Hand Tools & Accessories

Know the tool before you touch the wire.

Anatomy guides for the hand tools you strip and cut with, and the test equipment that tells you whether a circuit is safe to touch — labelled parts, how each one is used, and the safety rule behind it.

The toolbox

Start here: work through 8 tools

Open any tool to explore its labelled anatomy — tap a numbered marker on the render to reveal what that part is for.

Hand tools

What you cut, strip, twist and drive with.

Real part

Insulated Screwdriver Set

VDE-rated turners for terminal screws — the handles that keep a flash off you.

Open anatomy →

VDE-tested insulated shaft — double-insulated to 1000 V
Hardened steel tip — fits the screw head without cam-out
Moulded handle — colour-coded size and symbol icon
Ferrule / bolster — stops a slip sliding down the blade

Real part

Needle-Nose Pliers

Reach into tight junction boxes and bend small hoops without catching neighbouring wires.

Open anatomy →

Long tapered jaws — reach into deep boxes
Cutting edge — trim thin conductors to length
Pivot joint — keeps the two halves aligned
Comfort grips — reduce hand fatigue for repetitive bending

Real part

Side Cutters (Diagonal Cutters)

Snip conductors cleanly at the jaws' edge — the workhorse for trimming to length at a terminal.

Open anatomy →

Diagonal cutting edges — shear against each other
Pivot joint — transfers grip pressure into shear
Spring return — opens the jaws for rapid repeat cuts
Beaded insulation grips — rated to a working voltage

Real part

Wire Strippers

Remove exactly the right length of insulation without nicking the copper underneath.

Open anatomy →

Adjustable length stop — repeatable strip length
Colour-coded sizing die — matches cable gauges
Hinged blades — cut insulation only, not the core
Comb/cutting jaws — trim multiple cores in one go

Test equipment

What tells you whether a circuit is safe to touch — and what proving dead actually means.

Real part

Clamp Meter

Measures current without breaking the circuit — the jaws are the transformer's core.

Open anatomy →

Jaws — a split core that closes around one conductor only
Trigger — opens the jaws one-handed
Display and hold
Rotary dial — A~ , A⎓, volts, ohms, continuity
Zero / relative button — cancels the residual reading before a leakage test
Test leads for the voltage and continuity functions

Real part

Digital Multimeter

Measures volts, ohms, amps and continuity — the instrument every test begins with.

Open anatomy →

Display — holds the reading so you can let go before you read it
Selector dial — volts, ohms, continuity, current; the setting decides the input impedance
COM jack — the reference terminal every measurement returns to
V/Ω/mA jack — for everything except high current
10 A jack — a separate, unfused shunt for heavy current
Test leads — fused on the current ranges, and rated for the voltage you are measuring