To use the wire stripper, just simply pull the wire through the notch. You may have to score around the insulation where you want to strip it before pulling it through the striper. The Shackle Opener with marlin spike is for opening shackles. A shackle is a device that is shaped like a "U" and has a bolt going through the open ends. The shackle bolt has a hole through the head that the shackel opener can be inserted into to turn the bolt to open the shackle. Shackels are used a lot on sailing boats. A marlinspike is a device used when splicing rope. It is used to open the strands of the rope so that you can insert the strands with which you are splicing. This will be understandable if you are at all familiar with rope splicing. If not, get a book on seamanship and read the chapters on knots and splicing.