I bought the electric fence hookup wire at the link below, and the conductor is enormous. It is 12.5 gage, and steel at that. It is much stiffer than a clothes hanger and takes tools to put a neat bend in it. I think I could use it as a lever to break a pencil. Many of my smaller screwdrivers are easier to bend.
WHY is this metal so thick?
The point of this wire is to make connections to electric fence wire. It is insulated, and this particular kind is rated for burial. But high voltage and burial ability require that the insulation be thick (and it is), not that the conductor at the center be thick. This stuff is bizarre to work with and I think I have to find some other product to do part of my hookup where I have a hinged gate. Besides, I am using the big staples usually used with “Romex”, and handling the free part of this wire sometimes actually pulls the staples out. It’s just weird.
http://www.amazon.com/Zareba-Electric-Fence-Underground-Controller/dp/B000HHSC2O/ref=pd_sim_sbs_hi_1