How to cut wire casing?

[peters.carl]

Hi,
I have a dumb question. Marine tinned wire comes with positive and negative wires covered with an outer casing. My current technique to cut the outer casing is to use a sharp craft knife trying my best to avoid cutting the casing on the inner cables. Unfortunately my success rate has been low despites my best attempts and i always seem to do a small cut in the inner cable.

Is there some tricks I need to be aware of?

I use wire stripper for the inner cables but the outer sheath is oval so i dont see how to do that one???

Many thanks

 

[Rick_A]

I cut along the outer coating first rather than around, then open it up, fold back and snip off the rest of it. If you pres down through the coating you can line it up so that the blade goes between the internal wires rather than through them.

Another way it to not press too hard and go round the coating a few times with the knife rather than trying to do it jut the once. Once you have cut in so far take a pair of pliers and pull the coating off.

I use a stanley knife as the strippers went to the bottom of the bilges.

 

[l'escargot]

You don't need to cut right through the outer sheath - just score it with the craft knife, then flex it to open up the cut and slide it off.

 

[single]

These are ok http://www.tooled-up.com/Product.asp?PID=187906 but as said above the best way is to cut lengthways with a very sharp stanley then snip off the rest.For marine use spray all connections with ACF50 or similar.

 

[nimbusgb]

Practice

 

[Nigel_Ward]

Use clutch type wire strippers:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lff9MJkFhzM

They will strip the outer insulation in 1 inch pieces without any damage to the inner insulation or wire (or your fingers)

An electrician gave me a set a few years back and I have used them on quite fine wire.

 

[NB Willawaw]

I normally start it off with a nick with cutters and then peel it back by hand.
I have a proper pair of automatic wire strippers for the conductor insulation.

 

[Dave_Seager]

Wire strippers are useful but I have a technique she I only have a knife. If you bend the cable and gently run the knife across the outer casing where it is stretched, the depth of cut is more controlled. Usually the casing will come apart neatly before the blade can touch the inner insulation.

 

[starfire]

You don't need to cut right through the outer sheath - just score it with the craft knife, then flex it to open up the cut and slide it off.

+1

 

[David2452]

For repeated use on the same cable a cheap coax stripper works well and very fast, remove one blade and adjust the other to cut into the outer sheath a bit, then as post three.

 

[cliff]

Wire strippers are useful but I have a technique she I only have a knife. If you bend the cable and gently run the knife across the outer casing where it is stretched, the depth of cut is more controlled. Usually the casing will come apart neatly before the blade can touch the inner insulation.

Yep! +1

 

[PeteCooper]

Some cables have a string through the centre which is for cutting the casing - you sort of loop it round the outside and pull and it cuts the outer casing - it's easier to do than describe!

 

[30boat]

You don't need to cut right through the outer sheath - just score it with the craft knife, then flex it to open up the cut and slide it off.

Exactly

 

[Wunja]

I used to have something like this: Plasplug wire stripper

Its rotated around the cable and gives a preset depth cut. One of the few gimic tools that actually works.