Help me choose a steel for copper/aluminum wire skinning/stripping

[Onsharry]

Hello all!

I’m new to the forum and caught the spyderco addiction. Lol.

I’m an electrician and recently bought 4 knives (vg-10,h1,S30V and M390)

Can you guys help me on choosing a steel that I would be using for stripping LARGE wire (10awg-750s) I know more edge retention means less toughness and stripping this large wire is harsh. Could you guys recomend me a steel?

Thanks!

[TomAiello]

Is your H-1 serrated?

I think I'd go with the H-1 for that, personally. Partly because it's pretty tough and partly because it's generally cheaper than the M390.

[dsvirsky]

Welcome to the forum.

No offense, but why use any knife when the right tool costs less and will do the job better? I understand why many of us who don't routinely strip insulation might reach for a knife, but not why a professional electrician would.

[koenigsegg]

I wonder if anyone else here uses their spyders to cut wire insulation. I would only expect maxamet to handle it but I'm not sure how brittle it is. I've seen people shave aluminum off a rod with maxamet.

[500Nitro]

As per other poster, why use a knife
When great tools are available ?

Saying that I've used my Endura Serrated to strip wire when out bush and need to fix wiring.
The serrations are great for it.

[Onsharry]

Yea there are tools for stripping wire and terminating. But when pulling wire through the conduit we would have to just skin the insulation of a wire about 10 inches to expose the conductor for trimming (with other cutting tool) to make a “head” smaller to pull multiple wires through easier. Yes I can use a box cutter but I kind of like a steel that I can resharpen. Instead of disposing box cutters. I’ve used my pm3 S30V to do this task but was just wondering which steel would suit me better.

Thanks!

[Onsharry]

My h1 is pe Tasman salt 2. The hawkbill works for this task too but still looking for a better steel??

[Onsharry]

I’m talking about wire insulation stripping on larger wire like the picture in this link:

https://www.protoolreviews.com/wp-conte ... I.jpg#main

[npad69]

if you're looking for the best steel then get the native 5 in maxamet

[500Nitro]

I’m talking about wire insulation stripping on larger wire like the picture in this link:

https://www.protoolreviews.com/wp-conte ... I.jpg#main

So was I.

Looks very similar to the stuff we use on electric fences (not the fence itself). Strip the black off each end.

[xceptnl]

I have used my small H1 SE hawkbills to split 14/2 and 12/2 romex before with little issue. This was purely because I was on a ladder and only had one hand free. For the stripping of the individual strands, a proper electricians tool would be my first choice.

[Bill1170]

A tougher steel would be good, something like M4. Also good is a less acute micro bevel for resisting lateral deformation.

[anagarika]

Insulation is soft. Any of your steel should do that. Wire core is copper, much softer than steel too, so cutting wire also can be done easily.

In my younger days, I used Leatherman (420?) blade and some cheap balisongs, no issue. As long as the edge is sharp, stripping wire is easy. If you think of strip & push, it will load the edge laterally, so don’t go lower than 30° inclusive. I’d say go with your VG10 or H1.

I don’t recommend maxamet or other high carbide steel due to potential lateral forces occurring during work.

[Surfingringo]

Hi Harry, and welcome to the forum. As Chris mentioned, most of the steels that are available in the Spyderco lineup should be capable of cutting insulation and copper wire without significant damage. The problem comes when you start introducing the lateral stress that comes when you strip the insulation. You want a steel that is hard/strong enough to to resist rolling but not so brittle as to chip. The best results I have had in this type of stressful cutting have been from m4. I have tested it extensively on fish bone, intentionally putting heavy lateral stress on it and it has shown very little tendency to roll or chip. I think it would make a capable tool for the work you want to do.

The angle at which you sharpen your edge is going to be important too. I would suggest (at the very least) putting a 40 degree microbevel on a 30 degree edge, but if you really want to minimize damage you might want to sharpen the entire bevel to 40 degrees. I think m4 at 40 degrees should handle that work just fine.

Another suggestion that might work well for you is serrated H1. Aside from being exceptionally tough (and harder/stronger than plain edge H1) the individual serrations can prove handy for stripping. The one caveat I would add is that the edge will need to be micro beveled thoroughly before using it for stripping wire. The chisel ground salts have a very acute edge. 15 degrees (or less) on one side and less than 5 degrees on the other so your inclusive edge angle is 20 degrees or less. This steel (at that angle) will definitely roll under lateral stress until you have added a large enough 40 degree microbevel to support the edge. Once you have established that microbevel though, I think serrated h1 would work very well and be easy to maintain.

One other thing. Regarding maintenance (of a plain edge or especially a serrated edge) I cannot recommend Spyderco's sharpmaker highly enough. If you don't have one already that should be on your short list for new acquisitions. It makes it super quick and easy to keep your edges extremely sharp.

[Evil D]

I'd go with something serrated in H1. It's tough as nails and the serrations do a great job stripping wire.

[ThePeacent]

SE H1 and go for it

[DrawBackwards]

Surfingringo said pretty much what I would have wanted to say - just with more detail & experience.

I don't have any experience with the H1 serrated - but it's especially tough, and H1 apparently maintains a better cutting edge when serrated. It also solves any issue you might have if it's really damp or humid where you're working.

Because the other direction to go is non-stainless steel that prioritizes toughness first, then perhaps some edge retention. Lance mentioned M4; I haven't used K390, but it might fit as well. But if you're working in damp/humid conditions, I would just go H1 for sure.

[ferider]

Find a PM2 with S35VN. That's what I use for this purpose anyways - and yes, I have the proper tools, but sometimes a knife comes in handy. And no, I don't have much use for serrated edges. It never is stripping only, there is cutting too. But that's just me.

[Donut]

There was a dude a while back who made a thread about his use of the Rock Lobster as an Electrician. From what I understand, he did a lot of meter changes, so he was stripping some larger wires. Maybe not 750's, but probably #3/0's.

It sucks that photobucket is all messed up, he posted pictures of how he stripped the wire.

viewtopic.php?t=37989

The Rock Lobster is almost a wharncliff and it is VG-10. From what I remember, he would slice the insulation almost parallel to the direction of the cable and run the corner of the bevel brushing against the side of the strands and slicing a section of the insulation off, then once you get a strip of bare conductor, you just pull the insulation off the side and cut it.

I think the key is: do whatever you have to so that the edge doesn't contact the metal on the inside of the cable.

I have cut some small gauge copper wires with a S30V Paramilitary 2, but I wouldn't want to cut a lot of them with it, I'm sure it would eventually take damage.

[Donut]

Google had crappy versions cached of the pictures he had in his thread: