You call it picky, I call it ergonomics. When you have to strip and loop two or three hundred wires in an eight hour shift saving that extra half inch of wrist movement makes a world of difference.

You are dead on in your praise of the Klein Plug tester. It is outstanding! It saved me hours of diagnostic work cleaning up a botched up remuddle.

I have Klein everything EXCEPT the gray multitool. I went with red handle Milwaukee's and don't regret it.

The knipex installation pliers is a major go-to when making up devices. It’s a joy to use

As for plug testers I highly recommend the klein circuit breaker finder. It is a plug tester that comes with a receiver to quickly find breakers. HUGE time saver! Preparing for demo making it safe for people when there are multiple panels and sensitive areas to be left undisturbed in a 50+ year old building that has been hacked over the years.... yeah absolutely the very best tool for the job! It's also inexpensive no brainer.

Just watched you on a podcast at the Essential Craftsman site and came over here to see what you are all about. I'm already loving the channel! I started wiring houses and shops when I was 14, learned from my Stepdad who was an electrician for 25 years. We lost him back in 1985, but what I learned from him, I use everyday and it makes me think of him often and with great memories, especially when I grab a tool with his initials on it. I now work as a Maintenance Mechanic II for the University of Washington, which not only allows me to hone my skills as an electrician, but also in other areas as well. We have over 50 gas appliances here, and over the years I have been able to troubleshoot all kinds of issues. And like you mentioned in the podcast, everyday is different. That's what makes my job so interesting. One day I might be running conduit to add a circuit here or there, the next day I'm the IT guy, or the fire systems guy, the security systems guy and on and on.... Plumbing and carpentry are not far behind, however my favorite thing is making up panels. I'm a little OCD, so making up a panel, and having it look really good behind the door that most people will never see is just one of those things that makes the job even more enjoyable. I picked this video as my first one because I am, always looking to see what great tools are available out there. You have an awesome way of explaining things, you seem humble and yet confident in what you know and are willing to share here. That is a great combination in today's world. Thanks, and I am definitely subscribing here.

On point! Exactly right with what I thought about some of the Klein multi tools!! Keep doing your thing D rep’n for us electricians out here!! We appreciate you and can’t wait for more!!!

Gray angle is my go to, it just feel good in my hands but I keep my regular size linesman for heavier jobs

Great information as always, keep the content flowing!

The low voltage tester is great for me cuz I install car electronics for my job. Radios, remote starts and all that jazz. We have diagrams to locate the wires but sometimes the wire is a different color, multiple same colored wires in the same plug or is a couple pins over from where it says it is in the connector. So using that tester for locating say a brake wire is great. You just keep tapping the brakes and see which wire is turning the tester on and off. Saved me a lot of headaches in the past Haha

Millwaukee 7 in 1 is a great multi tool for rough in and trimming out ressy

Keep being picky, man! Especially in a video where the tool manufacturer is probably seeing it (cough cough). It's good feedback, and all your points are dead on. btw, the Ideal 45-418 and 45-124 strippers are all 6-14 AWG solid... But they def have that slightly "breakable" feel.

The majority of my tools are Klein but I always used the Ideal strippers ... And I still have my 1st Klein linesman pliers I bought in Oct 1971 and they still have sharp blades , no arc burns ... Good vid Dustin ...

Thank you for your videos. They are a HUGE resource for me.

For the non contact tester I've been getting good use out of the Klein that has a temperature sensor with it. Works as a laser pointer as well, but being able to find hot spots in wiring and electronics is super useful.

Anyone who works with tools a ton always wants one that does just one more thing. I know exactly how that feels.

Thanks Justin great video as usual, I have to agree with you on these things as well and the end product I would agree as well too. But I use the Milwaukee new one that has interchangeable tips on the end as well as a good razor knife for good scoring and getting those precise Cuts as well as working in a box or panel for quick maintenance or even just to adjust something. I like it because I can actually score the cover plates so I don't feel the pain off of a switch when I have to work on it and I can always use a flat head attachment on the bit so that I can take it off all-in-one tool

If Klein doesn't sponsor you, they should. I get it 99.9% of electricians believe in Klein tools and not for no reason but their are other exceptionally high quality tools. You will never catch a self respecting mechanic using Klein tools. They feel the same way you do about Klein only for them, Snap On is the source of all proper tools and most of them will also consider MAC. I love your videos! Keep them coming!

I work on the distro side and have a pair of klien needle nose that have a single #12 stripper. Its perfect as thats the only small Guage wire I deal with. The whole needle nose is rounded which makes it easy on the hands and perfect for making the crook bends on solid wire. I love it

As a low voltage AV installer here in ATX, the wire stripper that does 12-28 stranded is the best I've ever bought. Perfect for connecting XLRs to phoenix connectors (aka euro blocks) at venues or when I'm making guitar cables/pedals. I'm totally gonna get that receptacle voltage reader tester!

