Independent comparisons. We may earn from shop links. More info

How to strip a wire

Updated: 16 October 2026

You have a stripper in your hand and a single core that needs a square end of bare copper. How to strip a wire, on a UK circuit, starts before the squeeze: the cable has to be dead, and you have to have proved it. The length comes from the terminal you are filling. A nick means that end is scrap. Prices and which tool to buy sit on the [wire stripper comparison](/hub/pliers/wire-stripper). The grey sheath is a different cut, on the [twin and earth](/hub/pliers/wire-stripper/sub/wire-stripper-twin-and-earth) page. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.

You have a stripper in your hand and a single core that needs a square end of bare copper. How to strip a wire, on a UK circuit, starts before the squeeze: the cable has to be dead, and you have to have proved it.

Our top picks

STANLEY FATMAX Stanley FatMax FMHT0-96230 automatic stripper

Best overall

STANLEY FATMAX Stanley FatMax FMHT0-96230 automatic stripper
9.4/10about £21.61
View offer
KAIWEETS KAIWEETS KWS-103 3-in-1 wire stripper

Preis-Tipp

KAIWEETS KAIWEETS KWS-103 3-in-1 wire stripper
9.2/10about £12.74
View offer
VCELINK VCELINK GJ702 black 7 inch stripper

Alternative

VCELINK VCELINK GJ702 black 7 inch stripper
8.6/10about £8.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Make it dead, then prove it
  2. 2.Set the tool on a scrap
  3. 3.Take the length from the terminal
  4. 4.If the copper is marked, cut it off

Make it dead, then prove it

UK mains are 230 V. Stripping is not live work. HSE’s INDG354 summarises regulation 14 of the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989: live work needs a reason the circuit cannot be dead. A switch, socket or Wago end is not that case. Isolate at the breaker and prove dead at the point of work. Electrical Safety First says prove the voltage indicator on a known live source before and after, so a zero is not a dead meter. HSE GS38 covers the test leads, not the stripper. If you cannot prove dead, stop. A consumer unit is a job for a registered electrician.

Set the tool on a scrap

Stanley’s control is a fine screw, KAIWEETS a rotary knob, and VCELINK and WORKPRO a rear or tension knob. Set an offcut in the jaw, squeeze, and pull along the core. You want one tube of insulation and every strand still there. Line the stop up with the terminal’s length. If the KAIWEETS stop is the fragile one reviewers describe, measure the copper. A fixed-hole plier has no stop. That choice is the automatic or manual page.
STANLEY FATMAX Stanley FatMax FMHT0-96230 automatic stripper

Testsieger

STANLEY FATMAX Stanley FatMax FMHT0-96230 automatic stripper
9.4/10about £21.61
View offer

Take the length from the terminal

Bare only what the terminal hides. Sandwich Electrical uses about 8–10 mm for a typical accessory, and the accessory’s own mark when one is printed. BEAMA asks for a square end, full entry, no insulation under the screw, and no nicked strands. If the socket prints 8 mm and a blog prints 15 mm, the socket wins.

If the copper is marked, cut it off

A nick is a ring, a flat, or a missing strand. Cut that end off and strip again. Do not scrape it smooth. If there is no spare length, stop. If every scrap nicks, change the pressure or the tool. This page does not teach a knife method. If the breaker will not isolate, a professional takes over.

Common questions

Do I turn the power off first?
Yes. Isolate the circuit and prove it dead at the point of work before you strip. UK mains are 230 V. HSE guidance on regulation 14 treats live work as a case that needs a reason the circuit cannot be dead. Stripping an end for a fitting is not that case. Prove the voltage indicator before and after, so a zero reading is not a faulty meter.
How far do I strip?
Use the length printed or moulded on the accessory. Sandwich Electrical uses about 8–10 mm of copper as a house rule of thumb for a typical terminal, and tells you to follow the accessory when it prints its own mark. DIY Doctor’s 12–15 mm is a different guide. A longer bare end can touch the enclosure. A shorter one leaves insulation in the terminal.
Which way do I turn the adjuster?
Turn it until a scrap of the same cable loses a clean tube of insulation and keeps every strand. Too tight nicks the copper. On the KAIWEETS, too far toward plus locks the handles. Too loose lets the jaws slip, which is the complaint on Stanley and Amazon Basics reviews. There is no single clockwise rule that fits every brand in this set. The scrap end is the test.
What if it cuts the copper?
Cut that end off and strip again on a fresh length. A ring in the copper, a flattened spot, or a missing strand should not go into the terminal. If you have no spare length, stop rather than inserting the damaged end. If the next scrap nicks as well, reduce the pressure or change hole, and change tool if the cable still will not strip cleanly.
What if the insulation will not come off?
The jaw is too loose, the hole is too large, or the cable is outside what that tool will grip. Stanley and Amazon Basics reviews describe jaws that slip even after adjustment. Open the pressure a step, or try the next smaller hole on a manual plier, on scrap.
Can I use a knife instead?
A knife is how a nick happens when the blade follows the copper. This method uses the stripper so the cut stops at the insulation. If the stripper’s cutter will not bite, use side cutters to remove a damaged end, then strip again. Do not scrape a nick smooth and call it repaired.
Does a crimp notch set the strip length?
No. The crimp notch, where a 3-in-1 has one, is for pressing a terminal barrel, not for measuring bare copper. The length comes from the terminal’s gauge or from the 8–10 mm rule of thumb when the accessory prints nothing. A crushed barrel is a failed crimp, not a strip-length mark.
Is this the same job as removing the grey sheath?
No. This page is one core, already free of the outer sheath, stripped to the length of its terminal. Flat twin and earth needs the grey sheath off first, then the brown and blue, then a green-and-yellow sleeve on the bare earth. Some automatic tools take that sheath and some do not. That argument is on the twin-and-earth page.

Related pages

Wire stripper buying guide

Wire stripper

Automatic or manual wire stripper: jaw versus holes

Best wire stripper UK: Stanley FatMax, or KAIWEETS

Wire stripper for twin and earth: sheath, then cores

Sources

Public UK sources from the research digest, last checked on 16 October 2026. Shelf prices and star lines are the amazon.co.uk figures in the display file.

  1. Stanley Tools UK: FatMax automatic wire stripper FMHT0-96230 (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  2. RS: Wire strippers guide (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  3. HSE: INDG354, Electricity at Work, safe working practices (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  4. Electrical Safety First: Best Practice Guide 2, isolation (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  5. BEAMA: Consumer unit terminations (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  6. Sandwich Electrical: Strip and terminate twin and earth (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  7. Cable Services: Twin and earth cable, 6242Y (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  8. Maun Industries: VDE and IEC 60900 (retrieved 16 October 2026)