Knife for stripping larger multi-conductor cable?

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paul_arc

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Location
CA
Yesterday as I was standing in the cold and wind stripping some 2/0 multi-conductor cable with a thick jacket (on the cable, not my self) while being very careful not to cut the insulation of one of the conductors. I was thinking to my self that there has to be a better way to do this.

Does anyone know a good tool for the job? Doing a little research I came across Knipex 98 55
http://knipex-tools.com/index.php?id=1023&page=art_detail&parentID=1324&groupID=1535&artID=97

It looks like it might be what I need but all the pictures or videos I found looks like it is just being used with cables with thin insulation jackets. Does anyone know if this tool will work with thicker jackets. Maybe around 1/8- 1/4" thick?

I don't need a tool that is rated for voltage, it just happens that this tool is.

Thanks
 
Tony S

Tony S

Senior Member
Location
Resting under the Major Oak UK
Back in the days when I was working on the tools I used a Tyzak knife. The blade length is adjusted with a screw in the handle so if you just want to cut in to the cable jacket you adjust the blade to suit.

Whether you can get them in the US I don’t know. Now I’m retired it only gets used to score the skin of a roasting joint.
 
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Adamjamma

Senior Member
Location
Jamaica and london
Not sure if its any help but years ago I was given a Pruning Knife by a co worker that heard I grow roses but dont cut the buds off... found it really nice for electrical work..just the right curve..
 
kwired

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
All the tools out there that maybe make it easier for some, yet some of us just get used to something over time. The knife below is what I got trained to use and what I still use today for both cable sheaths and individual conductors (over 10 AWG). When I was pretty green at this I would cut too deep into cables (especially UF) but now can strip UF without hardly ever nicking inside conductors - just takes time and practice. It is only one lightweight tool to carry and works for many things.

155024.jpg
 
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paul_arc

Member
Location
CA
greg furey said:
Usually use razor knive and be careful ,


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This is how I have always done it, I always take my time going slow and careful but to do about 15' of the super stiff cable really tires out my hands!
If I can find a specialty tool to make my life easier then I would like to go that way.
 
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paul_arc

Member
Location
CA
kwired said:
All the tools out there that maybe make it easier for some, yet some of us just get used to something over time. The knife below is what I got trained to use and what I still use today for both cable sheaths and individual conductors (over 10 AWG). When I was pretty green at this I would cut too deep into cables (especially UF) but now can strip UF without hardly ever nicking inside conductors - just takes time and practice. It is only one lightweight tool to carry and works for many things.

View attachment 21941
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I have never tried one of these curved knives. If I can't find a specialty one then I will give one of these a try. It just seems like another way to do it while still having to be extra careful not to cut the insulation of the conductors inside.

I'm hoping one like that knipex 98 55 will work where I can just slice it and be done in a couple minuets.
 
kwired

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
paul_arc said:
I have never tried one of these curved knives. If I can't find a specialty one then I will give one of these a try. It just seems like another way to do it while still having to be extra careful not to cut the insulation of the conductors inside.

I'm hoping one like that knipex 98 55 will work where I can just slice it and be done in a couple minuets.
Click to expand...

When I get a new one I grind that curve down some til it is almost a straight blade.

The trick to stripping NM, SE or other similar cable sheaths is to know what angle to hold the blade as well as how to hold the knife and cable while slitting. Most want to hold it at 180 degrees from the point along sheath being cut, that angle doesn't give you very good control. I don't know what angle to tell you is best, and it is probably slightly different for each kind of cable you cut, experience tells you what to do, but it is probably at least 45 to 60 degrees from being straight on. On large cable you might not have the cable in same hand as the knife, but for something like 14-3 round NM cable you hold knife and cable in same hand with your thumb opposite the knife tip and use as a guide.

UF cable you aren't using the tip, but are holding in a similar fashion I described above, having sharp knife is important for UF.
 
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MTW

Senior Member
Location
SE Michigan
Swivel-Blade® Cable Stripper

Swivel-Blade® Cable Stripper

You might want to consider one of these, if it meets your need. I've had both sizes for years, and are great if you have lots of heavy jackets to strip. For one off's I just use a sharp knife.

http://www.idealindustries.ca/products/prodSelect.php?prodId=45-129
MTW

45-129.jpg
 
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jmc679

Member
Bull nose knipex knives like that are great

Bull nose knipex knives like that are great

I use that knipex knife almost daily on 3c/400 MCM cables, all the way down to 23mcm. The navy has to be different and can't use standard AWG conventions. They work incredibly well. The jacket on the cables is near as thick as the insulation on a 5kv single conductor. Score/ring the butt end with a razor knife, then pull the knipex from the other end of the cable to where you want the butt to be. The biggest trick with them is to hold them flat to the cable, and resist the urge to push the knife, even though it has a blade on the front bill of the knife. One of the worst knife accidents I've seen was from someone pushing, and the knife popped out of the jacket and into someone's palm. :slaphead::jawdrop::rant: Then reconstructive surgery.
 
Tony S

Tony S

Senior Member
Location
Resting under the Major Oak UK
I was lucky, in a really cramped cable chamber I asked another electrician to pass my knife. He gave me his blunt knife, it skidded down the cable sheath and narrowly missed the veins in my wrist. There was a lot of blood and plenty of bad language.

The stupid thing, I finished making off the cable. Cable colours Red, Yellow and Blue, once finished they were all a strange colour of Brownish/Red
 
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