Just lost a full day's work because of a bad batch of wire strippers

I picked up a new pair of wire strippers from a local supply house last week, the kind that auto-adjusts to the wire gauge. They were about $35, which seemed fine. Used them yesterday on a full system install, eight zones in a two-story house. Halfway through, the cutter started mangling the 22/4 wire instead of stripping it clean. I had to go back and re-strip every single connection on the first floor, which took me over three hours. The client was home and kept asking why it was taking so long, which just added to the stress. I ended up having to run out at lunch to buy a different pair to finish the job. That $35 tool just cost me a whole day's pay. Has anyone else had a tool fail that badly right in the middle of a job, and what brand do you actually trust now?

3 comments

3 Comments

joseph_torres1mo ago

What brand were those auto-adjust strippers? I've been burned by that exact thing before.

kim8191mo ago

Yeah, @joseph_torres, those were the PowerPro ones, total junk.

chen.casey29d ago

Ugh, that's the worst. @joseph_torres is right, those auto-adjust ones are a gamble. I just stick with my basic Klein strippers now, never lets me down.