I still have a pair of wire strippers that I bought from Tandy's ( Radio Shack). back in the '70's They are the sort that grip the wire on one side of their jaws and cut and pull the coating off the end of the wire, with the other, when you squeeze the handles It is one of those clever mechanisms that are endlessly fascinating to watch in action.
Similarly, I have a vehicle jack, that fits into this class of mechanisms, which I purchased for my old land Rover. When you pump a lever , a supporting bracket purposefully climbs up a steel, girderlike, bar that has a series of holes up its length. And, at the click of a latch, it climbs, just as purposefully, down.