Great tool tutorial Dustin 👍you're really promoting Klein. I hope they take notice and sponsor you! I'm rocking the gray and black handle multi pliers. They have two big flaws that Klein hasn't addressed yet. Don't sheer 8/32 screws with these! I've broke three pair doing so. The other problem is a raised lip on the inside the pliers, that will score your ground wires twisting pigtails for multi switch location before your Buchanan sleeves are installed. Causing them to break off.

I'm glad you make videos. I learn so much "extra" detail that the guys don't want to teach/know. Or like these videos: you're just talking shop

15:33 @Electricianu check out the Milwaukee FastBack razor knife with the bit driver, you’ve a Philips flat combination bit with it.

Great job, but you missed one tool that is a necessity. A good small flashlight like a mini mag is always needed if the power is out or you get called out at night.

I prefer the Klein 11048. Dual wire stripper. It has two #12, two #14, and one #10. We call them "resi strippers" for residential. You can double your speed using them when you get proficient. Anything larger than #10 I use a knife, anything smaller I have low volt tools. Non Contact testers... Fluke 1AC II Non-Contact Voltage Tester.

I've been using that pocket knife for years!! Great edge and$20!! The Klien tester I like has an temp laser on it, love it and its super handy!

For a pocket knife I carry a Leatherman free t4. It’s got Phillips and several Flathead sizes. I’ve always bought non contact testers with flashlights so I don’t try and stick an aluminum pen light on a lug, thankfully it was off.

My favorite strippers for residential wiring come from Gardner Bender. They do NM sheath on 12-2 and 14-2,, 14 and 12Ga solid conductor, and have a non contact potential detector built into the handle, (Really handy with the Newbies). They also have 6-32, 8-32 and 10-32 bolt trimmers in the handle. And, finally the eye twister is right next to the stripper holes for the conductors. It took a day to get used to them. But now for running residential, remodel, and service, (90% of what I do), they are invaluable. And, by the way, most of what folks think are combination Phillips and slot screw heads are actually Robinson square drive, and slotted. Canada requires the square drive, and the US requires slotted. The manufacturers thus developed a combination for the North American market which has both. If you get the “Combo” or “Combi” tips for your multi-driver, or a dedicated screw driver for them, it is the handiest thing since the original Leatherman multi-tool, or a pocket knife. Klein and Milwaukee, both have them available. Hopefully other manufacturers will soon.

Hey Dustin, have you worked on or installed a leviton smart panel at all? What did you think about them if you have. Thanks.

Lol I'm similar. I don't use those non contact voltage testers myself. That Plug Checker is awesome you're who I learned of it from. I carry a pocket knife, Dewalt Tanto (pretty handy) and a Leatherman wave+ and the Klein pocket multimeter EDC I've been able to trouble shoot while chilling at someone's house and didn't have my full rig and kit

Does anyone have the link to the red handled pliers?? I cannot find them anywhere

When talking about chicken sticks... I know you're Mr Klein, but the Fluke LVD1 is awesome. Light, chicken stick, and clip. Especially if you have to work in crawls or attics (cuz who doesn't), being able to clip the light to something while you work is SOOOOO nice.

Be PICKY!! Voice yourself and your opinions! I agree with all your picky stuff and ways! Glad to see I'm not the only picky one and thinks deeply on the work, and all the ways of doing our picky stuff. 😄

Dustin, Ive used this one for years. Incredibly convenient and to your end... Versitile. Holds (4) hex bits. It's a Kershaw Select Fire (1920); Multifunction Pocketknife, they can be found on Amazon.

Amen to the 6,8,10,12,14 stripper combo rather than the thinner awg stuff

I would really Like to know what tools are in your everyday tool bag? I’m a DYI and love this channel. Keep them coming 👍🏼

Wow, if I had had you on my team, we'd have killed it!!! Love your enthusiasm.

I miss that Klein knife. I lost mine in a move… best pocketknife I’ve ever had

I carry the grey Klein multi pliers as a back up in an ankle holster.

I like my little grey lineman stripper crimper things lol. great for attics, I don't use them a ton, but handy when i do.

I said the same thing about that new Klein receptacle tester. Changes game. Practticaly a simple multi meter., especialy if hu use an adapter. Can test bare wire and lighting receptacles for voltage.I have 3 in different bags. Don't use the old style any more. Super idea koo n klein

I acquired a pair of the needle nose multi tool couple weeks ago. New favorite tool, ratchet screwdriver close second.

