Anybody have any real world experience with this? Does it strip the Romex sheath easily as they say? Hate to spend money on a tool that may not work well.
www.kleintools.com Click on what's new, then scroll down.

My supply guys would usually be willing to let me try it out if I was interested. for me, my strippers are my side cutters. I snip around the circumferance of the NM and pull it off in one piece. Very clean.

I use a dull utility knife. No kidding! I never change the blade. Sharp enought to barely cut the sheath, and dull enough not to cut the wire insulation. (Slash up some sheet rock and your knife will dull up enough for this porpose really quick.) Same blade for a year at a time. Most of the time I just score the sheath and pull it off. I have strippers on my needle-nose for 14 and 12, past those sizes the dull knife comes out again.

Some of my guys have them strippers. (Adding 10/2 is a new part, but they have been around a while) They only work for 2-wire, and are kinda long and bulky. And if you jam it in the wrong, or partialy in the slot, you damage the conductors.

When we were doing residential I would carry a romex ripper. It's a cheap tool that tears the jacket lengthwise.

Haven't carried one for a few years though.

I have the one that strips 14/2 and 12/2 and I have used them for a few years. There is no better or easier way to strip romex that I have found. Makes a perfect cut at the sheath that goes into a plastic box or connector without getting hung up. I know there are guys here that will turn their noses up at anything new or different but when used properly these are the best.

Sandro, I also have a pair of duel cutter/strippers like Electricmanscott has and really like them. They work really great on 12 and 14 but have their limits. Don't try and slip in a #10 or larger, it will take the life out of your tool. If used within it's design you will enjoy using them. But if you don't fancy two or three tools in your pocket vs another trip to the truck for a pair of lineman pilers or dikes they'll be a great addition to your tool bag.

I carry the 14/2,12/2 stripper w/ me constantly. I never had a problem w/ them cutting into the conductors. From my point of view there is no quicker,easier way to strip romex. ToHo

I think it would be nice if they made these with a 90 degree angle at the tip, so you could reach into the box to strip. As is, you would have about 3" of NM sheath inside every box, which would therefore require a total length of cable of not less than 9". That would get messy pretty quickly.

I have the Klein Kurve K 1412 and they are good.

My only complaint is that they went dull really quickly. I don't know if this a widespread problem or if I got a defective pair.

However, I recommed the Ideal Reflex dual Romex stripper above the Klein. It is smaller, lighter and sharper.

I don't use romex strippers exlusively, because there are still a lot of situations where I need to use a utility knife, like the one that Ryan mentioned.

Gardner Bender(GB)makes one that is stainless steel that workd better than the Klein or Ideal http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/...&productId=200304051&R=200304051
I always remove the sheath before it enters the box
[This message has been edited by velect (edited 01-05-2005).]

[This message has been edited by velect (edited 01-05-2005).]

Ryan,

I was thinking exactly that.

I can usually strip an NM in about 5 seconds, maybe as little as 3, with my side cutters. Not that it's a competition but how fast are those things?

Thanks for the replies guys. I normally strip my romex with a dull utility knife as mentioned. I have seen the Romex cable ripper, but had no idea a tool like the KK 14-12 stripper existed. The thrust of my question was whether I could remove 6-8 inches of the sheath easier and quicker than with my knife and without damaging the conductors.

CTwireman... I take it you had exp. with both Ideal and Klein brand? If the Ideals are much better, I will give them a shot.

Its always nice to find an easier/better/quicker way to do a job.

I use the Klein tool and it works like a charm.
The sheath is removed prior to inserting the cable into the boxes.
BTW,
I don't want to start anything, but I believe the proper way to rough-in NM jobs is to remove the jacket before first.
That's the way it was done in the "old days", before production-line housing, and the tools that are designed and engineered to remove the sheath without damaging the insulation require it be done that way.
I regularly see insulation damaged by the practice of sticking the cable into the box first and then reaching in with a utility knife to score it. It's difficult to control the depth of the knife to insure that the insulation isn't slit, and very hard to examine the insulation to check it.

Craftsman makes an identical stripper to the Klein, for 14-2 and 12-2. They are so close, I believe that Klein makes them for Sears.

In my experience, the jacket stripper works quite well, and then there are the individual holes for the 12 and 14 single conductors. They also have a cutter.

Utility knives used carefully are fine, but I believe in the concept of specific tools for specific tasks, like using a screwdriver to turn screws, not for prying or chiseling. Etc.

I believe the Romex/NM strippers work well.

Sandro,


Yes, I owned two pairs of the Kleins and while they were good, I was not thrilled with them. So I tried out the Ideal and I think it's superior.

I have always found Ideal strippers (of all types) to be the best on the market by far.

Buy a couple pair... I LOVE mine. much better IMHO than cable rippers or knives. I didn't like the lock on the handle, though, so I removed mine. I'm able to prep 3-5 cables in the same amount of time as someone with a cable ripper.

I think they are great, I don't know what I did with out them. Especially if you are in an attic and want to cut into a hot circuit but know what cirauit it is. I use the strippers to score it then pull on both sides of the sheath and then you can cut one wire at a time

AinSophAur,


It sounds like you have a death wish.

Peter D.

I have a pair of these. If you're doing remodel beware of using these on old NM such as Anaconda "dutrax" vintage 1960.
If you're not careful they will go through the inner insulation because it is the thicker TW. Even if you get it right it's still hard to pull off the sheath because of the old filler.
Don't even try using them on the old cloth impregnated stuff.

AinSophAur,

quote:
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Especially if you are in an attic and want to cut into a hot circuit but know what cirauit it is.
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YIKES!
Do yourself a favor and get one of these!
http://shop.store.yahoo.com/tmt/grgtnovode.html

Thanks for the input guys. I picked up a set of the Ideal version and they work great! A very handy tool to have.

Thanks again.

I have the Greenlee version and they are very nice. I also strip the romex before installing it into a box. Makes a clean cut everytime.