Ropework tools

[SVTatia]

Originally Posted by Stumble

I use Toss's wands and they really are the best thing since sliced toast. I haven't used the D-Splicer, but I always reach for the wands over other fids. The only time they aren't my go too tool is when splicing very very small dyneema (<2mm) where they are too large, for that I use a loop of beading wire wrapped around a wooden dowel.

Originally Posted by jcapo

I have two and I love 'em. It takes a bit of experimenting to learn how to trim the core after its snared to reduce the size of core lump at the snare. Splicing 12" loops is much easier with the wands than with push style fids in tight braid.

I am deciding whether to buy a complete fid set or the 2 wands. Looks like the wands are worth the price...
Thanks for the responses.

[SVTatia]

What about hot knives?

I was looking for a portable one to use on the boat (cordless or non-electric) and I found this one. Works, but the lighter requires constant flicking. I don't see anything else good enough for ropes up to 3/4".

The HotBlade manufactured by ZARCOR. A tool designed for sailors to conveniently cut and dress boat line, rope, and cordage.

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by SVTatia

What about hot knives?

I was looking for a portable one to use on the boat (cordless or non-electric) and I found this one. Works, but the lighter requires constant flicking. I don't see anything else good enough for ropes up to 3/4".

The HotBlade manufactured by ZARCOR. A tool designed for sailors to conveniently cut and dress boat line, rope, and cordage.

I bought a German HSGM Hot Rope Knife online 4-5 years ago and it has worked faultlessly.

I use it for cutting Sunbrella Plus, as well as cutting & sealing polyester rope.

It currently sells for around £111 = 138€

[toddster8]

That mini-torch looks pretty handy. I sprang for the SailRite hot knife and really like it. But of course, it needs shore power or the inverter.

[Stumble]

Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass

Thanks for that advice. I will check out if replacement blades are available. I hadn't thought of doing that.

Yes, I have chips . They appeared after use on dyneema, which I can't understand. I only use a timber board under the knife. I had been using it a fair bit making soft shackles and items with the Bullseye weave last year, but the blade still seemed to blunten unreasonably quickly.

My hubbie has just bought a set of diamond sharpening "stones" for my kitchen knives. I will ask him to have a go with the ceramic knife when I get hold of it again. Nothing to lose. It is pretty useless now as is. A new blade would be ideal.

SWL

I carry the Riggers knife from ceramicknife.org. I had a hand in the design, but get nothing if they sell, I just wanted a ceramic bladed knife with a marlin spike. I carry the thing everywhere, and after a couple of years I am still on the same blade, but the guy who makes them told me he could provide a replacement blade pretty easily. The handle unscrews if you need to replace it and you can just pop in a new one.

I do have too sharpen it a few times a year depending on how much splicing I do, if I get ahead of it you can just use the 1500grit, but I never seem to be that organized.

[markwesti]

Currently using Selma fids , sometimes I get it right . Please enjoy the pics.





Selma fids
http://www.duckworksbbs.com/tools/selma/index.htm

[UNCIVILIZED]

I'm not sure why I'm bothering, as no doubt this'll draw heat. But you couldn't pay me to own/use a ceramic knife. There are just to many drawbacks without that much gain. Especially if one demands a lot from their tools.

I have a good carbon steel knife that outperforms anything in Brion Toss's shop (including ceramics), & his crew lusted after it heavily. And any good knife, well sharpened, & cared for shouldn't have a problem with high modulus ropes. With the perk that they're not at all fragile. And I've spliced for several days straight without needing to touch the edge up.

Brion's wands ROCK. I've had mine for a couple of decades, & can't see switching back. As they definitely make splicing any sort of braid child's play. Often to include older/stiff lines that have seen some use, & that without the wands wouldn't be splicable.

If in doubt as to which one (buy two if you can), then get the smaller size of the ones you're considering. As with a bit of effort it'll splice larger lines quite well. Where the reverse is quite a bit harder. Meaning trying to splice small lines with a big wand.
Also, get/make plenty of tip loops for them.

You can make "travel cases" for the wands out of PVC pipe, with a cap glued onto one end, & a threaded cap on the other.

One other handy tool is a utility knife that's designed to allow you to set it's depth of cut. Find one that uses replacable, snap off blades.

Some indispensibles are;
- Friction Tape, Masking Tape, & Electrical Tape
- Hair Gel, for holding the yarns of a rope together when you untwist the lay. Such as when doing an Irony Splice.
- Liquid Saliva, for making some cordage slippery enough to properly execute a tough splice.
- Small Butane/Propane Torch
- Marling Spike, for splicing, as well as to use for tightening seizings & whippings
- Bandaids
- Superglue
- Magic Markers. Get as many colors as you can find, so as to color code your witness marks on the cordage
- Good scissors
- Sailmaker's Palm, Needles, Thread
- Maxi Jacket II, or RP 25
- Sharpening Stone, & Oil
- Pliers: All types
- Vice Grips, especially for working with wire, & doing wire to rope splices
- Bench Vise
- Bees Wax. A cake or three of it.
- Heat shrink tubing
- Epoxy Putty, for covering the sharp ends on wire after nicopressing a fitting

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass

....
My hubbie has just bought a set of diamond sharpening "stones" for my kitchen knives. I will ask him to have a go with the ceramic knife when I get hold of it again. Nothing to lose. It is pretty useless now as is. A new blade would be ideal.

SWL

Whoa there Lassie - not so fast...

Your blade looks like a Kyocera advanced ceramic blade and if so, Kyocera offer "free" lifetime sharpening. From their USA website "Kyocera is the only manufacturer of advanced ceramic cutlery and kitchen tools to offer a Lifetime Warranty and Lifetime Sharpening. If the product is found to be defective, we will repair or replace it. For a nominal shipping and handling charge, we will sharpen your Kyocera knife back to a factory-new edge."

Normally you have to send to the importer in the country of purchase but maybe you can get it done in Europe somewhere.

FWIW, I recently sent mine back to the Aussie importer and it was returned in a week or two with the edge as good as gold. It had been used by a drunken "friend" one night and was all nicked and blunt the next day....

[Zanshin]

Originally Posted by UNCIVILIZED

I'm not sure why I'm bothering, as no doubt this'll draw heat. But you couldn't pay me to own/use a ceramic knife. There are just to many drawbacks without that much gain. Especially if one demands a lot from their tools.

I have a good carbon steel knife that outperforms anything in Brion Toss's shop (including ceramics), & his crew lusted after it heavily...

I've got Japanese sharpening stones from 1000 to 12000 grit and concur that a well-sharpend knife is superior to a ceramic knife. The 12,000 grit is for my straight-edge razor, but a good knife sharpened and honed will easily cut any dyneema line. It's just a matter of maintenance - more for a carbon steel blade than for any ceramic knife.

[Hoofsmit]

Believe or not , hammer and anvil !
Best tool for tapering
Found this out when using Kevlar Matt and acrylics to patch up horses hooves in a previous life
We have Kevlar shears at £60 a pop that wouldn't stay sharp so used the edge of the anvil for cutting the Kevlar off the roll
If you can find a case hardened piece of flat bar/ plate and a softish hammer it works quicker and more precise than any cutting tool
Honest !

[Seaworthy Lass]

I have woken up to find so much interestesting and useful info. Many thanks everyone.

Mark, your tools and workmanship look beautiful! What do you store the leather sleeve in to protect the tools from salt air? I pop all my splicing gear into a plastic storage container with an O ring seal. Not very glamourous, but it keeps everything together and salt free.

