Network Cable Untwist Tool

[Frank Cox]

Here's a nifty gadget to straighten wires in cat 5/6 cables.

https://www.amazon.ca/Straightener-Separator-Efficient-Ergonomic-Engineers/dp/B0F98TCLS5

Saves a lot of wear and tear on the fingers (not to mention accidentally breaking one of those little wires off)....

[Marcel Birgelen]

You know that you're only supposed to untwist the very end of them when punching them or putting a connector on them? :P

[Frank Cox]

I'm the guy who sets up a magnifying glass so I can see the damn wires when I'm sorting them out.

[Marcel Birgelen]

I've probably handled a few thousand UTP-type cables in my life in one way or another, but I still need to pull a color scheme in order to get the colors right... But at least I'm not color blind... A colleague of mine is... It's always fun if he's in front of some equipment: Is the light red or green or orange...? Let alone crimping or punching any kind of color-coded wire... or even just distinguishing cables from each other.

[Steve Guttag]

There are some cables, particularly when getting into plenum rated ones where their orange and brown are a bit too close in color.

As to untwisting the wires...well officially, field terminations of the male ends are never supposed to happen. They're supposed to ALWAYS be punchdowns either into a patch bay or keystone. Then a properly tested jumper between the RJ45s. There is a BICSI rule on this one and, depending on the job, it is a requirement.

[Marcel Birgelen]

Yeah, I remember quite a few of them...

- Anything (semi-)permanent always runs from terminal to terminal.
- Only use solid core cabling for fixed installations.
- For Ethernet over UTP: Max. 90 meters "horizontal" cabling including max 10 meters of patch cabling or the equivalent in feet or furlongs... The maximum here is not just due to signal strength, but due to Ethernet internal timing limits.
- Only use soft straps, like Velcro, never tie-wraps to bundle cables.
- Use the right tools... I've once had to convince a contractor that stripping cables with a pair of scissors probably wasn't the appropriate way...

[Steve Guttag]

Yeah, you want to have an A/V tech lose his sh#t, use a zip-tie on an Ethernet cable. The only real problem with zip-ties for Ethernet (or even some coax) is that when tightened, you will deform the cable change its characteristics...degrading performance (which is measurable). Nothing says you HAVE to pull a zip-tie to cable-crushing strength. While they do make reusable zip-ties (release levers), Velcro (hook-n-loop) makes cable bundle adjustments MUCH easier and allow for changes without having to redo everything. Prices on Velcro have come WAY down from when they first started to be used.

There are bend-radius limitations too (on most cables) because, again, you destroy its bandwidth capabilities.

[Leo Enticknap]

- Use the right tools... I've once had to convince a contractor that stripping cables with a pair of scissors probably wasn't the appropriate way...

Did he not know what God gave him teeth for?

Nothing says you HAVE to pull a zip-tie to cable-crushing strength.

Amen. Unless the has a strong natural bend that needs to be overcome and/or needs to be locked for strain relief, I leave them loose enough to allow the cable length either side to be adjusted. I prefer zip ties to Velcro because in my experience, Velcro ties will eventually lose their grip and fall off, especially if installed in a warm to hot environment. The advantage of Velcro is that you don't need to keep a pair of dikes and a trash bag for the tails handy when doing a cable run.

[Steve Guttag]

Plus you get to see who was messing in your rack with the blood trails from leaving zip-ties sharp instead of flush cut

[Bruce Cloutier]

There are bend-radius limitations too (on most cables) because, again, you destroy its bandwidth capabilities.

Ugh. Yeah tell me about it. I had to pull new fiber through the residence (we run some servers out of there - long story) because someone in the past (before us) didn't know anything about bend-radius. We had inexplicable bandwidth issues. I worked with the ISP to replace the fiber from their Coyote up on the main all the way to the rack (a long distance). In the last segment we found two bends around joists that might have even been issues with CAT5. We get nice solid 1000/1000 now (at residential rates - no ports blocked).

Things have really slowed down. We're going to be closed from tomorrow Noon until the 5th of January. Not that we are ever out of touch.

I have also been trying to come up with a way to get some PR. I mean short of sending out a letter telling everyone that they had better update product before the end of next month or it will all be bricked. ;-)

Merry Christmas!!

[Ryan Gallagher]

Merry Christmas! (not my photo)

Screenshot 2025-12-23 at 5.17.38 PM.png

The new pass through design male terminals mean you can untwist as much as you like and just cram the terminal down against the remaining twists. Before pass through I would always untwist a good bit to help with the re-ordering, and then flatten and trim to length before insertion.

[Randy Stankey]

The way to straighten wires is to place them on your workbench and roll them.
Put a few pieces of copy paper on the table for padding. Use a block of Delrin or similar material. Roll in one direction, only. Press down firmly but not to hard. Your wires will come out straight as an arrow with little chance of damage.

That tool is likely to damage the insulation. According to J-Standard (Mil. Spec.) you are only allowed minor compression or tool marks (like a stripping/crimping tool might make) which are less than 20% of the insulation thickness in depth. (Thickness of the INSULATION, not the entire wire.) If there is any more damage than that you risk causing insulation failures that can result in voltage leakage or capacitance problems.

Further, you are only allowed to untwist a twisted-pair of wires by one twist or less. Any more than that and you risk creating a path for interference to creep in or creating a problem with a change of inductance between the two wires.

[Leo Enticknap]

Plus you get to see who was messing in your rack with the blood trails from leaving zip-ties sharp instead of flush cut.

Giggle, but you raise a serious point. To ensure that you can flush cut the tail such that it won't draw anyone's blood, you need the right sized pair of dikes, and one that is not excessively worn. To trim all except the very thickest zip ties that I regularly use (e.g. 24" big ass zip ties that can go around an Atmos bundle of speaker cables), I order a five-pack of these dikes at around the start of each year. Each pair is good for about 2-3 months before it will no longer make a clean enough cut for me to be satisfied as to its safety, and it has to go to the recycling bin. Thanks for the reminder - I currently have one virgin pair in reserve, and it's about time to order another batch.

[Steve Guttag]

I guess I'm a snob on the cutters. I use Xcelite 4" taper head cutters. They're expensive (particularly now...something like $40-$50 each...probably closer to $20-25 when I last bought them)...but I don't find myself replacing them. i think I've used 2-3 pairs in 45-years. They're the same ones I use to trim leads after soldering...you name it.

For speaker bundles and analog audio cables, in general, I use an Xcelite wire-tie gun. Again, we're talking about a tool that has gone 40+ years.

There are some tools that I do look as consumables and go low price on and some that I want that specific tool. I still strip wires will a $7-$15 stripper (Stanley 84-213 though others make them). When it gets dull, I go for a new one but it isn't all that fast.

[Marcel Birgelen]

I'm an autist when it comes to tools. I've been using wire cutters and strippers exclusively from Knipex over the last decades. It's a German brand, certainly not the cheapest but also by far not the most expensive. Most of my tools are 20+ years old. The only thing that I've probably replaced a dozen times is the krimping tool for UTP wires, but I also only ever use the crimping feature of those tools, never any of the often built-in wire cutting or stripping functions. Most of my heavy duty screwdrivers are 40+ years old and made by Stanley... Most of my power tools are from the Makita brand... I only buy pens, technical pens and mechanical pencils from the Rotring brand, unlike the wife, who only buys them from the Pentel brand... I guess I simply tend to stick to the stuff that has worked for me in the past.

As for those cheap Chinese Ali-Express / Amazon tools: I've got some of those massive bit-sets for a few bucks, only to have them in case I encounter any of those strange screws in the wild. It's a bit of a hit-and-miss, most of them aren't really professionally hardened, so barely useable for everyday usage, but good enough for "one-time usage".