How to cut mule tape?

[kennyd]

The mule tape we use at the Telco can be cut with snips, not scissors, we call them snips. Snips can cut a penny in half if you have the muscle.

We call them "shears" as I mentioned above (just under 30 years in the biz). I've cut a penny before, but the shears are pretty much ruined afterwards.

We used them all the time to cut 25 pair cable too.

Oh yeah the good old days....now all we do is fiber and that's rough on the shears-between the glass and Kevlar that don't stay sharp long.

 

[kennyd]

My friend who gave it to me works for a phone company, so I suppose they use it for pulling wire or fiber optic cable thru conduit. This kind has copper colored insulation over the wire and at first I thought I'd just be cutting a copper wire but soon found out it looks like steel under the insulation. I have no idea why they have insulated steel wire in it for pulling cable.

That does not sound familiar at all, can you post a picture?
We switched to "Bull Line" a few years ago, probably becasue it's cheaper, but we all like the real Mule Tape better.

 

[paulsharvey]

The metallic fiber is to trace no-tonable fibers. Anymore, when a company places a conduit for fiber, wether trenched, plowed, or HDD, they often place a 2nd, 3rd, or 5th conduit. In one of the extras they will leave mule tape as a tracer. Personally, I think using any non-tonable fiber is a dumb idea, but Comcast uses it still.