I spent about twenty minutes honing a cheap wire stripping crimp tool. I was surprised that the tool's alloy is about as tough as an adjustable wrench, which also had sharp corners worth removing. It took much longer than I thought it would. The result of using a variety of honing stones and silicon carbide paper is a surface free of small burrs and enamel. I'm basically doing sloppy sharpening moves here to refine and kind dull the stripper/cutter. There is no reason that it is that sharp, it digs in, and takes some copper that can't get out of the way. Now, I can strip insulation, and there isn't damage done to the wire itself. It also enhanced the precision of how this tool closes, as I touched the surfaces, with the stones and paper, that were keeping them from closing fully around the wire. It now has a neat feel, and sound as it produces really clean (perpendicular to wire) shearing of plastic, and only minorly denting/bending the copper, very reliable.
This is awesome, as, I keep wire strippers in three locations, and I don't want to invest in good tools for something as one-banana as shearing plastic if I don't have to. Usually skills are worth way more than tools. The rivet on this set is proper, and the blades align fairly reliably if you are using a light grip.
This is awesome, as, I keep wire strippers in three locations, and I don't want to invest in good tools for something as one-banana as shearing plastic if I don't have to. Usually skills are worth way more than tools. The rivet on this set is proper, and the blades align fairly reliably if you are using a light grip.