A wire stripper is a small, hand-held device used to strip the electrical insulation from electric wires. Types Manual A US-style simple manual wire stripper is a pair of opposing blades much like scissors or wire cutters. The addition of a center notch makes it easier to cut the insulation without cutting the wire. This type of wire stripper is used by rotating it around the insulation while applying pressure in order to make a cut around the insulation. Since the insulation is not bonded to the wire, it then pulls easily off the end. This type of wire stripper can be used on wires of any size. Another type of manual wire stripper is very similar to the simple design previously mentioned, except this type has several notches of varying size. This allows the user to match the notch size to the wire size, thereby eliminating the need for twisting, but can only be used on wire sizes that approximately match one of the notches. Once the device is clamped on, the remainder of the wire can simply be pulled out, leaving the insulation behind. European-style wire strippers look more like a notched pincer, with a grab that is adjusted with a screw. Compound automatic The compound automatic wire stripper was first patented in 1915 by Stuart G. Wood of Brooklyn, NY. The design was refined by Herman Gerhard Jan Voogd of the Netherlands eliminating the awkward 4 bar mechanism taking on the general outline that it has kept since. Wood, now of Rockville IL, added reinforcements, replaceable blades, and blade stops in 1943 The 1943 design was also equipped to block the halves open after stripping to avoid crushing the freshly stripped wire as it returned to its rest position. A second actuation released the mechanism to return to the rest position. The action was further refined by Wood and finally, in 1959, by Eugene D. Hindenburg of DeKalb, IL. The 1959 refinement of the action shifted the sequence of operations so that the stripping blades opened before any other part of the mechanism began to return to the rest position while the clamping jaws retraced the sequence of operation, remaining closed until the handles were fully released. When engaged, a compound automatic wire stripper first simultaneously grips the wire in one side and in the other side closes its shaped blades cutting the insulation around the conductor.