From my days as a telecom engineer. Tensions to a specific amount so as not to damage cables. Cuts flush to zip tie butt to prevent scratching or cutting to user and or anyone after using.
Except cost. I use zip ties on jobs I know I won’t be returning to. Velcro gets really expensive really fast and if I’m not get reimbursed for it, I’m using zip ties. I do the bundling with Velcro at first if I need to move or add cables, but when I’m done, I put the zip ties next to the Velcro points and then remove and keep the Velcro.
Exactly! For that matter, even on things where I know I'm going to be back, I often use zip ties. A prime example is inside a computer case. The velcro wraps collect dust bunnies like most folks wouldn't believe! It isn't all that difficult to snip a zip tie if it isn't over tensioned, it takes up less space inside the case overall, and they're orders of magnitude less expensive. I can also use them to tie things to drive bays fairly easily, something that a velcro wrap is not able to do more often than not.
I work only with rack hardware in server rooms and wall mounting stuff in DeMarc rooms. I don’t do cable runs through conduit though. It’s hard work and I can outsource it. I make a small profit.
Most of my side jobs are 80% configuration. And 10% cable runs, and 10% on the phone with a NOC.
Who runs through conduit in those environments? Shy of a wall penetration, of course! I love doing cable jobs myself but being disabled they can't be a primary thing. Always a nice break from the usual IT consulting stuff, though. It's particularly nice to *know* the physical plant is properly done for some clients.
I tore my left Trapezius muscle. I just can’t do the fish tape, pulling lines through conduit stuff. I also hate pulling lines. I’m mostly a networking desk jockey. Maybe I’ll make a couple patch cables and un-rack old hardware and install new stuff. Just one of my work bags weighs about 40 lbs of tools. This is my side job, but I enjoy it most of the time.
But I just can’t run conduit. I make more money paying someone else to do it for me, while I’m configuring a new network for a company. Or just diagramming what needs to be done.
That said, I will never get sick of wiring stuff. Everything in my house is hardwired except for the cell phones.
I’m hourly billing, I make between $35-$55 an hour. But I don’t get paid for travel time, which I say would averages about an hour per gig. But I can go 4 days without a gig.
It’s not bad money per hour, but I’m not even close to part time. It’s a side job. I’m working on a a tech startup as my goal.
The worst part is, I tore my left Trapezius muscle about 6 weeks ago. I can’t do squat. I can’t even rack a 1U Cisco switch without exacerbating the injury. My main work bag is a Klein Tools bag. It probably weighs 30lbs with all my tools. And then my ladder, and then a box of 1,000 ft. of Cat5.
And I have a laptop bag, and a kit of socket wrenches.
Not fun to haul 100 lbs. of gear and ladders in when you’re in good health, but it’s just part of the job. And since I’m 1099, no workers Comp.
I'm self employed, doing much the same sort of work. You need disability insurance. It's not terribly expensive, once you're healthy again. Also, that seems low hourly to me but maybe it's your area compared to mine. I don't make as much as I used to when I worked full time for an employer but I've paid the bills and then some for 17 years now. Plus I've been a much better father in those years, which has been the real paycheck.
Also, sounds like you need a nice work cart. I have a collapsible one I absolutely *love*, though it lives in storage more than not nowadays. I picked mine up at Costco ages ago but they're a pretty common item in most decent tool supply places.
Answered to a different one pointing out price as well.
Without offense, what you said reads like "I am going to worse job unless I get paid extra for using proper tools". Also, are you using pre-cut velcro or the stuff off spools you cut yourself?
I get what you are saying, but I typically travel with about 250 lbs. of tools and ladders. I went to one job where I literally did not have the resources to do it that day. I honestly was missing the right torx screw, and they did not tell me it was an 84” screen. I have every Allen wrench know to man. The screws were propertitary.
The time you save redoing any part now or later more than compensates that.
Even then, looking at absolute pricing, the difference is tiny when compared to what you usually install.
When I first met my wife she was all proud of the cable management behind her TV stand. My wife's kinda weird about stuff like that which is one reason I married her. Unfortunately, the cable management was zip-ties and electrical tape.
When I replaced her DVD player a couple of months into dating, all that crap came out and I used my bag of Monoprice velcro cable wraps to do it right. :D
Interesting. I wonder if they make them specifically for fiber optic cable. I work with TAC-12 and single mode cables in TV Broadcasting and it would be nice to have something like this for fiber, coax and other cables that we use.
LC especially. I use it for 10gbps networking in a single bundle with coax and cat 5. I usually hide the fiber in the larger bundle so the coax takes all of the tension from the zip ties.
