OK I did one last experiment. This time I made a crimp with my Klein crimper/strippers and one with the CMI Single Crimp Ratcheting Crimper. I then cut the crimped terminals open with my Dremel tool and took a peak.


The crimp on the left was made with the CMI Single Crimp Ratcheting crimper, which is a mid quality crimp tool, and the crimp on the right was made with my Klein dimple crimper, a very mediocre crimper, but also the type many boat owners use to make crimped connections.


I now understand why many boaters think "air" can get into a crimp and corrode it. If you look at he crimp on the right, made with the dimple crimper, you can still see strands of copper wire. The crimp on the left is far superior and has in fact cold worked or cold formed, into a near solid mass. While it is technically not a solid mass of copper there is almost no room for moisture or air to get in between the strands of wire and begin wicking. I think the photo speaks for its self and shows why a well built crimping too is worth the money..