Soldering gun for rope hot knife?

[Yeoman_24]

I repeatedly manage to stop myself spending silly money on a rope hot knife but would like a PBO forum type priced alternative.

I have stumbled across a ‘soldering gun’ kit which is only about 15 quid. Has anyone tried one for rope cutting work?

 

[lw395]

Yes, I have one similar.
It does the job, but the blade is small and not as good as the real thing for big ropes.
TBH I only use it when I'm failing to heat seal ropes with a butane lighter (of the extended nozzle variety) either because the rope is damp or it's too windy.

 

[duncan99210]

I've used something like this for sealing the edges of acrylic canvas and for cutting ripstop nylon. It's ok but takes time to get to temperature and isn't all that hot. Might be OK for rope sealing but it'd probably struggle to actually cut rope.

 

[pvb]

I have stumbled across a ‘soldering gun’ kit which is only about 15 quid. Has anyone tried one for rope cutting work?

I guess it's worthwhile if you make a lot of rope cuts. I just use a Stanley knife and heat seal the ends with a gas lighter.

 

[scottie]

I bought a Wolf butane knife soldering kit it on Amazon at £30 now
I have used for up to 16mm rope and nylon straps it also has soldering tools
if you let it heat up it’s perfect and no wiring
I don’t think I paid over £20
One of the best things on the boat

 

[Hoolie]

I have a similar device, bought at Lidl, that works quite well. It can get too hot so you have to be careful to keep the blade at the right temperature - it's fairly obvious as you use it. Well worth £15 or so

 

[RupertW]

I'm afraid mine has always been an heavy old spoon heated on the gas ring to seal the end after taping the rope with masking tape then cutting through the middle of the tape with a Stanley knife. Nearly all of my boat maintenance is carried out away from mains power as prefer to leave the marina as soon as possible and get onto the hook somewhere nice.

 

[VicS]

A two heat hot air gun works well for heat sealing rope ends, Low setting for polypropylene, high setting for Nylon and Terylene, with no tendency to burn the rope.

 

[Pete735]

That's an exact copy of a Weller Soldering kit, I have one that came from the late father in law so must be +40 years old. The flat bladed "tool" works fine on rope, it heats up fairly quickly and you need to go slowly when using it, but more than adequate for cutting/sealing ropes. It is not as quick as the tool the pro's use, but fine for periodic use. Clean off the hot tool with a piece of rag once you have used it and that's about it.

 

[lw395]

As an aside, they are quite good for soldering, particularly when low power irons are struggling in the breeze.

 

[Dipper]

I use an old Junior hacksaw blade held in a pair of mole grips and heated red hot on the gas hob. It works perfectly to cut and seal at the same time although you may need to reheat the blade if cutting thick ropes. I used it today on one of my old halyards. It's definitely a PBO budget alternative.

 

[Bouba]

Yes, I also had a cheapo kit that included a trigger soldering gun. Sat years in the workshop, then one day I was looking at very expensive rope sealing guns in a chandler catalogue and it just hit me. I use it all the time and you can see the jealous looks from the boaters next to me. I’m not sure it cost me as much as £15, I’ve even used it on thick leaded line. Melted the lead easily, gets hot instantly

 

[jim.howes]

Hi just bought myself a IRODA SOLDERPRO 70 from Maplin for £27.99. Wonderful piece of kit. It is a soldering iron a blow torch and a HOT KNIFE. Best of all it runs on butane gas(no electricity required) and comes with a spark igniter. As of yet I have used it for soldering 1.5mm cable(easy) and used the heat blower for shrinking shrink tube(brilliant). The hot knife blade has a useable length of 5/8"(16mm). The only problem is availability it can still be ordered on line and delivered to your local Maplin store for your collection. Jim

 

[anoccasionalyachtsman]

I use one of the chef-style mini blowlamps. The flame is thin enough to 'cut' thin rope, but I've got an old table knife in the toolbox which I can heat to make a good cutter - and I can solder with it (being a bit careful). I use one at home to heat up a mains soldering iron quickly too. A bit under £20 at a local hardware shop.

 

[Dutch01527]

Hi just bought myself a IRODA SOLDERPRO 70 from Maplin for £27.99. Wonderful piece of kit. It is a soldering iron a blow torch and a HOT KNIFE. Best of all it runs on butane gas(no electricity required) and comes with a spark igniter. As of yet I have used it for soldering 1.5mm cable(easy) and used the heat blower for shrinking shrink tube(brilliant). The hot knife blade has a useable length of 5/8"(16mm). The only problem is availability it can still be ordered on line and delivered to your local Maplin store for your collection. Jim

I have one of these, it is a good bit of kit but probably not man enough cutting if your lines are large. Less than about 12mm it is great. For larger lines I taped the line, cut by knife and used the blow torch adapter to seal the line.

 

[TheOrs]

Hi just bought myself a IRODA SOLDERPRO 70 from Maplin for £27.99. Wonderful piece of kit. It is a soldering iron a blow torch and a HOT KNIFE. Best of all it runs on butane gas(no electricity required) and comes with a spark igniter. As of yet I have used it for soldering 1.5mm cable(easy) and used the heat blower for shrinking shrink tube(brilliant). The hot knife blade has a useable length of 5/8"(16mm). The only problem is availability it can still be ordered on line and delivered to your local Maplin store for your collection. Jim

I have a Dremel Versatip. Very similar to the above & works brilliantly. £38 from Screwfix; bit cheaper from other online stores.

 

[JanZ]

+1 for the Solderpro from Maplins. Had one for 5 or 6 years and found it invaluable aboard. Quite gas thirsty, though.

Ja n

 

[Daydream believer]

Wrap a bit of insulation tape around the rope before cutting. Cut with scissors or knife. Then you have a tight end which a turboflame lighter will heat & melt very well. I have never had a problem with them by the way !! Then remove the tape

 

[ashtead]

Have a great torch about 4 inches long . Head tilts and underneath is a small butane powdered burner . Bought cheap in Tenerife I think and handy to melt the end or heat a blade . Much like the turbo flame lighter I suspect but might be slightly cheaper should anyone be out there . I assume sold in other Spanish islands but never seen sold closer to home. But maybe others have seen ?

 

[JimC]

If sources of heat aren't readily available you can wrap the rope with insulating tape, cut it, and then apply superglue to the cut end. The glue wicks up between the individual fibres and does a similar job to heat sealing. I've not had a rope sealed this way come apart.