Small diameter wire strippers

OGR has a good one.

 This one should work well.

Micromark has this one for awg wire sizes #20-#30...

Stripper Link

It's always in the top drawer of my own most oft-used tools, along with.....

It's 'big brother'....awg #10-#22...which I also have was obtained from the now-mostly-defunct Radio Shack eleventy-seventy years ago.....but commonly can yet be found in the tool departments of most big box home improvement stores and better hardware stores.  

Reasonably priced.....simple in construction...easy to use...IMHO.

KD

Dave_C posted:

 This one should work well.

+ 1 for these.  I use them all the time!

I'm not familiar with the OGR stripper; so my comments are based only on wire strippers I own.  I have five pairs of good to very good strippers that I have used for a variety of projects including train wiring, but several years ago I picked up a pair of Xuron stranded wire strippers at a train show.  I find them superior for high gauge (small diameter) wire stripping.  They have excellent touch-feel for delicate work as they are smaller than most strippers, and they have sharp cutting edges. They are a finely crafted product.   

Xuron strippers come in three flavors all with cams for different settings: continuously variable, notched for stranded, and notched for solid.  Last year I picked up two more pairs from Micro Mark (#86701 continuously adjustable, #86709 for solid) so I would have the complete set of three.   Since stranded and solid have identical notches but differ by one setting or two gauges (18=20,20=22, et cetera),  one notched set can serve both purposes, but require careful mental bookkeeping to keep straight which is the correct gauge setting on the tool.

Now as for the continuously variable set,  I find them extremely useful for very fine wire such as 30 gauge that is often used with low amperage LEDs.  Also I have found I can more carefully avoid nicking wire.  At about $16 a pair it could seem like a waste of money, but for me, they have made the tasks easier and more enjoyable.  

The Klein shown above is a quality tool and is a stock item at the big box home centers.

I always have one of these in my pocket;

It's a Leatherman ES4. Only 2" long and handy as all get out.

About $32 on the auction sight.

I  use the Klein wire stripper shown above.
I also have a matching Klein stripper for larger wire.
They work extremely well.
I got mine from Amazon.

The 1010 Klein multipurpose tool will strip to 22 ga.   Picture center.   Keep in mind that stranded and solid wires of the same gauge are slightly different. Solid being smaller.  Klein tools should be available at either big box store and local electrical supplies.  They are more money than most consider reasonable, but they do work well and are guaranteed.

I have 2 pairs of the Klein Tools strippers and I love em. ive tried a few others and none work as well. FYI, these can be found at Home Depot in the electrical aisle just down form the tools in the computer networking and coaxial area.

I've been using this Hanlong Tools HT-5023 Stripper for a few years, it works great.

This is my favorite. 

I  remove the spring, took out the wire stop and did away with the safty (old school).
Been using these since the 70's.
You end up developing a feel when stripping.
I also uses No-Nik Wires strippers years ago when using the Kynar wire wrap wire. This was 30 gauge solid with a very tough case.
All the tools mentioned above are good, just have to develop the finesse in using them.

Have fun.

I use a similar one like GunRunnerJohn has for my other hobby of making "functional" light saber props. Which  usually consist of 28-30 AWG Wire for all the wiring. 

I use these specialized strippers for the #30 solid wirewrap wire that I use for some shell lighting.

many thanks for all your help

Wiha makes one thats EDS safe, 20-30 gauge wiring. I use it all the time on HO and O scale internal wiring.

I use the Gardner Bender wire stripper and have been very happy with it, here is a link.

http://www.globalindustrial.co...zEAQYAyABEgJT9fD_BwE

Ray

Those are a bit clunky for close work, they do work well for working on cabling.  However, take note of the topic, Small diameter wire strippers, these don't exactly strip "small wire".

Wire gauge is #8 - #22 AWG.

Dave_C posted:

 This one should work well.

 

Thanks, picked one up and it works great!

I read for smaller than  #16 ga wire. These are labeled down to 22 ga, I have been able to strip #24 with no problem. Have not done anything smaller than that.

Ray 

I do a lot of lighting with #28 and #30 wire, need something that deals with the smaller sizes.

For 20-30 AWG wire I used a handy little device from OK Industries - see picture below.

https://www.amazon.com/Industr...-20-30/dp/B0015A7DBI

However I have discovered that with wire diameters this small I can also pass the wire over a solder iron and the insulation melts away by itself.

Joe

I carry the Radio Shack Leatherman Squirt E4 with me ALL the time, it's the first thing in my pants pocket in the morning.  I use it quite frequently, especially under the Choo Choo Barn layout.  They're available on eBay every now and then.  I have three of them, just in case I loose one.

gunrunnerjohn posted:

Those are a bit clunky for close work, they do work well for working on cabling.  However, take note of the topic, Small diameter wire strippers, these don't exactly strip "small wire".

Wire gauge is #8 - #22 AWG.

I use a similar older USA version stripmaster by Ideal Industries Inc that has 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26. Jaws for other AWG are available and swappable. They are far from clunky in that they take less force , you need only one hand and they work reliably and well. This is what we use at work in the aerospace industry. Highly recommended. Now if I could find blades for 38 AWG....

The Ideal web site shows other blades for smaller gauges.  Goggle around and you'll find some prices that are better than others.