Stripping Wire

Anyone who has stripped a bent, folded, stepped on, and twisted wire knows how much of a pain it is. Today I thought of a way around that. Wouldn't wire be so much easier to strip if it was straight!?

So I got an old come-along I found around the barn, twisted one end of a 20'ish piece of wire around a post and the other end around the come-along and stretched that crooked sucker straight. It took me seconds to strip the wire when I didn't have to hold the wire and my knife and work around the bends and twists.

After experimenting with different set ups I found that my ratchet strap works just as well and is actually faster to adjust for the different lengths of wire. The hardest part is getting a strong twist on both ends so that it holds the tension.

It took me awhile to work out a system but I think I have it down now. I'll time myself and weigh my copper next time and let you guys know how it goes.

We used to have a tool that we called a pork-chop. It is used for grabbing a wire, cable what have you. It grabs hard and unlocks with ease. That would be an even better way at the end where you are tieing around a post. I will try and remember the name of that later and show you a picture of it. We also used cable socks to put a wire in and pull. It looks like a chinese finger cuff, only made from woven steel.

To strip my wire I put one end in my benchtop vice and grab the wire in about 3 ft. sections at a time and run a sharp utility knife down it, a sure clean cut to where u can just peel the insulation right off. I can do about 100 feet of wire in about 10-15 mins.

Originally Posted by parrothead

We used to have a tool that we called a pork-chop. It is used for grabbing a wire, cable what have you. It grabs hard and unlocks with ease. That would be an even better way at the end where you are tieing around a post. I will try and remember the name of that later and show you a picture of it. We also used cable socks to put a wire in and pull. It looks like a chinese finger cuff, only made from woven steel.

Is it like the tool used to grab barb wire to pull tight?

copper 1 wire, I just grab one end with pliers and pull straight up while holding my foot on the wire on the floor. Tighten and slide the knife down it. Works good and quick.

I have one of those old commercial grade cutting boards, hard plastic. I lay my wire out facing me and strip of about 6" with my K-Lock knife. Then I grab that part, I just stripped, wnd with my knife facing away from me, I pull the wire through the knife. I can strip it in no time and it is certainly worth the effort to strip the wires.
My method does work best on solid strand wire, NOT multi strand, as it "snags" the wires too easily.