Shears / scissors for cutting Dyneema

[evm1024]

When I started making my own soft shackles I bought a pair of D-splicer D20 sheers. I paid pretty much full price at westmarine for them.

They are very good and sharp etc....

But I see that the same model is also marketed by Ronstan and a number of other vendors.

Just for fun I did a little digging and found out that they appear to be a Nusharp 953 8" shears from Taiwan.

The Ronstan and D-splicer can be bought for $55 USD on sale.

The Nusharp 953 lists for $12.88 (with free shipping) on Amazon.

Just thought to pass this along for any interested in cutting Dyneema....

http://www.nusharp.com.tw/products_detail.php?PNo=7

[Nicholson58]

Just a suggestion, try a set of the medical SS shears you see used in hospitals. They are bent 45 and have one serrated blade. Mine cut everything including carbon and glass fiber.

[a64pilot]

The medical shears became the thing tech divers carry to cut whatever they may become entangled with.
They will even cut a penny in half and are still fully functional after cutting that penny.

[Tornadosailing]

I bought Kyocera ceramic scissors that were suggested by someone on YouTube for cutting Dyneema. They're ok, but I think the medical shears would have been better.

[Rorzech]

Is Dyneema that hard to cut ? Please describe what it's like cutting Dyneema.
Would a razor sharp big Ofla knife ( Box cutter on steroids ) cut it ?

[Suijin]

I have a pair of Cutco shears that will cut a penny in half without breaking a sweat but just suck at cutting dyneema over 1/8”. I use my knives for that. A good sharp knife seems to give a cleaner more predictable cut.

[Tornadosailing]

It's not quite as hard as cutting steel. Takes me about 30 seconds of hard scissoring, kind of sliding it along the blades as I cut, with my ceramic scissors. I doubt your knife would stand up to it for very long. Of course it depends on the diameter. I was cutting 5/16 dyneema when I was having so much trouble.

[Tornadosailing]

Originally Posted by Suijin

I have a pair of Cutco shears that will cut a penny in half without breaking a sweat but just suck at cutting dyneema over 1/8”. I use my knives for that. A good sharp knife seems to give a cleaner more predictable cut.

Interesting. Maybe I'll try a ceramic knife next time.

[evm1024]

Back to the first post folks. It was not an idle posting....

Here is a video of cutting Dyneema with a D-splicer D16

https://www.google.com/search?q=cutt...TF-8#kpvalbx=1

Also, Back when I was doing a lot of expedition climbing I got myself trained as an EMT. We used surgical scissors then. The D20 I spoke about much better at cutting than any of the surgical scissors I used then.

Take a look at the D20 if you need to do a bunch of work with Dyneema.

[TheOffice]

Ceramic knives from the grocery store work great on Dyneema for a couple years. Cheap and easy to find

[Seymore]

How about an electric rope cutting gun....?

[Tornadosailing]

Originally Posted by Seymore

How about an electric rope cutting gun....?

No. Dyneema doesn't melt easily.

[estarzinger]

Originally Posted by Tornadosailing

No. Dyneema doesn't melt easily.

hmmmm melting points:

nylon 6 220C
nylon 66 256C
Dyneema 145C


Dynema is viewed as a 'cut resistant' fiber but I have to say I do not typically have any trouble at all cutting it with a sharp knife.

[Tornadosailing]

Originally Posted by estarzinger

hmmmm melting points:

nylon 6 220C
nylon 66 256C
Dyneema 145C


Dynema is viewed as a 'cut resistant' fiber but I have to say I do not typically have any trouble at all cutting it with a sharp knife.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I've tried to tidy up the ends with a flame. No luck. Why is that?

[Suijin]

Originally Posted by Tornadosailing

Interesting. Maybe I'll try a ceramic knife next time.

My two go-to knives for rope work are my Boye folder and my Benchmade rescue. The Boye in particular, with its toothy metal, makes short work of anything. Trying to cut dyneema with bad knives is just as bad as scissors.