Two ways to (neatly) cut a rope
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Sure, those nifty hot knife tools in the climbing shop are great. But if you need to cut a rope without one, and want a nice clean end, here are two ways to do it.
Rope cut method 1 - DIY hot knife
Notes:
Do this outside, nasty fumes are generated!
Wrapping with tape is the key move. This gives you a much cleaner cut.
Use a disposable utility knife, and NOT any sort of a good knife and especially one that’s ever going to touch food. The blade is going to have some discoloration and baked on melted rope yuckiness.
Stuff you need:
your rope (duh)
athletic tape
cheap utility knife with thin blade, get it at most any hardware store
piece of scrap wood
source of hot flame, like a camping stove or propane torch
Wrap a bit of tape tightly around the rope.
Heat up the knife blade in the flame. Orange hot is good.
Press / slice the hot knife down in the middle of the taped section. The hot knife should nicely melt through.
If needed, you can heat the knife up again and press the side of the blade against the cut end.
That's it! The end of your rope should be completely cauterized and ready to use.
Rope cut method 2 - Superglue
Notes:
Do this outside, and on a work surface you don't mind dribbling some glue on, because you probably will.
Important: the chemicals in superglue may not play nicely with most ropes. In this case we're using them only at the very END of the rope, which will never see a load. When you're doing this, be careful not to get glue on any other part of your rope.
Stuff you need:
your rope (duh)
athletic tape
sharp knife. Disposable utility or razor knife works well. Scissors generally don’t work well.
piece of scrap wood
Superglue
Wrap some tape tightly around the rope where you want to cut it.
Cut through the tape.
Holding the end of the rope vertically, scoooooge glue into the rope end, covering the core and the sheath.
Wait at least a minute before you take the tape off or you'll probably get some glue on your fingers, ask me how I know about this.
Sweet, give yourself a high five. You now have a perfectly sealed rope end.
What’s a common method used to cut and seal a rope that really doesn't work very well?
What's the best kind of superglue to use on ropes?
Which of these two methods should you use to cut an Aramid/Kevlar rope?
If you need to cut a lot of rope or webbing, what’s a low cost tool you can use to do this easily (that's not an expensive climbing shop rope cutter.)
