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Wire strippers look like pliers with a number of notches set in the jaws. These notches vary in size to fit different wire types and gauges. There are a range of designs available for a variety of wires, such as electrical cords, coaxial cables, or thin communication wires. You can find wire strippers that fit your needs online or at your nearby home improvement or electrical store. If you know your wire’s gauge, find the corresponding notch in the jaws of your wire strippers. For example, if you have a 16-gauge wire, find the notch marked 16. If you don’t know the gauge, or if your tool isn’t labelled, place the wire in each notch to find a match. The wire should fit snugly into the notch. Once you’ve found the right notch, place the wire in it, then gently close the tool’s jaws. Line it up so the jaws are about an inch (two to three centimeters) from the end of the wire. If you’re using the wire for an electrical project, you’ll only want to strip the insulation off of the tip. If you’re stripping wire for scrap, it's more efficient to just slice down the length of the wire with a utility blade instead of pulling off a little bit at a time with wire stripping pliers. Try to use just enough pressure to cut through the insulation. You don’t want to squeeze too hard, or you might damage the wire beneath the insulation. This would make it unsuitable for an electrical project. If you’re using the notch with the right gauge, you should be able to cut through the insulation without doing any damage. After you’ve closed the stripper’s jaws around the wire, carefully rotate the tool around the wire. This ensures the tool has cut through the entire circumference of the insulation. Keep the tool’s jaws closed as you slide it off of the wire to remove the insulation from the tip. Pull the tool toward the short end of the wire, or the end that’s only about an inch (two to three centimeters) away from the jaws.
Get a wire stripping tool labelled for your type of wire. Find the notch that matches your wire’s gauge. Place the tip of the wire in the appropriate notch. Squeeze the stripping tool’s handles gently. Spin the tool around the wire to ensure you’ve cut the insulation. Slide the stripper off the wire to pull off the insulation.