Wasted $200 on a fancy crimper that couldn't handle shielded wire

I bought this expensive crimper from a booth at the Vegas show back in March. Figured it was worth the money since I do a lot of Mil-spec connections. First time I tried it on some shielded twisted pair the crimp came out loose and the connector fell off. Tried adjusting it 5 times, same result. Ended up going back to my old $50 one from Grainger. Don't fall for the hype on those specialty tools if they don't let you test them first. Anybody else get burned by a tool that looked good on paper?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_gray29d ago

Honestly, the whole "you get what you pay for" thing is a gamble with tools sometimes. I had almost the exact same thing happen with a fancy wire stripper that was supposed to be the best for shielded stuff. That thing tore the jacket on the first try and I was so mad. What finally worked for me was just accepting that my old, beat-up crimper from the hardware store was more reliable for anything with a braided shield. It's like those expensive tools are made for perfect conditions in a factory, not the real world where wires never sit flat.

kellymurphy29d ago

Yeah but did you ever try reusing the same connector more than once on one of those expensive strippers? I did that with mine and it basically locked up on the second go, had to pry it open with a screwdriver. Maybe the real problem is that the fancy ones are just too finicky for field work where you're not always on a clean bench. It's like they forget that most of us are working in attics or crawl spaces, not a damn lab.