TexasKayakFisherman.com

What are y'all using to cut braid? I have 3 pair of the Boomerang cutters with the short snips and they all cut braid pretty well when new. But after 6 months or so and some saltwater exposure all 3 pair I have will no longer cut braid. The snips are too small for me to sharpen. I've seen braid scissors but not sure how long they last.

I use a razor knife similar to this one
https://www.amazon.com/WORKPRO-Folding- ... B06ZZSVQGV
Just change blades when it gets dull

I have the Shimano PowerPro Braid scissors and they do a decent job.

Before I started using Boomerangs I just used my Rapala Forceps. They have built in scissors and had no problem cutting 10 lbs braid even when they became rusty. I don't carry my Boomerangs on the water, so in a pinch if my leader breaks off or I need to die directly to braid the Rapaa'ls work just fine.

My Schwartz Tactical titanium neck knife does a great job (metal-matrix composite edge)



that said, I don't cut a lot of braid on the water - my braid is tied to flouro shock tippet.
Very easy to add a new piece of working shock tippet using loop-to-loop - put a surgeon's loop in the braid, and a perfection loop in the shock tippet.

Neumie wrote:Before I started using Boomerangs I just used my Rapala Forceps. They have built in scissors and had no problem cutting 10 lbs braid even when they became rusty. I don't carry my Boomerangs on the water, so in a pinch if my leader breaks off or I need to die directly to braid the Rapaa'ls work just fine.

Yeah I usually just end up tying direct braid to lure/hook if something happens. I do fish with roughly a 2' mono leader but when I'm fishing around structure (bridge columns, lots of oyster, etc.) I almost always end up re-tying at some point just to be safe. Back in the day I didn't have this problem when I fished with straight mono. If it wasn't for the casting distance with lighter lures I get with braid I'd go back to mono.

imaoldmanyoungsalt wrote:I use a razor knife similar to this one
https://www.amazon.com/WORKPRO-Folding- ... B06ZZSVQGV
Just change blades when it gets dull

I tried that with one I have at home and it didn't work to well. Now I'm thinking my blade wasn't as new as I thought it was. I'm going to try again with a fresh blade.

ben_beyer wrote:I have the Shimano PowerPro Braid scissors and they do a decent job.

Thanks I saw Gerber makes some too that have decent reviews.

Ron Mc wrote:My Schwartz Tactical titanium neck knife does a great job (metal-matrix composite edge)



that said, I don't cut a lot of braid on the water - my braid is tied to flouro shock tippet.
Very easy to add a new piece of working shock tippet using loop-to-loop - put a surgeon's loop in the braid, and a perfection loop in the shock tippet.

Thanks Ron.

you're welcome, bro

SWFinatic wrote:

imaoldmanyoungsalt wrote:I use a razor knife similar to this one
https://www.amazon.com/WORKPRO-Folding- ... B06ZZSVQGV
Just change blades when it gets dull

I tried that with one I have at home and it didn't work to well. Now I'm thinking my blade wasn't as new as I thought it was. I'm going to try again with a fresh blade.

Yeah I usually use a fresh blade every trip. Super sharp is the key.

Sent from my SM-N970U using Tapatalk

The titanium metal-matrix-composite-edge knife blade doesn't get dull.
I have a fillet knife using the same technology, and it never needs sharpening.
Wear of the titanium matrix exposes new microscopic carbonitride shark teeth, which do the cutting.

I just use my Swiss Army knife. A true “multi-tasker”The scissor works well, yo just have to have the line under a little pressure.




Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I use my Swiss army knife too. But mine is the smallest one they sell with a scissors. You do need a little tension on the line but it works fine. It even cuts 50 lb braid with ease. Stainless steel has held up well.


I too use a shock and abrasion leader but I put more like 15' of floro or mono. That way I rarely ever need to retie my Alberto knot (I gave up on the fg knot), but still get most of the benefit of braid on casting distance and low stretch.

Thanks for the feedback guys. I'm going to try a pair of titanium serrated scissors like the Cuda 3.

Chubs wrote:That way I rarely ever need to retie my Alberto knot (I gave up on the fg knot), but still get most of the benefit of braid on casting distance and low stretch.

I hear ya I've moved on from the FG too. Too hard to tie on the water (for me at least). I've been using the surgeon's knot for braid to mono and it's working fine. It's a bigger knot than the FG but still goes through my eyes fine.

Yep, for sure. I'd even tie the FG at home and it would end up unraveling under fish pressure more often than not.

The Alberto hasn't failed me yet and stood up to a 24" red, and even a +3' shark at the BTB trip. For mono/floro to braid, it's only twice as big as the mono/ floro. Slides right through the guides just as easily as the FG imo to where I don't notice it. I'm sure the surgeons is faster to retie, but the albetro is easy to retie on the water too.

Another cool thing is it works well for tying large diameter mono to smaller diameter mono (e.g. 30# to 90#).

I bought these, and they work great. I can’t comment on durability or the ability to keep a sharp blade, as I’ve only had them for a couple of months, but they work great so far.

https://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/cca-5- ... id=6536560

bigred90gt wrote:I bought these, and they work great. I can’t comment on durability or the ability to keep a sharp blade, as I’ve only had them for a couple of months, but they work great so far.

https://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/cca-5- ... id=6536560

Thanks I did get a pair of scissors. I went with the Cuda 3's. They do cut braid well now. We'll see how they hold up.

I can eat lunch with mine - then wash it in the bay

Yeah but my Swiss Army knife has a can opener Incase the pop top fails and a tooth pick for dental hygiene after lunch!

430 stainless is going to have both edge retention and corrosion issues limiting useful life - be very careful with it in the salt.
The titanium MMC edge is limited by wear and its thickness, but how much real cutting do you do with a neck knife?
Something else, both the neck knife and fillet knife won't cut your finger unless you try. It's edge is not achieved by sharpening, but by normal use-wear.
If you've ever used an abrasive cut-off wheel, it's the same idea - all the hardness and cutting edges are in the micrscopic second-phase particles and the matrix wears away to expose more.

I used to carry this Matsuda hand-folded Damascus, Nickel+VG-10, both razor edge and salt-impervious,
but realized if I dropped it in the bay, would never be able to replace it.


here's my freshwater neck-knife/nipper
carbon damascus


I have Swiss Army knives, too, but only use them for the great cigar cutter