Uncivilized, that comprehensive list is very useful. I smiled to see bandaids included - very sensible rather than dripping blood everywhere while pulling out the first aid kit . A few items I would never have thought of using, such as hair gel and superglue. What do you use the glue for?
Interesting that you find carbon steel works well on dyneema. I have been debating about getting a carbon steel kitchen knife. I like my knives super sharp , but the issue with rust is putting me off (the extra fragility compared to SS is not a big factor for me as I would take care with storage). What do you do to win the fight with rust?

Wottie, thanks so much for the warranty info with Kyocera knives. I will chase that up.

SWL

[UNCIVILIZED]

Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass

I have woken up to find so much interestesting and useful info. Many thanks everyone.

Mark, your tools and workmanship look beautiful! What do you store the leather sleeve in to protect the tools from salt air? I pop all my splicing gear into a plastic storage container with an O ring seal. Not very glamourous, but it keeps everything together and salt free.
I can't speak for Mark directly, but if you keep a sheath oiled, it not only protects the leather, but assists in preventing the knife/tools from rusting. Even if the sheath is "oiled" with some variety of leather wax. Which, I use a DIY blended mix of Obenauf's oil, & their wax --> www.Obenaufs.com
Heat up both the leather preservative, & the leather before you start, & re-heat both while rubbing it into the leather. And with a bit of work, & perhaps a 2nd treatment, the leather is fully saturated with preservative.

Uncivilized, that comprehensive list is very useful. I smiled to see bandaids included - very sensible rather than dripping blood everywhere while pulling out the first aid kit .
Thanks! I also keep a couple of bandaids in my wallet, so that they're always handy.

A few items I would never have thought of using, such as hair gel and superglue. What do you use the glue for?
The glue is sometimes used to temporarily hold something in place until I can dig out my needle & thread to stitch it. Such as a non load-bearing piece of cover in the loop of an eye splice. With the cover being there merely as chafe protection, but not tapered, & tucked into the lay of the rope.
Super glue's just handy in general too. Plus if someone maims themselves more than a bandaid will fix... well, you get the idea.

Interesting that you find carbon steel works well on dyneema. I have been debating about getting a carbon steel kitchen knife. I like my knives super sharp , but the issue with rust is putting me off (the extra fragility compared to SS is not a big factor for me as I would take care with storage). What do you do to win the fight with rust?
There are lots of options for corrosion prevention. One is to buy powder coated knives. For example Cold Steel bakes an epoxy finish onto a lot of their knives.
Though usually a coat of oil is more than sufficient on bare steel. And if you're truly concerned about it, use a Tuf-cloth or similar.

However, I don't at all mind the patina which develops on non-stainless knives over time. And it surely doesn't harm them. Plus you only really need to keep the cutting edges of knives rust free, & typically sharpening takes care of that.

Wottie, thanks so much for the warranty info with Kyocera knives. I will chase that up.

SWL

One of the other reasons I prefer steel is that if you press down with any real force to cut something when using a ceramic knife, you're risking breaking it. Ditto if you execute a draw stroke cut. And if the cordage is either thick, or old & stiff, such as 3-strand anchor rode, forget it, I wouldn't even dare try a ceramic on such. As it's just too tough, & hard. Enough so that I'd think it'd almost guarantee a chipped or broken blade with a ceramic knife.
Ever drop a ceramic knife into a steel sink, or the floor? Or wear one on your belt & bump into things/fall down

Let alone if you do "the evil thing" AKA pound on the back of a knife's spine with a mallet to assist in cutting something that's thick or tough. A technique that I'm vehemently opposed to. And while many "experts" advocate it, it's not good practice. And usually said experts either don't know how to properly work with & care for knives, or don't care. Either way, it's in bad form.

Scissors do have their uses, & are easy to sharpen with a hone, or better yet, a benchtop grinder. However, you can't do partial depth cuts with them. Nor precise bevels, etc. But they're more than worthy in keeping on one's tool quiver.