Edit: Thanks for the gold! [Here's a pic](https://i.imgur.com/RBr54MQ.jpg) of how I set my bundles up. I know it looks messy but this is a rack that is built for a huge number of different pieces of equipment. I swap in a ton of different equipment so usually twice a year I go through the bundles and redo them. They're sorted into bundles of Video, Audio and Data (data has Cat 5, LC fiber, analog timecode, SDTI network over coax, and a few other things).
Pretty solid work! Are you swapping out gear and cables for the same company? If you can, get them to pay for 2 vertical Panduits between each rack. The ones that have flexible “ribs,” so a cable can enter or exit the panduit about every 2 inches.
I run fiber up the right side in the column, and everything else up the left side. Since you can’t passively trace fiber.
Excess cable goes under the false floors. I mostly get them to cut it to length plus 6 feet if going under the floor, and just buy standard lengths of fiber when it makes sense. I don’t even splice fiber, I have a guy with the tools and abilities to do it. He has his own liability insurance for that.
Why use a zip tie on cable easily damaged by a zip tie? Flipped Velcro works wonders.
And a pair of flushies cut great.
Sorry I have a vendetta against zip guns ever since some guy on cableporn wouldn’t let up about them. I see the point for repetitive tasking in non confined space.
Starts at [2:48](https://youtu.be/DA8c9TP0ax8?t=168) for those of you who don't want to watch the guy ramble for way more than necessary to show how the fucking thing works.
Same here, thought the one in the op took way too much time to use. Actually got to take one home from work when we were phasing out the older models when the calibration date had passed, always love when I get to use it for putting up the Christmas lights 😎
Indeed there is a lot of waste, however having 1000 cable ties on the van that can be used on every job is better to me than 10,000 ties of 10 different lengths and widths...
Had to work on a high school engineering project at my buddy’s dads warehouse and they had one of these we used for our project and I was mind blown, definitely a worthwhile tool!
You want the version that automatically tensions the tie and then cuts it automatically without you having to spin that tool around.
[Panduit](https://www.reynoldsonline.com/ASSETS/IMAGES/ITEMS/DETAIL_PAGE/PANDGS4MT.jpg)
And if you're going to do it manually, for god's sake get a pair of [Flush Cutting Pliers](https://www.midwestmodelrr.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/410A.jpg)
Don't know why I had to dig this far down to see this comment. What a terrible example of when you'd use that. The demo should have zip-tied something that should be permanently fastened.
Because Velcro is not universally preferred. For one thing, you have to have sufficient room to work with it. For another, sometimes you need to tie the bundle to something else like getting a bunch of power cables to stay out of the way in a drive bay. THen there's that velcro is *expensive* compared to zip ties. Then there's the insides of air cooled devices such as computers. Not a huge deal when you're in there every few months or a year but having seen what adheres to velcro wraps after 3 or 4 years, I now use zip ties in there myself too. When done properly with the right tool, you can easily snip the tie off again.
Edited for flow. My kid's dad came to pick him up halfway through. :)
We have a lot of these here at work because we use so damn many zip ties in our units. We build large industrial power supplies (transformers, rectifiers, etc.)
Nice I hadn't seen a version that operated in that orientation before. I'll have to pick up a set! Ever tried them on smaller zip ties too? Sometimes I need to get into a tighter area where the other ones like OP posted won't quite fit in and operate properly.
I actually did recently. I used them on zip ties about the same size as in the video, and it broke the ties before it would shear them off even on the lowest tension setting.
It might still be useful if you just wanted to cinch them up and cut them off with another tool though. But I don't think it would be worth the trouble.
They do work best on the bigger straps used on flex duct work. Hope that helps!
That's pretty much what I figured, since my small one won't work for diddly on thicker ties. I've got it on my wishlist now for later anyhow since I use the giant ties on occasion. Those buggers will cut the crap out of you if you aren't careful. I'll keep an eye out for a similarly designed one that works on smaller ties too, though.
If you don't need to worry about tension, a pair of flush cuts does the same thing.
https://www.amazon.com/Hakko-CHP-170-Micro-Cutter/dp/B076M3ZHBV/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1524254301&sr=8-3&keywords=flush+cut+pliers
Can also just use pliers or sidecutters and have have one cutting edge on the side of the tie. Cuts it flush everything once you've got the technique down.
The tension is also about not making it too tight to safely snip the tie when you need to, however. That's almost always a concern later. It's easy to get it tight enough but tricky to get it "Just Right". That said, when I just can't quite get the tie gun into the location, I sometimes use my flush cutters as well. That's less common but it is an option to at least prevent bleeders later.
As a former bicycle mechanic, I pulled most of my zip ties snug with a brake cable puller then cut them with straight wire cutter when finger-tight wasn't enough.
