How to cut mule tape?

[Pilot]

A friend gave me 250 foot sections of mule tape they throw away at work. Mule tape for those who don't know is a combination of a wire and nylon (or polyester?) and it lies flat. Very strong. Pretty handy stuff, but it is very difficult to cut with the combination of a wire (steel?) and nylon. Anybody have a good way to cut it? Knife doesn't work unless you have already cut the steel-and it takes a sharp knife at that. Band saw grabs it, pulls it out of your hands. Chop saw doesn't work. Sheet metal shears cut the wire, but not the nylon.
What does work?

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

Plasma gun?

 

[flyerdan]

I would imagine that a skinny wheel or one of those muffler cutters that use the small abrasive wheels would zip right through it.
What was it intended for, kind of a strapping?

 

[Egon]

Clamp it between two pieces of wood and use a circular saw with metal cutting blade.

Power sheers?

 

[TCJatko]

Clamp it between two pieces of wood and use a circular saw with metal cutting blade.

Power sheers?

I vote for the circular saw.

 

[4570Man]

I'd say an abrasive cut off wheel would cut it. Maybe lay it across a block and use an axe.

 

[paulsharvey]

If it's like mule tape I'm familiar with, the wire is only like 26 ga or 29 ga, and has either one or two strands. Not much to cut with a good knife or utility sheers; unless you have something different than I'm used to.

 

[azranger]

If it's like mule tape I'm familiar with, the wire is only like 26 ga or 29 ga, and has either one or two strands. Not much to cut with a good knife or utility sheers; unless you have something different than I'm used to.

I have always cut it with a knife as well.

 

[bigdeano]

Interesting. Never heard of this stuff before. How about wire cutters and then scissors?

 

[Industrial Toys]

Funny, I have never seen this with a metal strand. I was thinking of using some in my dishwasher earlier today as the (parachute) cord that tensions the door came off the roller and rubbed through. But thought it too flat to negotiate the pulleys. I just cut it with side cutters. That stuff is VERY strong. Why the metal strand?

I use linesmens pliars, small bolt cutters or even vice grips to cut 440 stainless antenna whips, so they should cut whatever is in that tape.

 

[RNeumann]

The muletape I’m thinking of is used to pull wire etc through conduit. That would make sense as a lot of jobs spec that it is only used once. The folks on the job end up with a bunch of it. We use a heavy duty scissor type cutter or sharp aviation snips.

 

[Rustyiron]

Sheet metal shears cut the wire, but not the nylon.
What does work?

Get a new set of shears or tighten the bolt on yours after you sharpen them a little.
Sounds like duct tape on steroids:thumbsup:

 

[kennyd]

Regular 1800lb mule tape does not have wire in it and cuts with sharp shears, some of it has a small orange tracer wire woven it, but it's soft and cuts easily too. Can you post a picture of what you have?


This is what telecom guys mean when they says "shears" Amazon.com : Klein Tools 21-7 Electrician's Scissors, Nickel Plated : Klein Tools : Office Products

 

[Industrial Toys]

Poor guy. Needs a longer shirt or a moo-moo!

 

[k0ua]

Regular 1800lb mule tape does not have wire in it and cuts with sharp shears, some of it has a small orange tracer wire woven it, but itç—´ soft and cuts easily too. Can you post a picture of what you have?


This is what telecom guys mean when they says 都hears? Amazon.com : Klein Tools 21-7 Electrician's Scissors, Nickel Plated : Klein Tools : Office Products

Those are exactly what we always used to cut mule tape with. But ours didn't have any steel in it that I remember.

 

[k0ua]

The muletape I’m thinking of is used to pull wire etc through conduit. That would make sense as a lot of jobs spec that it is only used once. The folks on the job end up with a bunch of it. We use a heavy duty scissor type cutter or sharp aviation snips.

Exactly. That is what "mule tape" means to me also. We used it to pull heavy cables thru conduits in the Telecom industry.

 

[rgr33]

I used to get it free at work also, and it is awesome. Very easy to untie if you need to tie knots in it.

I have always used a knife to cut it, there is no wire imbedded in any of mine though.

 

[Redbug]

I have scrounged mule tape with the wire in it, also. I don't like it with wire and you can pull the wire out in sections so as to have just the flat nylon part. Burn the ends of your tape to stop it from fraying. One neat use for the longer lengths I use is for hunting. I have had deer and hogs go running/rolling down the bluff where I hunt and a couple pulleys attached to trees brings them right back up.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

I use mule tape all the time for tying light stuff down for transporting. Works great for tying down tarps and such, and I like that you can always get the knot back apart afterwards, even if it's wet. I've only ever just cut it with a sharp knife, but I've not had (or remember seeing) the kind you describe with metal strands in it.

 

[TractorGuy]

poultry shears