I was stripping wire wrong for my first two years in the trade
I always used my linesman pliers to strip 12/2 Romex, just pinching and pulling like I saw an old timer do once. It worked okay, but I'd nick the copper maybe one out of every five times. I never thought much of it until I was helping a new apprentice on a service call in Tacoma. He pulled out a proper wire stripper, made one smooth motion, and had a perfect strip every single time. He didn't even say anything, just handed it to me. I felt like an idiot. I'd been making extra work for myself and risking a bad connection because I was too stubborn to use the right tool. That little moment changed my whole approach to the small tasks. Now I keep a dedicated stripper in my pouch. Has anyone else had a simple tool realization that made you kick yourself?