And alternative to steel knives, stainless & non, are alloys like Stellite, & Talonite. They're made of alloys that have microscopic particles of things like Carbide mixed in with the parent metal. Where the tiny Carbide bits act as micro serrations when cutting, so that it's tough to dull them as compared to regular knives. And most such alloys won't rust. The catch though is their price, & that they're somewhat more brittle than pure steel.

Oh, before I forget, there are some good stainless alloys out there which approach mid-level carbon steels in physical properties. Though they do cost more, & tend to be more brittle. Like D2 as favored by knife maker Bob Dozier. Which, you'll notice that his knives made from it run on the small side. Purposefully so, so that no one much tries to chop with them. But they function respectably for general cutting, & small knife chores.

BTW, Here's another thread on splicing, with discussions on tools for same. http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ma-172847.html

Zanshin, with your handle it's no surprise that you've more than a passing familiarity with sharpening knives. And on that topic, a tip for all is to invert a ceramic coffee cup, & use the unglazed portion of the ring on it's underside to sharpen your knives. Plates & such work too, but with a mug, the smaller ring with it's flats only being 3" apart makes for decent sharpening guides. As having 2 flats to stroke the blade across act somewhat like a large whetstone. It helps you to keep the angle consistent when sharpening.

Edit: There are a few other coatings that you can add to knife blades as well, if corrosion truly worries you. Cold bluing, Ceracoat, Moly Resin, various water transfer/dip coatings, epoxies, etc. Few of which are tough to do, or require fancy setups.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass

. . .
Interesting that you find carbon steel works well on dyneema. I have been debating about getting a carbon steel kitchen knife. I like my knives super sharp , but the issue with rust is putting me off (the extra fragility compared to SS is not a big factor for me as I would take care with storage). What do you do to win the fight with rust? . . .

SWL

I'm not really a "knife guy", but I can back up what Uncivilized says about carbon steel knives. In my experience, you can never get a stainless knife really sharp. "Black steel" or carbon steel takes an edge in a completely different way. My best kitchen knives are black steel.

I don't think they are more fragile than stainless. For rust, just keep them oiled. They will gradually turn black, but why is that a problem?

Black steel all the way for me. I never liked ceramic.

One thing I have not tried, but could be really good for Dyneema is a straight razor. These are always black steel, and are deeply hollow ground, which makes them a cinch to bring to a -- err, razor sharp edge . Will be

[olaf hart]

Just another plug for the Kyocera ceramic knife free sharpening service.

I used a D splicer, but it snapped at the tip.

Not very impressed, I didn't consider I was using it that much and the force was not excessive.

I might see if I can make some of the first needles you showed with some fencing wire and a MAPP torch,

[Benz]

I'm still using my Samson splicing fids for anything down to 1/4", beyond that, I use a piece of SS leader wire bent double. Nice thing about leader wire, other than the price, is that you can make a tool any length you need on-the-spot. So when I had to splice a used piece of continuous-furler line (diabolical!), I made a 20-inch splicing tool on the spot. Since the little bits of wire get lost now and then, I just carry a length of leader wire coiled up in my kit, and cut whatever I need with side cutters, which should always be in the rigger's ditty bag.

SWL, the super glue helps to ensure that the knot at the end of a seizing doesn't shake loose--this is especially important with Dyneema seizings, since the stuff is so slippery.

As for knives, I carry an Olfa linoleum knife with retractable blades, and a case of spare blades. One blade lasts a surprisingly long time, and replacements are cheap. Only issue is that the blade cannot take a bending force at all, since it's designed to break off.

For scissors, my favorite cutting tool, I use Vampire Tools' micro-serrated scissors for cutting Kevlar. They'll cut Dyneema all day, up to 1/4"

Another thing I always have is a wooden belaying pin to use as a handle when tightening lashings. Sure, you could use a screwdriver or a fid, but the wood doesn't get as cold on nippy spring days (when most of that sort of work is done), will float, and won't fall through a dyneema catamaran trampoline net.

Ben
zartmancruising.com