Stripping UF-B cable

Stripping the jacket off regular interior use NM electrical cable is pretty easy to do, but doing it to outdoor UF-B cable is difficult. The conductors within UF-B cable are encased individually within the plastic jacket. I’ve found it next to impossible to carve off the jacket without damaging the individual conductors inside. Is there a trick to getting the jacket off UF-B cable without harming the plastic on the wires inside?
—Marc Prest
Newington, Conn.

Brian Walo: UF-B is always a hassle, but here’s how to deal with it: Cut about 2 in. along the concave center of the cable with a utility knife. With pliers, pull out the bare ground wire in the center, using it like a rip cord to split the jacket as far as needed. Score the jacket inside the grooves left by the ground wire where the hot and neutral conductors are encased. Finally, pull the conductors out the same way you did with the ground wire, and cut off the portion of the jacket you no longer need.

From Fine Homebuilding #261