Cutting wire

[grumpy_o_g]

Yep, remember that wire Snooksy cut with the hacksaw was under quite a bit of tension. If you do have to cut multi-strand with a hack-saw then wrapping a few turns of masking tape or bodge tape around the cable stops it unravelling and the teeth dragging the individual strands so much. If you can't hold the cable still though you'll struggle with a hacksaw in my experience.

The method used by some gliding clubs for cutting winch cables (often 1x 19, sometimes 7x7 though, usually about 7 mm) is a large flat plate (about 12" at least and not flexible - it mustn't have a lot of give), a cold chisel and a 2lb lump hammer. Not sure it would be that practical on most boats.

 

[penfold]

I have noticed in the last couple of years a lot of no-name hacksaw(especially junior hacksaw) blades on sale that have little or no hardness to them. A particularly good(poor?) example would be the pack of Silverline junior blades I have here at work are basically incapable of cutting anything harder than soft aluminium, they appear to be entirely untempered or even made of mild steel. Stick to brand name blades for a hacksaw, they aren't much more money; Bahco, Eclipse, Starrett, etc.

A possibility for blue-water types with larger yachts and stays 8mm and thicker might be a hydraulic cable shear; I have seen a few on ebay for not much money, although the quality(especially blade durability/temper/hardness) would require careful checking.