Rant: I was in a crawlspace in Tempe and my old Klein strippers finally gave out mid-pull on a 12/2.

Had to finish the splice by carefully scoring the insulation with my pocket knife and hoping I didn't nick the copper, so what's your go-to backup method when a tool fails on you in a tight spot?

4 comments

4 Comments

taylor.reese1mo ago

Honestly that pocket knife move sounds like asking for trouble. A real backup is just carrying a cheap pair of strippers as a spare, they take up no room.

jason_lewis31mo ago

Yeah, and it's like @taylor.reese is pointing out a whole thing about using the right tool. You see it everywhere, people trying to make one thing do a job it wasn't meant for. Like using a butter knife as a screwdriver and stripping the head, or trying to cut a box with car keys. It just makes the job harder and you might break something. Having the actual cheap, simple tool for the job, even as a backup, just saves the headache.

wade8714d ago

But sometimes the whole point is to improvise with what you have. If you're in a pinch and a butter knife gets the battery cover open on a toy, you saved a trip to the toolbox. Not every job needs the perfect tool, sometimes you just need it done fast with zero extra stuff to buy or carry around.

wendy1311mo ago

Man, I tried the knife thing once on a small wire and it was a mess. Nicked the copper and everything. Now I just keep a tiny pair of those cheap strippers in my bag. They cost like two bucks and actually do the job right. It's not about having fancy gear, it's about not making more work for yourself.