The only Klein brand stuff in my tool box is a tick tracer with built in light builb. Still have good feelings when I used their curved handle wire stripper in trade school. Will consider add more Klein elements 😅 thanks a lot for information

The first tool you showed is currently my favorite. It would be really nice if it did 14-8 gauge.

My go to edc pocket knife is the Coast DX318. Not a real expensive knife but very sturdy and absolutely no wiggle in between blade and handle.

So I ended up with all my grandfather's tools he had left. I had been using a pair needle nose, I thought forever it just had a chip put of each side until I needed to strip a 12 gauge wire, and realize he had actually drilled the hole for a 12 gauge wire. He was an retired electrician and had done commercial and residential, and I guess 12 gauge being so common he modified it for 12 gauge. When I noticed I realized he even beveled it to cut after drilling.

Good thread , I’ve been a Multitool fan for years , I like both the Klein Grey and Baby Blue multi’s , I’ve always preferred shorter Lineman’s , and I have better than average hand strength , ergo the blue and grey work well for me . Recently I’ve started using the new Knipex Multi , which I also like . Being nearly 70, I try to keep belt weight to a minimum . As a leather worker I make my own pourpose built tool holsters , I long ago declared war on the North American , I’ll fitting belt bucket !

Just placed my order for the plug tester...I have the old "analog" one so this will be a really nice upgrade...thanks!

I wish I knew about quality tools when I first started haha, but eventually I’ll replace the ones I have at the moment

Non Contact testers... Fluke 1AC II Non-Contact Voltage Tester. Hands down the best. Most reliable tester I have used. I have bought and tried many different ones. the Fluke was always the most consistent out of them all. I would test next to other electricians' testers and the fluke was always right.

I do agree on having a 6 strippers however I do use 18 and up, especially with dimming wiring

Doing pool electric I use everything from 18/5 low volt up to #2 awg, so my strippers always have to go up to #6 awg. I constantly find these “multi tools” do infact do multiple things, however they don’t do any one thing WELL/properly. They always skimp in one area or another, like the handles not being long enough to be good lineman’s, the strip gauges not big enough/economical enough to use as go to strippers, etc. “Single use” tools will always be my go to.

The Milwaukee razor knife might be a good competitor. It’s a razor blade not a traditional knife but it’s because it’s fast to change. But the new fastback has a flat head and philips bit on it. The flat head is great for prying…

I do a lot of the insulated ring and fork terminals, those red handled kleins are my bread and butter. I was using some snap-on pwcs7acf but their sizing of their stripping notches are a little tight for the wire I use(telcoflex). It's a great compact size but the Kleins are a better tool to have in your bag.

people are finally starting to get it about the hybrid linemen pliers the grey and black handle ones. i have been using them since they came out and no one believed me until now.

Another advantage of the Klein outlet tester is that it will detect an outlet with voltage on the hot wire but no neutral or ground. The old fashioned outlet testers with the 3 lights will stay dark in that situation, making you assume the outlet is unpowered.

I loved the blue handle hybrid pliers. I just can't keep them from rusting. Even just sitting in a gang box on site, they just rust up. Southwire has a competitive version of it, but those are the back ups back up.

Thanks! Now I have to have a Klein RT250!

The Klein voltage tester + LDM is also handy , range to 65’ , checked it against my Bosch , not significantly different !

I have the new klein 15-1 ratcheting screwdriver but everything else in my bag is milwaukee, they have some solid hand tools

Have you tried the circuit breaker finder by Klein tools ? This tool is the end to having to have someone stand at a receptacle while somebody else flips breakers .....A MUST HAVE....

The hybrid pliers I call them as the similar linesman nose multi-tool and all purpose long nose pliers

Oh, for larger wire the knipex 95 11 160 step cut are great for stripping.

On point about how hard it is to make twists with those klein multi. I like linesmens with a spring and i like having two sizes. I have the Milwaukee ironworkers linesmen and same kind from klein but larger. I highly suggest them. Have the standards for when i need to crimp a ground barrel when the boss is around anyway.

The problem I have with the needle nose with the added strippers, I always find I don’t have enough surface area of teeth for actually gripping on the needle nose, and that I always just use my regular need nose

There is a Klein wire stripper that does #6. I have two of them. Here's the model number 11053. It strips up to #6 stranded and does well at it!

Klein now has a new tester out. It is a receptacle tester. It also test Grd. ( 5 and 30 ma )fault and AFI circuits. 3 testers in one .

did u took the spring off the stripers??

Any thoughts on the knipex ergo? The little hand held stripper? Seems useful, price tag is a bit hard to swallow though.

