Park Tool Cable/Housing Cutter - problems
 

Has anyone had problems with this tool? Mine wouldn't cut cable right out of the box. It wouldn't even cut one strand - it just binds up and folds the cable over.

I emailed Park Tool and they apologized and asked for a shipping address to send me another one. No questions or for me to send mine back, so I guess we'll see.

I figured I should of just bought a good cable cutter at the hardware store... Hopefully its just a fluke, I seem to have good luck with Park stuff...

Definately a fluke
 

First time I`ve heard of issues with a Park cable cutter myself. I`ve used a dozen different ones and they all worked flawlessly on cables. These is some deformation on cable housing. but I haven`t found a cutter that dosn`t do that.

Have also used Pedros cutters and the cut on housing is less square and the Pedros also lacks the crimping functionality thats built into the Park Tool design.

But sounds like you`re getting good customer service from them. Post an update when the replacement shows up.

The cutter requires that the pivot bolt holding both halves together is as tight as possible while allowing movement. It's critical that there's zero gap between the jaws as they close, otherwise you'll have the problem you experienced. It's the same as with scissors, if you've ever tried to cut paper with scissors with a loose pivot you'll know the problem.

If the bolt is tight, it's likely that your cutter's jaws weren't properly ground flat on the inner faces - rare but could happen.

That was the first thing I checked... It looks like it just isn't sharp.

My Park cable cutters have worked very well for years so I have to assume yours is a fluke and Park appears to be more than willing to fix the problem.

I do find that it, and other cable cutters, work very well on all inner wires and on index-type shift housing. They work less well on spiral-wound brake housing and I prefer a pair of good side cutters and I work the cutting jaws between the coils as I cut. A flat file quickly smooths up any remaining burs.

I use the park cable cutters to cut cables and a dremel to cut housings. I had a tendency to squash housing with the cutters. Also I think that if I only use the cable cutters for cables that they will stay sharper.

I had to tighten up the pivot bolt slightly on my Park cutters, and now they work very well.

I've only used mine a couple of times but they work fine for the most part. I tend to squash the housing a bit with them, but that's what an ice pick is for. Thought about getting a dremmel for that part and realized that for the few times I do that it just wasn't worth it.

An ice pick? What size housing are you using anyways?

Well it's called an ice pick, but it's actually very small and thin. More like a heavy duty version of what I used to call a hole starter when I was a kid.

Anything with a sharp point will work. You aren't trying to shove it far into the housing, you just need to round out the very end where it was cut. I use a large "disecting needle" I liberated from my lab at work decades ago but even a small nail will work.

Hahahahahhahahahahahahahahaha

Maybe i'm just reallly hungover on a saturday morning but that is ****ing hilarious.

+1 on this method. I only use my Park cutters for the cable itself - never the housing. In addition to the flat file, I also use a little Xacto round file for cleaning up any burrs on the inside of the housing.

**UPDATE**

Park sent me a brand new CN-10! No questions asked, not even proof of ownership.

Pretty awesome customer service if you ask me. Now the real question, what do I do with my old ones? I figured they would ship me a self-addressed envelope for the old ones, but nothing. I bought them from Jenson. I would feel pretty shi**y returning them now, after I got a free replacement. What would you do?

just get rid of them , throw them out.

Don't chuck them, they're salvageable so it would be a waste.

Donate the cutters to a local non-profit that fixes bikes, teaches repair, builds bikes for charity, or anything similar. They can be salvaged and made as good as new, so what would be a solid waste problem could do others a world of good.

Good idea on donating. There is no way I could chuck these $30 cutters. I wonder if I could sharpen them myself?

If you open them all the way and emai me photos of both sides (I'm most interested in the ground area near the notch), I can walk you through a resharpen process.

Here you go, let me know what you think. Thanks!

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_L...0/IMG_2299.JPG

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_L...0/IMG_2300.JPG

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_L...2/IMG_2301.JPG

OK, it's an easy fix. Start thinking who the lucky nonprofit will be.

Look at the third photo with the ground face up. Note the worn or dull area at the notch of the lower jaw. In order for these to cut effectively the ground faces must come all the way to the edge ao they pass each other with zero clearance. Here's how to grind as good as new.

1- do not grind the flat face, under any circumstances. Be very careful, if you damage the ground face it'll be extremely difficult to fix, and require special tools.

2- you need a bench grinder with a stone that still has a sharp corner. If you don't have one you need dress the stone to make a sharp corner.

3- with the grinder off, set the tool rest so you can put the into the corner above the wheels centerline. You want to be high enough that you'll be grinding to a roughly 80° angle. You might need to be creative in arrange the tool rest to give you the right angle.

4- Grind, with the flat face up, plunging the notch directly into the corner (no back and forth motion). Warning, it'll get hot fast so do short bursts, and either quench in cold water, or rest between grinding sessions.

5- Grind until you've gone past the worn zone, so you have a sharp corner at the peak of the V and 2-3mm up each side.

6- repeat same process on other side, be careful you want to match both sides so the 2 apexes of the notches pass each other.

7- reassemble the cutter, and do not cut spokes with it.

BTW- wear real safety goggles with a single lens across the bridge of your nose, and close fitting sides, especially when dressing the wheel. Particles come off the wheel at 7200 feet per minute (roughly 80mph) and can bounce off your nose or cheek into your eyes.

If you don't have access to what's needed, PM me and you can send me the tool and I'll grind it for you and return it. No charge for charity work.