Compound-angle blade for stripping insulated electrical conductors

An apparatus for cutting and stripping insulation from various sizes of insulated electrical conductors, a pair of blades mounted for reciprocation toward and away from each other, each blade being formed as a rectangular parallelopiped having first and second faces and surfaces connecting the faces, one of the surfaces being formed with an opening extending between the faces for receiving an insulated electrical conductor therethrough and extending at a compound angle toward the interior of the blade, the angled opening being defined by a first pair of walls converging at a first angle toward the interior of the blade and a second pair of walls intersecting the first pair of walls and converting at a non-parallel second angle of less than 54 degrees toward the interior of the blade and being tangent to and terminating in a radius cutting edge for cutting the insulation,

• so that when the blades reciprocate toward each other the radius cutting edges thereof close over the insulated electrical conductor and create a nearly circular opening for passage of the conductor therethrough to thereby permit cutting the insulation of various sizes insulated electrical conductors while leaving a minimum of uncut insulation to be torn from the parent insulation.