So just wondering, what if you used a razor blade for cutting the wire insulation. As long as you don't lose a strand or make one brittle it's doing the same thing yea?

For a knife I use the Milwaukee fastback utility knife with a screw driver in the back it comes with a philips, flat head, and a 1/4" driver. I got tired of normal knives because sharpening them is a pain.

what do you think about the Milwaukee Tool 9-inch 7-in-1 Combination Wire Strippers ?

on the non contact testers i like the flashlight one that way i have a flashlight well a back up and the tester is just a secondary tool

14:29 Yep, same here, and definitely didn’t need to tell me😂. Just grew up around knjves and guns and had my first knife at 5, and shot my first gun at 5 ½ 😁 Heck, (here’s how old I am……if can guess), when I went to school, I ALWAYS carried a pocket knife, was usually my black Camo tanto style folder that got from my uncle who was in military (in a certain area of expertise). So yep, at 12 switched over from my Swiss Army knife to my other knife and haven’t stopped carrying it yet. Also works great on jobsites😉

Klein tools are the BOMB. Best stuff I've ever bought for electrical work.

Thanks for all the videos. They are great have helped a lot. Question: Why do so many people call them needle nose pliers when they are really long nose pliers? Needle nose is different.

What do you think about the Kline voltage tester or tic as we call it that works in child prof or tamper proof receptacles

The Klien flashlight is a light and pointer and I love it. Also magnetic

The gray handle multi plier has replaced my linesman which now stay in the bag... I find cutting no problem but I hated the fact of no fishtape puller. So I cut one in with my Dremel and they are perfect! That "laser" pointer is the bomb! No klein hawkbill knife eh?

I m happy to hear that i m not the only one who bends knyfe blade

They also make a beeper with a plug tester all in one not sure if it has a gfci tester on the plug tester

You should review taps in a screwdriver form. I always have triple one in my pouch 6-32, 8-32, and 10-24.

i find with the grey and black handle ones are awesome unless you are making connections of like 5 wires or more then regular linemans work better but other then that hands done all day long plus they are so much lighter

Can you recommend a decent/good Ferrule crimping pliers, which is better round or square. I am not a pro like you I do little projects and I am a Ham Operator, not looking to cheap out but I don’t need to spend 100 or 200 for a pair. Thank You

Well it is a 'voltage tester' not a voltage meter or voltage measuring device, it is testing for the presence of AC voltage on the line significant enough to cause the capacitive load within the voltage tester to be triggered from the EM Field created in an AC circuit which is there (albeit small w/o a load) W/o an AC voltage the EM field wouldn't exist, and thus it is a voltage tester.

Point on the "lineman" pliers. Do you know what their actual use is besides the cutting head? Lol I was an electrician for about 6yrs before I actually used them in the way they were MEANT to be used. I'm not sure what you call the little twisty wire thing that you put on heavy gauge wire that hangs off a power pole. But those pliers are for twisting those together to hold the wire. Most of us just use them either to cut, or as a hammer lol

I really like the blue handled “heavy duty “ strippers in this video thr only downside as you say is twisting wire isn’t so easy and I like having the thin plier part of a normal stripper as I like to squeeze the wire around the screws when wiring receptacles so I ended up buying thr regular stripper versioned this tool..

U can drill a hook hole anywhere you want. : ) I retired just when all the cool tools where coming out. lol

Those grey/red handles never make it out of my bag, hate em

Dustin I have a Klein flashlight wit the laser pointer but it's not a NCVT lol but the flashlight laser is bad ass.. you never know how much you needed a laser lol

I agree that they should make low-voltage stripper and a high voltage stripper...

Agree with everything that you said. Some of these multi use tools have goofy positions. Think the Klein curved handle wire & screw cutter are great. Have 2 pairs of 90 degree needle nose pliers that probably only use twice a year. Rather use the plain jane long handle side cutters while working with #10 & 12 guage wire. Never purchase anything but made in USA tools.

Love your videos! The first part of this review is kind of hit or miss. Take a tip from Project Farm and clearly identify the toold that you are reviewing.

thank u sir.

IF WE COULD...... combine everything on the table, hell include the table into one tool that would be dope

Favorite fork amp meeter? I like it better than a multimeter.

I really liked the gray and red hadle strippers however you're right they are flimsy. I broke 2 pair in a year. Now I use the snap on strippers made like the red handle crimper multi tool you showed for low voltage. It's beefy.

Southwire makes a hybrid plyer with romex jacket stripper, wire stripper and linesman head for splicing.

yeah on the #6 -#14/#16 would be awesome

I do agree with the strippers but i also work with ballasts a lot so that #18 helps a lot