FTP Cat. 5e cable that is not suitable for patch cords?

Factual Questions
1

I got some cat 5e cable and it is extremely hard to insert the RJ45 jacks. They require too much force. I used to work as a network technician so I’ve made lots and lots of patch cords and never had that problem before. The cable strands would slide in the jack pretty much effortlessly.

So there are two possibilities:

Either:

  1. This cable was meant for patch panels or wall sockets only and not to be fitted with RJ45 jacks. Is there such a cable?

Or:
2) This cable is a piece of crap.

Which could be true?

2

No chance at all for option 3, you got some cut-rate jacks?

3

Possibilities:

It’s actually Cat6 and 22AWG conductors instead of the 24AWG of Cat5?
It’s stranded Cat5e and the RJ45 connectors are designed for solid conductors (which are slightly smaller diameter than stranded)?

4

It is Cat 5e and solid conductor. But now that you mention it, it looks like the insulation is a bit thicker than normal.

Are there different types of RJ45? I thought all were the same.

5

If it’s solid conductor, it’s not suitable for patch cables. You should be using stranded wire for patch cables. Solid wire is too inflexible and prone to cracking over time as it gets flexed.