Pro tip: The old timer at Lowe's who showed me how to strip wire with my linesman's

I was at Lowe's picking up some 12/2 last Saturday and this older guy maybe 70 stops me. He saw me struggling with a pair of strippers and says 'kid, you're overthinking it.' He grabbed my linesman's and stripped a clean inch off in one motion no nicks at all. Now I save maybe 10 minutes per job and my hands don't hurt as bad at the end of the day. Has anyone else gotten a trick from a stranger that actually stuck?

3 comments

3 Comments

erickelly11d ago

Man that old timer trick is the real deal. I had a guy show me the same thing years ago and it changed how I work. The key is to pinch the wire between your thumb and the linesman's before you rotate, keeps the insulation from bunching up. Another thing I picked up is to use the little notch on the side of the jaws for 12 and 14 gauge, not the center hole. Saves even more time when you're doing a whole panel.

evan_davis11d ago

Wait, are you saying the side notch is actually closer to the old school geometry because of that angle change? That would explain a lot. I always thought I was just getting old and losing my touch with the newer Kleins. I mean, I noticed something felt off with the center hole a few years back but I figured it was just me being picky. The way you describe it, the designer deliberately shifting the angle to help with wrist strain makes total sense too. I've been fighting with mine on a big job lately and maybe I just need to commit to using the side notch full time instead of fighting the new center hole. Really interesting stuff man.

taylor_patel11d ago

Klein actually changed the angle on those notches about five years ago. I read a blog post from one of their tool designers and they deliberately made it 5 degrees off the old spec to reduce strain on the wrist during repetitive cuts. Nobody talks about that, but it's why you can't quite get the same clean strip with the center hole on the newer models without adjusting your grip. The side notch works because it's closer to the original geometry their old journeyman reference tools had.