Beachcomber
Member
Any ideas for a good at-home technique for sealing Dyneema rope, aka Spectra and uhmw polyethylene? If you try to melt it in a flame, it frays outwards and doesn't really stick to itself. I whipped my clew tie down and just to see what would happen, I melted it on my gas stove. It was held tightly enough that it did stick to itself, but its tendency to expand outwards was such that it formed a mushroom shape.
I've tried heating up a knife in the stove flame, but it cooled down fast enough that it didn't make it through much of the rope. If I had asbestos fingers, I could just melt it and roll it together between my finger and thumb, but I don't so it would be painful. I'd like to find a quick technique that's quicker than whipping. I don't know what to try - maybe pliers and blowtorch?
I've tried heating up a knife in the stove flame, but it cooled down fast enough that it didn't make it through much of the rope. If I had asbestos fingers, I could just melt it and roll it together between my finger and thumb, but I don't so it would be painful. I'd like to find a quick technique that's quicker than whipping. I don't know what to try - maybe pliers and blowtorch?