Hands-on experience of Quikstrip wire stripper?

tinyE

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Now, I usually don't fall for 'As Seen On TV' type products, but I really want to believe in this one /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif

http:\\www.quikstrip.com

The TV commercial had me drooling as they effortlessly stripped all types and sizes of wire with one squeeze of the handle.

Just wanted to see if anyone actually had hands-on experience with this, and if it performs anywhere close to as shown.
 

raggie33

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i used one before i think when i saw comercail i was thinking what i used was the same but hat was a few years ago when iused it so im not sure it is the same but the one i used work ok
 

Eugene

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Are you doing house wire or smaller stuff. I bet these being made for house wire will only strip a couple of those larger sizes.
 

tinyE

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Yes....just around the house stuff.

AC, coax, telephone....I have strippers that work for each, but sometimes it takes me a few trys to get it right.

I just find it hard to believe it could do the big and the small wires without adjustment.
 

nullandvoid

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They work by pulling the insulation off, there are like two sets of jaws, one stationary the other moves. They work okay but if you get cord with particularly elastic insulation they don't work very well, and if you have particularly tough insulation and fragile wire they can tend to pull the wire apart right along with the insulation. You could forget doing coax with these things, you'd probably pull the braid right off with the insulation. Not too bad for small gauge solid wire, I had a bit of a rough time using it on lamp cord due to the very elastic insulation.
 

Bill.H

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I had something very much like that on the job about 10 years ago. They work by having the upper cutter jaw drop until it hits an obstruction, then moving just a tiny fraction more, then locking. Instead I prefer a pair of Klein strippers (two cover from 10-26 ga.) and a dedicated coax stripping tool. (For anything over 10 ga. I use a knife.) Costs a little more, and they take more room in the box/pouch, but if you're doing a lot of one kind at one time, it's really worth it.
 

tiktok 22

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I've used multi-strippers in the past without much luck. For me personally, I'll stick with dedicated strippers. Overall, having the right stripper for the job seems the best route for me. Even if I have to carry multiple pairs.
 

Lucien

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I have something similar - mine has a little knob at the back of the head to adjust the tension of the jaws that cut the insulation and pull it off. It works for me, but as nullandvoid noted, it's not so good with elastic stuff. Most of the wire I do isin't elastic, so that isn't such a big issue for me.

Doesn't look like that one has the tension adjustment from the pics on the mainpage. In which case you might be better off with a proper dedicated stripper. I've had an older "auto-"stripper with no tension adjustment, cheaper - but it sucked.
 

snakebite

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we saw the exact same strippers at biglots recently for $2
that design has been around awhile.
same stuff with some slick marketing.
biglots $2
as seen on tv $20+shipping+handling.
they are ok for $2
 

louie

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Re: Hands-on experience of Quikstrip wire stripper

I've had this similar stripper for decades. http://www.paladin-tools.com/stripserstri.html The stripper part is composed of a line of thin spring loaded teeth that conform around any size wire, then start to pull the insulation away as another set of clamping jaws holds the wire. There is a spring adjustment.

I find I like it if you are doing hundreds of the same wire ends at a time, or certain small wires that are hard to hold onto. They leave a slightly ragged edge to the insulation and indentations in the insulation where it holds on while pulling the end insulation away. They are poor for very delicate work in confined space.

For general electronic use, I greatly prefer the simple Ideal Industries T-Strippers with multiple holes (many similar available like Klein). They make a cleaner insulation cut. I keep a red one for small wires and a yellow one for larger. And the Ideal "clothespin" style coax cutter.
 

Kristofg

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Re: Hands-on experience of Quikstrip wire stripper

I've been using one of these for years now and i must confess that I love it. it was one of the first things I moved whan changing houses (well, that and a black diamond moonbeam to work in the dark /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif I've been using it for all kinds of wires and the only problem I've found are Coax cables, which take a few tries and can be cut with the small cutter near the handle to remove the outer isolation layer and some of those very fine wires you use for SMD components which tend to break, but all other types are easy to strip and quite clean too. Get one at your local hardware store if you have the chance, they are really cheap and very convenient to use.
 

jayflash

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The Ideal Stripmaster is an industry benchmark and much better than the TV special. The Stripmaster has the ability to accurately strip wire from 22 - 10ga. Each size has its own dedicated cutter in the die. Or is that separate dies in the cutter head (somebody help me here)? Anyway, after many thousands of strips, the stripping dies can be replaced. It's my favorite stripper for most, but not all, uses.
 
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