conductor,then the ground, then the other insulated conductor...is there an easier way???
Russ

Attic Rat,
With 14/2 and 12/2 UF, if you're looking at the end of the cable, you'll see the ground wire
favors one flat side or the other. I skin about a 1/2 inch off, then I pull the ground wire with the linemans pliers. Once I pull back the ground, one at a time, I then pull back the black and white, to what I need in length.
Hope that helps

SJT, That's what I do too. Just returned from Guatemala with the AF Reserve. We ran miles of UF there. Almost forgot, I am kinda new so, hello to all

I've used one of these for a long time and love it - simple and cheap. The tooth scores/cuts the sheath so it rips off but I've never had it damage any of the conductor's insulation. It works on 14/12-3 also, although it's a little fussier. With a little practice you can run the ripper down twisted NM and it scores enough so the sheath just splits off. The hole in the handle means you can run it up the cable if you're ripping off a lot of sheath.

http://www.ehardwicks.com/product_line/pros/KLN-74018.htm

My trick for UF is to start at the end with a SHARP utility knife. split the cable right down the middle with the knife, keeping the blade angled slightly so it glides along one side of the bare ground wire.

The bare ground wire will be free at this point, and a careful "ringing" with the knife blade around the other 2 conductors will cut through the outer jacket and allow it to be slid off the conductors.