Rope cutter/Hot knife question

[nevis768]

I bought a Butane one, can't remember the make, useless....

 

[jane444blue]

We have been carrying one of these onboard for about 10 years. It gets regular abuse. As used by many sailmakers
Heissschneider Hot Knife Rope Cutter | Rope Source

Thanks for this, it looks like these are corded. I was looking at cordless for use on the boat. It's not used a lot just for running rigging, fixes and changes. Not daily or anything.

 

[jane444blue]

I have a corded Gonyiata (I think?) that I got for $25, and it is SO handy. Maybe not as good for all day, every day use, but I love it.

• Rope, of course.
• Shockcord. Actually hard to seal any other way.
• Fabrics. Everything from sailcloth and Sunbrella to ripstop nylon for telltales. Just adjust the temperature.
• Carpet. VERY handy. Cuts like butter, good edges.
• Other weird melting jobs. Can be used to weld pastics. A few days ago I used it to bond fabric to polyethylene sheet.

Battery or corded, they heat fast, so unless you are cutting a whole sail, the on-time will only be a few minutes. They only take 2-4 seconds to warm up. I wouldn't do butane, I think. Electric is so much more versatile.

Thanks. I did a search but couldn't find cordless, there's no power on the boat. Unless I found a small transformer I guess

 

[jane444blue]

Besides hot knives for serious stuff, I came to like this "Thread zap", it's quite good for finishing sewing thread, rope whippings, etc. Works with a recheargeable NiMH battery as well.
Amazon.com

Thanks, it looks worth considering

 

[jane444blue]

I have a couple of Iroda gas soldering irons on board.. They have had a huge amount of use over the years and I wouldn't be without them.

As well as the soldering tips, they each came with blow torch, hot air and hot knife tips..

I know it only takes a few seconds to change the tips but I have two to save even having to spend time swapping them!

That looks like a great fun and usefull tool. Thankyou

 

[jane444blue]

We keep an old wooden cutting board specifically for this job. We often cut acrylic canvas with the hot knife as it seals the edges as it cuts.
We have a seperate gas soldering iron onboard for soldering. In my opinion, the proffessional spec hot knife is the way to go for canvas work, rope ends, webbings , etc. Maybe a bit over the top for the weekend sailor but very much on top of the job and will last many years. You see them in sailmakers lofts

Thankyou your comment makes sense, it's just the cost making me hesitate

 

[jane444blue]

I use a piece of tempered glass about 15cm x 60/70cm as cutting surface, they are sold around 10e as bathroom shelves, together with a metal straightedge. They can be used on pontoons, also on the kitchen/living room table without fear of damaging anything, including marital relationships
I use a Dremel butane pen for canvas (Versatip, just found the name), reasonably quick and a refill lasts several meters of acrylic fabric cutting.

That looks like a great tool, I was thinking of it for a present for HWMBO who does all my running rigging, and for others, but can see I would want one too for all the times I leave him behind!

 

[[193211]]

I bought a Meridian Zero butane hot knife a few years back for my dinghy sailing kit. Absolute rubbish. Worked half a dozen times. A Fisher Price version of the Iroda P120 I replaced it with.

 

[BobsFolly]

+1 for the Dremel Versatip. I've used it for cutting lines and soldering. Very handy to have onboard.

Dremel F0132000KA Soldering Iron VersaTip 2000-6 (6 Interchangeable Tips, Tin Storage Case) https://amzn.eu/d/fKj5Cpy