Best way I’ve found to cut Amsteel

[oldpappy]

Thank you pascal.

[Tlakner]

Thanks Pascal,
Going to get one soon.
Cheers

[Latherdome]

I bought special scissors for it that work fine, with gripper serrations on one side. But this costs a lot less, so. I'm told by a few sources that ceramic knives work great on Amsteel, holding their sharpness much longer than any metal blade, but eventually they are hard/expensive to resharpen.

[OlTrailDog]

Well what do you know. I have one of these in my thread injector/leather tools box. It works great on leather. I had never thought about using it on amsteel. Thanks.

[UTrider]

I have that exact model olfa as well. 28mm also. It's what works best for me. I have had the same blade in it for years. Used (and abused) on dozens of projects and it still does a good job. Single edge razors work but dull quickly in my experience. Utility knife blades didn't last long or work well for me, in a handle or not.

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[barefoot]

Tin snips work great on Amsteel/Dyneema.
I just have a set of cheap Stanley snips. Cost about $10 at a generic hardware store. Cheaper than any other serrated scissors (which is the other suggestion I've seen).
Mine have done dozens of Dyneema cuts and tapers, as well as a heap of steel. I don't treat them well. Still have no trouble with the Dyneema.

[Phantom Grappler]

Y’all have best ways to cut amsteel.
When I make a rare cut on amsteel,
I have doubled it and squeezed bight tight in my hand and cut hard away from me with a new case knife blade into the extreme closed end of bight.
Sometimes the cut is not even, with some strands puckering the cut.
A quick improvement on that is to use a new blade on a case knife or any sharp knife with a long flat blade—with amsteel held tight against a cutting board. Held tight on both sides of the cut, against cutting board.
That’s how I cut amsteel, but for more precise results, I agree your rotary cutters,and snippers will be best for precise results and many cuts perfectly the same.

[Tyroler Holzhacker]

FYI, a standard razor blade cuts through like butter, and is dirt cheap.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyEBXTL1Y3U

Yes, a sharp razor, like pigs, goes through lots of things like Butter!

[BrianWillan]

I'm told by a few sources that ceramic knives work great on Amsteel, holding their sharpness much longer than any metal blade, but eventually they are hard/expensive to resharpen.

You are told correctly that ceramic knives work great for cutting amsteel. I picked up an inexpensive ceramic paring knife from the houseware section of my local department store. I think it was a few dollars. So if and when that blade dulls, I won't bother with resharpening an otherwise cheap knife. I'll just buy another to replace it. Sharpening ceramic blades take special diamond plated sharpening stones and a good amount of skill.

[scrope]

I use an Xacto knife but I have several Olfa rotary cutters but I use them for fabric.

I learned a technique when I was doing quilts. Always keep the rotary blade covered, i.e., pick up the cutter, flick off the shield, make the cut, flick the shield back on, put it down. These blades are wicked sharp and if you've ever reached for it and missed or dropped one on your foot, you'll see the wisdom of this technique.