My hot knife
I was inspired by the following videos. The last shows a commercial hot knife being used to cut the material for a zippered bag.
It should be obvious that a hot knife only works on synthetic fabrics (nylon or polyester), not on cotton.The idea with a hot knife is that the knife cuts the fabric and melts the edges all in one operation. You can buy a hot knife for $150 or so.
I had an electric soldering gun laying around that I essentially never use. I bought it for a few dollars at an estate sale store. So, as of today it is repurposed as a hot knife.
It cuts through parachute cord nicely as well as fabric!
I pulled a chunk of 12 gauge copper wire out of my box with household wiring supplies and cut off a length that seemed about right. I probably used about 8 inches of wire. I quickly bent it to a shape I liked. Then I took it to my vise, and using the vise as an anvil, pounded the business end of the wire flat with a ball peen hammer. It flattened nicely and left a bit of a rounded edge. I could use a file or sandpaper to thin that edge somewhat, but I'm not sure that is necessary or desirable. Once this was done, I slipped the nuts on, then bent two short right angles on the end of the wires.
It heats up in seconds and works well.
Tom's hiking pages / tom@mmto.org