Question Cat 5E SF/UTP 9th wire

[00mp]

Hi,

I bought a couple of meter solid core Cat 5E SF/UTP. It has your regular 8 wires (in 4 pairs) + 1 bare non-insulated wire which I didn't strip myself. This bare wire goes all the way to the other end. What's the use of this bare wire?

 

[kanewolf]

That is shielded wire -- notice both the bare wire and the braided shield.
I would guess the bare wire helps with the ground.

 

[00mp]

Yes and besides the braid, it also has foil which isn't really visible in the picture. Yeah would be my best guess too. Pretty weird, I have never seen this. Wonder if it was a production error.