Stopped by a neighborhood hardware store after lunch.

Saw a pair of scissors labelled by Klein as "Electrician's Scissors". They also were selling a stripping knife (with a short stumpy blade). Never seen one of those before...didn't think they still made that, what with all the spring-loaded stripping tools we have these days.

What was the scissor used for and how did it differ from conventional household scissors?

Klein's website showed two types: One with stripping notches and one that was a plain ol' scissor.

What about the "electrician's hammer"? How is this any different from a regular carpenter's claw hammer? The picture on Klein's website showed one....and it looked like a regular hammer to the untrained eye.

Scissors most likely had two small notches for stripping insulation.

Short stubby knife (looks like one of those snap-off blade jobs - without the snap offs) is for cutting cable insulation

Electrician's hammer has a longer poll (the "neck" between the striking face and the body) to allow it to reach into deep boxes - most carpenter's hammers would catch the edge of the box.

I have a pair of electrician's scissors that I got from Jensen Tools some years ago.

They do indeed have a couple of stripping notches on them, not that I use them. The main blades are quite useful for trimming the cotton and nylon fillers used in some cords.

I'm just winging it but I think the scissors might have been for low voltage work. It seems like the data guys always carried them. What size wire were the stipping holes for?
As far as an electrician's hammer, I always thought it was defined by the straight claw on the back instead of the curved nail puller. I know its good for something that I have used it for before but right now that escapes me. I'll have to check out the poll on mine.

Splicer's scissors {Klein 2100} have serrated blades and are intended to cut up to 19AWG 'PIC' (plastic-insulated conductor) cable.

The electricians hammer has the straight claw as Gunther said and the longer striking head as Doug said to reach into boxes.

The bad side is this makes the whole hammer head very long and difficult to swing between joists if you need to for staples.

Bob

Has anyone used the lineman's knife he is referring to? I see them at the supply house and I've wondered if they would be easier (and safer) to use than a regular pocket knife on big cable. I've had a couple close calls with my pocket knife.
Brian

Is that the knife with the hooked end? I got one with my original tool set and did use it on stripping the end of bigger cable. When I say stripping I mean in a penciling fashion, being careful not to nick the wire. These days about the only knife I carry is a razor knife, but I did get a mean look when an old fart asked me for my pocket knife and I told him I didn't have one on me. All in all, the hooked knife was really more useful to me than a regular knife. I think it had to do with maybe the thick and wide blade and being easy to push. Also the hook came in handy occaisionally.

yes Brian, i've used the klien 'linesman's knife' to strip and make onto OH drops.

one less potiential point of contact...

Lineman's Knife:


Electrician's Scissors (with notches):


Cable Splicer's Knife:

BTW, the electrician's hammers are real good for smashing thumbs. I am an amateur wood butcher(Dad is a carpenter) and switching from carpenter's hammer to the electrician's hammer is kinda strange.

The hammer's straight long claw has a very good use. When you are trying to nail on a box between two studs that are very close together, (mostly when installing switches near door jambs) the hammer head sometimes cannot engage the nail head. Try reversing the hammer head and hit the nail with the claw points. A little practice and it gets easy. The claw bieng tapered down fits the smaller spacing allowing a sort of a hit from the hammer. It beats turning the hammer sideways and giving little baby taps to the nail head.

The cable splicers knife and the electrician's sissors are pretty standars issue in telecom work. The knife for jackets on multi pair cable and the sissors for cutting and stripping 24 ga twisted pairs. I have used both and never really got comfortable with either. For stripping, I perferred a tool that looked like a small pair of dikes but only one side had an edge, the other was flat and they were very easy to use.

The lineman's knife is not in vogue in this area. Virtually all the linemen here use linoleum knives (the kind with the wood handle and hooked blade, like an exagerrated version of the lineman's knife)..S

The scissors were part of the standard-issue toolkit of the GPO here in England for telephone engineers.

Apart from cables themselves, the scissors were deemed necessary for the waxed lacing cord that was commonly used to bundle conductors together in equipment.

These days, lacing cord has been largely superseded by plastic cable ties of various types.

Ooh, somebody knows about lacing twine! I remember lessons on how to properly use the stuff. There was a special way of wrapping so it didn't all come apart if you cut it in one place. I can't remember how to do it but I remember learning it once upon a time.

Here you go Jim:
http://www.dairiki.org/hammond/cable-lacing-howto/

I just saw that page on lacing twine tying.

All I can say is THANK GOD for tie-wraps!!

I once saw a panel (probably belonged to a phone system of sorts) with wire that was bundled and laced. It does seem like very intricate work.

The stuff is still sold -- it's either waxed or something so it holds its shape and doesn't rot. Expensive. Mouser Electronics sells rolls of it.