trueCABLE’s Fiber Optic Kevlar Cutters: Tool Overview & Best Practices for Fiber Optic Cable Preparation

Written by Don Schultz, trueCABLE Senior Technical Marketing Specialist, BICSI TECH, INSTC, INSTF, Fluke Networks Copper/Fiber CCTT Certified

Have you ever had the unfortunate experience of trying to cut aramid yarn (better known as Kevlar®) without the right tool? I have and let me tell you it is not fun at all. Regular scissors, snips, side cutters, flush cutters, and any other tool you might think sufficient for the task will simply not cut aramid yarn cleanly (usually not at all) which results in frustration, and maybe a stopped installation if you happen to be installing bulk fiber optical cable. This is a tool that a fiber optical cable installer cannot do without.

trueCABLE has introduced extremely high quality fiber optic kevlar cutters (trueKEVCUT) furthering the “one stop shop” nature of our line of products and tools for installation and termination of bulk fiber optical distribution cable.

As an installer, you simply cannot effectively work with bulk fiber optical cable without a quality set of shears designed for the task!

Why Fiber Optic Cables Use Kevlar® (and Similar Materials)

By now, you might be wondering who went certifiably insane enough to design such a difficult to work with material into your fiber optical cable. Perhaps it was an April Fool’s joke that went way too far? Rest assured, the aramid yarn serves a couple of critical purposes that only something made from this tough material can address:

• Protection against twisting and stretching during pulls through conduit or in aerial applications
• Helps prevent crush, abrasion, and impact damage to the fiber optical cable during installation and use
• Provides a high strength--yet light--component that also has the nice added benefit of fire resistance

To learn more about how fiber optical cable is constructed, please read Basic Components of a Fiber Optic Cable.

Meet the trueCABLE Fiber Optic Kevlar Cutter

The trueCABLE Fiber Optic Kevlar Cutters has the following features:

• 5.50” high carbon alloy steel blades, precision hardened to HRC 60-62
• Edge hardness: HV1200
• JIS SCM 435 alloy steel pivot bolt
• Ergonomic, fiberglass-reinforced TPR non-slip handles

What Can the trueKEVCUT Cut?

Although designed specifically to cut cable jacket and aramid yarn strength members while preparing fiber communications cable, our cutter is by no means limited to that task. Here are some additional materials suitable for cutting:

• Individual fibers in a fiber optical communication cable
• Dyneema
• Vectran
• Technora
• Carbon fiber
• Fiberglass
• Automotive headliner material
• Leather

How to Use Kevlar Cutters for Fiber Cable Prep (Step-by-Step)

Fiber optic cable preparation is a potentially hazardous activity. The risk of personal injury or even death can be lowered with the proper PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) and training. Safety glasses and a clearly labeled “sharps” container are absolutely required! Formal training is recommended.

Our fiber optical cable cutter is meant to be used in conjunction with a high quality fiber optic cable strip tool, such as the trueCABLE Fiber Optic Cable Stripper. Removing the cable jacket and cutting away any uneeded material is the job of the trueKEVCUT, and then a fiber optic stripper is used to remove the plastic coatings found on the individual fibers.

Our fiber optical cable cutter is not able or meant to strip individual fibers.

At this point, you may also use trueKEVCUT to cut the individual fibers to length if needed. That’s it! You would now use a quality fiber optical stripper to work on the fibers themselves prior to termination or splicing.

For more information on fiber optical stripping, please see trueCABLE’s Fiber Optic Cable Strippers: The Essential Tool for Fiber Optic Installations.

For more information around fiber optical termination and splicing, please see Preparing your Fiber Optic Cable for Connectors or Splices.

Best Practices & Pro Tips

Restrict your cutting to aramid fibers, technical fabrics, and individual glass fibers. In short, plastic or glass based materials commonly found in fiber optical cable.

Some other tips:

• Do not attempt to cut metallic armor, you will immediately destroy your scissors
• Avoid cutting any metallic conductors (such as found in coaxial or copper twisted pair Category Ethernet cable)
• Practice with your tool, as practice makes perfect!
• Prior to heading out onto the job, inspect your cutter to ensure they are not dull or damaged

Maintenance & Care

Our fiber optical cable cutter is a precision tool designed to last for a long time, but it will not last forever and will need eventual replacement.

It is not possible to sharpen the blades of trueKEVCUT due to the edge design and heat treatment. When dull, trueKEVCUT must be replaced.

• Cleaning off the cutting edge portion of your fiber optic cutter is important, so use a plastic bristle brush to remove particles from between the serrations, to help ensure build up does not interfere with cutting effectiveness
• Use a silicon cloth (NO OIL) to protect your scissors from rust between uses as needed
• Store in a dry environment
• Otherwise, use common sense!

FAQs

Is it possible to resharpen the blade on fiber optical cable cutting shears?
Generally, no. The reason has to do with the special heat treatment process applied to not only the tool material itself, but especially the edge which has an additional heat treatment applied. On top of that, the serrations would be destroyed during any sharpening process. When dull, replacement is necessary.

Why does trueCABLE not recommend cutting copper conductors and other soft metals with trueKEVCUT?
trueKEVCUT is designed to cut plastic materials such as aramid yarns, cable jackets, individual fibers, and other materials commonly used in fiber distribution cable. Cutting any metallic material will dramatically reduce tool life and reduce effectiveness.

Conclusion

So there you have it! The right tools for the job will make your installation much easier and contribute to a good professional installation. With some practice and modicum of care, your new fiber optical cable cutter will contribute to this and also last quite a while and make quick work of your project!

HAPPY NETWORKING!

trueCABLE presents the information on our website, including the “Cable Academy” blog and live chat support, as a service to our customers and other visitors to our website subject to our website terms and conditions. While the information on this website is about data networking and electrical issues, it is not professional advice and any reliance on such material is at your own risk.