KLEIN TOOLS 11055EP Wire Cutter and Stripper, Made in USA, Stranded and Solid Wire Cutter, Cuts Copper
Best for
Best Klein manual
Amazon rating
Amazon aggregate, one input among many in the Verdict Score
Based on 2 trusted sources
Current price
$19.60
Updated May 19, 2026 · 1 min read
Sources behind this verdict
10 reviewers weighted by source trust
The consensus
What reviewers found
Synthesized across the trust-weighted source mix below.
For a traditional manual gauge-hole stripper, the Klein 11055EP is the consensus default. A r/Tools commenter reports 8 years of use without rust or blade wear, and r/electricians threads include multiple long-term owners who keep coming back to this exact model after trying alternatives. The appeal is mechanical simplicity — there's nothing to break, the cut is clean, and the serrated nose is genuinely useful for bending and pulling.
What reviewers liked
- r/Tools commenters report multi-year longevity without rust or blade dulling
- Simple manual design — no moving parts to fail vs. squeeze-style automatics
- Made in USA, frequently cited as a value driver
- 4.8-star average across ~8,200 Amazon reviews
Where it falls short
- r/electricians long-term users note strip holes lose bite after heavy thermostat-wire use
- Slower per-cut than a squeeze-style automatic for high-volume work
- Limited to the specific gauges marked on the jaws
- Not optimal for very fine electronics wire below 18 AWG
For a traditional manual gauge-hole stripper, the Klein 11055EP is the consensus default. A r/Tools commenter reports 8 years of use without rust or blade wear, and r/electricians threads include multiple long-term owners who keep coming back to this exact model after trying alternatives. The appeal is mechanical simplicity — there's nothing to break, the cut is clean, and the serrated nose is genuinely useful for bending and pulling.
The honest counterweight, also from r/electricians, is that after "a few hundred t-stat wires" the strip holes lose their bite and you start having to angle the tool to compensate. That's a high-cycle complaint rather than a quality complaint, but it's real. Mainstream YouTube demos confirm the same picture: excellent on Romex and standard THHN, less good on very fine wire compared to a dedicated automatic.
Verified-purchase reviews on retailer listings are unusually consistent in praising fit and finish and the made-in-USA designation.
- Cuts, strips, and loops 10-18 AWG Solid and 12-20 AWG Stranded wire and cleanly shears 6-32 and 8-32 screws
- Precision ground stripping holes
- Strong-gripping serrated nose for easy bending, shaping, and pulling of wire
- Holes for looping and bending wire
- Made in USA
- Shear-type cutting blades for clean cuts
- Double-dipped comfort grips with curved handles
They never rust up and the cutters seem like harder metal. Been using mine for 8 years.
After a few hundred t-stat wires get stripped, they don't come together quite as well. I have to start getting creative on the angle. The second ...
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“Klein Tools 11055 Solid and Stranded Copper Wire Stripper and ...” · YouTube
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