wmartin@stl-06sima.army.mil (Will Martin) (08/10/89)
Specialized Products Company (800-527-5018) -- Spring 89 catalog, page 177: Utica Swiss Model U502E Series High Precision Stripping Tool. "Designed to be the most precision chain nose stripper-cutter combination tool for working with Teflon, Kynar, and other tough insulations. This is a very unique [sic -sigh...] tool that has become very popular as a wire wrap stripper/cutter. The 502E eliminates having to use two separate tools. The cutting and stripping blades can be micro adjusted and are replaceable. Features foam cushion handles and is available in 5 wire gauge sizes." It comes in 22, 24, 26, 28, & 30 AWG models. Price: $79.50 each (Wow!) Klein Tools (in Chicago, 312-677-9500), catalog #127 (vintage 1984), page 24, has a model D2291 "Long Nose Insulation Skinner" pliers, which is described as "A special plier for telephone work, designed to skin 22- or 24-gauge wire. Slot provided in nose to crush insulation." This might be what you're looking for, but the illustration isn't clear if there is a real wire-strip hole near the tip of the jaws. Klein's a manufacturer, so no prices are given. Similar size Klein pliers are in the $8-$10 range in a 1984 W. S. Jenks & Son tool catalog (800-638-6405) but this specific one isn't listed, and nothing else equivalent is there either. Interestingly, I looked thru the following other electronic-tools catalogs which did NOT carry a similar product: Techni-Tool, OK Industries (even though they are wire-wrap specialists!), Contact East, and Time Motion Tools. Dikes with wire-strip holes and long-nose pliers with strip holes near the hinge are common, but pliers with strip holes near the tip, as was asked for, are definitely rare! Hope this info is of help. Regards, Will Martin
amanda@uunet.uu.net (Amanda Walker) (08/10/89)
Someone else also suggested Klein, so I'm going to start calling local distributors. The SPC tool sounds interesting, but it's a little more than I'm looking for right now :-)... Thanks a lot for the information! --Amanda
wmartin@stl-06sima.army.mil (Will Martin) (08/11/89)
I was wrong. I had looked in the "plier" section of the W. S. Jenks & Son catalog, and didn't find the Klein D-2291 "insulation skinner" tool there, and reported in my previous message that they didn't carry it. Then, a few minutes ago, I got the catalog back out to look for the "punch-down tools" the other poster had asked about. I didn't find them, but the "insulation skinner" tool was there in the "telecommunications equipment" section. Feh! Anyway, as I mentioned before, this catalog is 1986 vintage. Price then was $8.30. Try calling them for a new catalog: W. S. Jenks & Son 2024 West Virginia Ave, NE Washington DC 20002 800-638-6405 or 202-529-6020 Regards, Will