Fiber Strippers by Cable Type

"Fiber stripper" covers a whole family of tools that do very different jobs. One removes a 250 µm coating without nicking 125 µm glass. Another opens a flat FTTH drop cable. A third slits an armored OSP cable lengthwise so you can reach the loose tubes inside. Using the wrong tool for the layer you need to remove is slow at best and damaging at worst — a nicked fiber may pass today and break later, and a crushed loose tube can create a fault metres from where you opened the cable.

The reliable way to choose is to work layer by layer: jacket first, then strength members and tubes, then buffer, then coating. This guide maps each layer to the right tool type. You can browse the ranges in fiber strippers and cable opening tools alongside it.

Layer 1: The outer jacket — round cables

Round distribution and OSP cables need the jacket scored and removed without cutting into what sits underneath. Round cable strippers and slitters typically offer two cuts: a circumferential (ring) cut around the cable, and a longitudinal cut along its length. Used together, they let you remove a section of jacket cleanly or open a window for mid-span access.

Tools in this group on this site include the K-MK02 round cable stripper and the K-RCS158 round cable stripper, both for longitudinal and transverse stripping, the K-RCS114 round cable slitter for longitudinal and transverse slitting, the K-CSR1575 cable jacket stripper, and the round cable jacket stripper, which covers cables of 4.5–28.5 mm outer diameter with circumferential and longitudinal stripping, adjustable cutting depth up to 3 mm, and a spring-loaded ripping blade.

The field rule is simple: set cutting depth for the jacket you have, test on a scrap end where possible, and never force a deeper cut to save time. Jacket thickness varies between cable designs that look similar from the outside.

Layer 1, flat: FTTH drop cable

Flat drop cable is not a small round cable, and it should not be treated as one. Its jacket, strength members, and fiber are laid out flat, and it needs a dedicated stripper that opens the jacket along the flat profile without bending or scoring the fiber in the middle.

The K-6 FTTH drop cable stripper is made for flat drop cable. Keep one in every FTTH install kit: it is a single-purpose tool, but it is the purpose that defines the most common last-drop job. Trying to open flat drop with a knife or a round-cable tool is where avoidable fiber damage usually starts.

Layer 1, armored: slitters and steel tape

Armored cables add a metal layer under the jacket. The correct sequence is to slit the jacket and armor with an armored cable slitter sized to the cable, then deal with the steel tape as its own step.

On this site, the K-ACS-2 armored cable slitter (red) covers 4–10 mm cables, and the K-ACS armored cable slitter (yellow) covers 8–28.6 mm cables. Size matters: a slitter run outside its diameter range either will not track correctly or will cut too deep. For the steel tape itself, the K-SB1 steel tape removing tool is made to remove steel tape from armored cables, rather than prising it away with a general hand tool.

Layer 2: Loose tubes and buffer tubes

Once the jacket is open on a loose-tube cable, the next layer is the buffer tube. Opening a tube lengthwise — at the end of a cable or mid-span, where you need one tube or one fiber group without disturbing the rest — is a separate tool category again.

Mid-span work uses a tool such as the K-MSAT5 mid-span access tool for loose-tube mid-span access. End preparation and tube opening use tools such as the K-5 loose tube opener, the K-SLT central loose tube slitter for central loose tubes, and the K-LS2 buffer tube opener, which is described as opening buffer tubes without fiber damage. Match the tool to the tube size and to whether you are working at a cable end or mid-span, and support the tube while you cut — a tube that flexes under the blade is a tube that gets scored fibers.

Layer 3: Strength members — Kevlar and aramid yarn

Before you can strip buffer and coating, you usually need to trim the aramid (Kevlar) strength yarn. Ordinary scissors crush and fray it; a serrated Kevlar cutter grips the yarn and cuts it cleanly.

The KS-1 Kevlar shears have a serrated edge for Kevlar (aramid) yarn and an anti-slip handle. Keep them for aramid only. Using Kevlar shears as general workshop scissors dulls the serration on materials they were not meant for, and they then stop doing the one job you bought them for.

Layer 4: Buffer and coating — the precision strippers

This is the layer most people picture when they hear "fiber stripper": removing 900 µm buffer and 250 µm coating to expose 125 µm bare fiber for cleaving and splicing. Precision matters here more than anywhere else, because the tool works directly against the glass.

The K-870 tri-hole fiber optic stripper has three holes — 250 µm coating, 900 µm buffer, and 3 mm jacket — so one tool handles the full sequence at the fiber end. The CFS-2/3 fiber stripper is a dual-hole precision stripper: one hole strips 250 µm coating to 125 µm bare fiber, the other strips 2–3 mm fiber jackets; it is factory pre-set with no adjustment needed and locks closed when not in use. A stainless steel CFS-2/3 version is also available for buyers who prefer that material.

Field technique for this layer:

• Strip in short sections rather than one long pull on longer buffer lengths.

• Pull straight, in line with the fiber — not at an angle.

• Wipe and inspect the bare fiber after stripping. Residue left on the glass becomes a cleave and cleaning problem.

• If strips suddenly need more force, or bare fiber starts breaking at the strip point, suspect a worn or dirty stripper jaw before suspecting the fiber.

For longitudinal work on larger cables there is also the K-SI-01 longitudinal cable stripper (horizontal 4–28 mm, vertical 10–25 mm), which belongs to the jacket layer rather than the precision layer despite the shared word "stripper."

Quick map: cable in hand, tool to pick up

Checklist before you order strippers for a crew

• [ ] List the cable types the crew actually meets: flat drop, round, armored, loose tube

• [ ] One dedicated tool per layer — jacket, tube, aramid, buffer/coating

• [ ] Diameter ranges checked against your cables (especially slitters)

• [ ] A precision stripper per technician, not one shared per crew

• [ ] Kevlar shears reserved for aramid only

• [ ] Spares planned: precision stripper jaws wear first

The short version

Strip by layer, not by habit. Jacket tools open cables, tube tools expose fibers, Kevlar shears trim strength yarn, and precision strippers prepare the glass. When each layer has its own correct tool, prep gets faster and fiber damage drops — and the cleave that follows, covered in how to choose a fiber cleaver, starts from undamaged fiber.

Tell us which cables your crews work with — drop, round, armored, or loose tube — via the contact form on this site or on WhatsApp at +86 150 6823 2998, and we will put together the matching set of fiber strippers and cable opening tools for that cable mix.