NEIKO 02037A Compact Wire Stripper | 4-in-1 Multi Purpose Electricians Pliers | Wire Crimper, Cutter and Gripper | 12-20 AWG Wire Service Tool | Crimps Insulated & Non-Insulated | Electrical Stripping

Before getting this tool, I have been stripping wires with a utility knife. It usually works, though sometimes it cuts too deep and cuts through inner wires of multi-wire cables like CAT5, or stranded wire and some strands get cut off. It's time consuming to strip wire this way. I finally broke down and got one of these. Wow! It makes stripping wires fast, easy, accurate, and repeatable. I tried it on solid and stranded wire from #14 house wire to the stranded wires inside CAT5 - all fast and flawless. An adjustable strip gauge is perfect for when having a repeatable strip for a critical length. The crimper and cutter are just more gravy. Basically, it seems to do everything it's supposed to do, and does it well. So what about the things it does NOT supposed to do? I tried it on the PVC casing of 3-wire #14 house wire. It doesn't fit into the jaws, so obviously that does not work. But it does strip the wires inside. I tried some very thin stranded hookup wire with a tough, slippery outside, and it could not get a purchase on that. These are the only things I have found so far that it could not do, and after all, it is not advertised to do these things. I tried it with the casing of CAT5. Flawless, and no damage to the wires inside; strips the stranded wire inside just fine too. Old 4-wire telephone cable: perfect, and it can strip the small gauge solid wire inside. I tried a thin shielded cable (just a bit more than an eighth of an inch thick) and it was able to take off the outside jacket. That speaker wire with the clear casing? Works as expected, but it can also strip both conductors at once (suggest that you split them first, which is easier than after stripping). It can strip both conductors at once for medium-gauge AC appliance wire. I'll update this report with results of trying CATV cable, other large-gauge shielded cable, and anything else I can find around. I'm very happy with this purchase, and only wish I had bought one years ago.

Great for cheap strippers. Feels solid. Jaws meet precisely. Have only used the 18 and smaller but these work better than just about any scissors style I’ve used.

I work at a Dealership local to me, where I do a large majority of all the electrical work. These pliers are really great. The tip of the pliers have sideways serrations, making them great for removing fuses in tight spots. The wire strippers work excellent for most automotive purposes. If you have extremely small gauge wires then you have to turn the pliers sideways slightly to get it to strip better, but certainly works well. My only two real gripes is that when crimping wires together, the pliers sort of dig into your hand. It's not too bad, but if you're having to do a major wiring job and splice a bunch of stuff together, then they can start to become uncomfortable while splicing stuff together. Also, another small thing, but the wire cutters are inside the pliers on the bottom side of the pivot. They cut great, but it is a bit awkward. Again, especially if you're using them to cut several wires, like replacing a connector pigtail. Other than that, they are a great all-round and do it all electeical pliers. If you're comparing them side, I think the OTC ones are better objectively speaking, but they are also $45 dollars. For that, I think you'd be better off saving your cash and buying these. Definitely recommended for someone to throw into an emergency tool bag in the trunk of their car. They get used all the time in my shop

I love these pliers. They are basically a clone of the VIM tools wsc7 pliers but for less than half of the price. They have all of the same functions and feel well made. I primarily use them for the crimp function because I have a set of automatic wire strippers that is faster than using the stripper portion on the inside of the handles. But, the inside portion does work just fine. These would surpass the needs of most home users without question, I use them daily in a professional setting and am perfectly happy with them.

Nice 4-in1's.

UPDATE(12/17/15): I still have this and I still use it when needed. UPDATE(03/08/15): Great tool. UPDATE(02/10/14): After using this auto-magical tool a bit, I love it even more, though the single point crimper takes a bit of squeezing effort. For "once-in-a-while" crimping it's ok, however, a ratcheting crimper would be much better. I may get a multi-point ratcheting crimper for easy crimping especially in cramped spaces. You might think to yourself: "Self, I won't use this tool very much. I'll just continue using my normal stripping knife." Then immediately qualify that thought by thinking, "And a box of band-aids and tube of antibiotic ointment are certainly much cheaper than buying this wire stripper." LOL. REVIEW 12-05-13: Adjust the red plastic wire-stop piece for the length of insulation to remove, insert wire(s), squeeze and your done. The wire is stripped. You're done. Done! I've tried different gauge wire (10AWG - 22AWG) and the stripper worked 99% of the time in one squeeze. The tool works well for multi-strand wires too (outside insulation then the individual strands). Once in a while the insulation that is removed gets stuck in the tool but that's really not a big deal to clear it. The single point crimper works well enough when you need it. And the wire cutter comes in handy now and then; the stripping action activates first before the wire is cut so you need to keep squeezing to overcome that action before you get a cut wire. It's neat that you can strip a middle section of wire (rotate the red wire stop piece out of the way and move the tool to the middle of the wire). The tool seems sturdy and has some weight to it. If you strip enough wires to warrant getting a wire stripping tool, do yourself a favor and go for an automatic tool such as this one. No more cringing when it's time to strip wires. ;-)

For most purposes this has become my go-to tool for wire stripping. I've used it on gauges from large to tiny and it has worked as advertised more often than it hasn't. It does fail on certain wire and insulation types (generally, wires with stretchy insulation) but the more i use it the more i recognize what type of wires i shouldn't bother trying. When it works it is a joy and when it doesn't, well, it's not really any more frustrating than accidentally cutting off the 3/4" that i meant to strip. I mean it's only fair when critiquing this tool that i remember how often i screw up with traditional methods. It does its job just as shown in the illustration, i.e., by pulling the insulation apart. So one of its more gratifying uses is for splicing into a circuit without breaking the conductor, e.g. as you might want to do for testing purposes, or hooking up auto accessories or trailer wiring. It works better than i expected in tight quarters, because all that needs done is to get the head of it around the wire and then squeeze. That's way better than pulling at the wire and banging my hand on the nearest sharp pointy thing. All that said, i can relate to the criticisms in the more unhappy reviews. There's a lot going on here for a simple job; the wire needs gripped just so, the pinchers need to meet just so, and it has to do apply pressure just so for the size and material. It all has to happen precisely and in precise sequence or it doesn't happen right, and i can see how it easily wouldn't. I don't trust it to keep working as well as it has been. Bottom line is, i bought this tool because it is different and because stripping wire is one of my least favorite activities so i thought i'd try something new. I had the $17 to play with, i only expected $17 worth of durability and reliability, and i am not attached to the outcome if it should end up in the trash. I'd only endorse this tool for those of similar circumstances and disposition.

Picked this up for automotive wiring and general electrical work. Strips insulation clean and crimps consistently. Good value tool that’s been reliable so far.