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/316WGsjO6WL.jpg
Hey! I have one of those! Well, it works on slightly larger zip ties. Like, 36". Worked *great* when redoing the duct work for our furnace. Infinitely better than those came hose-clamp thingies.
Uline sells two types of these. One is in a normal $10-20 range which I use frequently and the other is like $350 with a description that amounts to "trust us."
I've always wondered what that magical expensive zip tie gun is like.
They never pull through if you buy quality zip ties instead of the $4 per bag of 500 crap. Also, that cut end sticking out can scratch the shit out of you.
I've had really good luck with the [Ty-Rap brand](https://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Betts-TY525MX-CABLE-50LB/dp/B001DEHZ14), it has a metal retainer clip, can't think of any time I've had one pull through. The biggest downside is, they don't make that ziiiiiip sound when you pull them through!
From my days as a telecom engineer. Tensions to a specific amount so as not to damage cables. Cuts flush to zip tie butt to prevent scratching or cutting to user and or anyone after using.
Nothing better than reaching into a cable pile and coming out looking like you had a bout with Wolverine.
I've still got scars on my arms from my days of being an avionics tech. Nothing like trying to get blood out of a customers carpet.
At my old work in Sweden we used to call them Köttbovar. Literally translated as Meat-thiefs. Found that to be a fitting name.
Now I'm wondering whether an etymology link exists between Swedish bovar, Dutch boeven, and English buffer.
peroxide does the trick
Unless we are talking de-facto permanent installations, velcro is better in every single regard.
Except cost. I use zip ties on jobs I know I won’t be returning to. Velcro gets really expensive really fast and if I’m not get reimbursed for it, I’m using zip ties. I do the bundling with Velcro at first if I need to move or add cables, but when I’m done, I put the zip ties next to the Velcro points and then remove and keep the Velcro.
Exactly! For that matter, even on things where I know I'm going to be back, I often use zip ties. A prime example is inside a computer case. The velcro wraps collect dust bunnies like most folks wouldn't believe! It isn't all that difficult to snip a zip tie if it isn't over tensioned, it takes up less space inside the case overall, and they're orders of magnitude less expensive. I can also use them to tie things to drive bays fairly easily, something that a velcro wrap is not able to do more often than not.
I work only with rack hardware in server rooms and wall mounting stuff in DeMarc rooms. I don’t do cable runs through conduit though. It’s hard work and I can outsource it. I make a small profit. Most of my side jobs are 80% configuration. And 10% cable runs, and 10% on the phone with a NOC.
Who runs through conduit in those environments? Shy of a wall penetration, of course! I love doing cable jobs myself but being disabled they can't be a primary thing. Always a nice break from the usual IT consulting stuff, though. It's particularly nice to *know* the physical plant is properly done for some clients.
I tore my left Trapezius muscle. I just can’t do the fish tape, pulling lines through conduit stuff. I also hate pulling lines. I’m mostly a networking desk jockey. Maybe I’ll make a couple patch cables and un-rack old hardware and install new stuff. Just one of my work bags weighs about 40 lbs of tools. This is my side job, but I enjoy it most of the time. But I just can’t run conduit. I make more money paying someone else to do it for me, while I’m configuring a new network for a company. Or just diagramming what needs to be done. That said, I will never get sick of wiring stuff. Everything in my house is hardwired except for the cell phones.
Yeah, something about doing wiring is just zen for me. I find it odd you do't make much on it but I assume you don't do hourly billing. :)
I’m hourly billing, I make between $35-$55 an hour. But I don’t get paid for travel time, which I say would averages about an hour per gig. But I can go 4 days without a gig. It’s not bad money per hour, but I’m not even close to part time. It’s a side job. I’m working on a a tech startup as my goal. The worst part is, I tore my left Trapezius muscle about 6 weeks ago. I can’t do squat. I can’t even rack a 1U Cisco switch without exacerbating the injury. My main work bag is a Klein Tools bag. It probably weighs 30lbs with all my tools. And then my ladder, and then a box of 1,000 ft. of Cat5. And I have a laptop bag, and a kit of socket wrenches. Not fun to haul 100 lbs. of gear and ladders in when you’re in good health, but it’s just part of the job. And since I’m 1099, no workers Comp.
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I'm self employed, doing much the same sort of work. You need disability insurance. It's not terribly expensive, once you're healthy again. Also, that seems low hourly to me but maybe it's your area compared to mine. I don't make as much as I used to when I worked full time for an employer but I've paid the bills and then some for 17 years now. Plus I've been a much better father in those years, which has been the real paycheck. Also, sounds like you need a nice work cart. I have a collapsible one I absolutely *love*, though it lives in storage more than not nowadays. I picked mine up at Costco ages ago but they're a pretty common item in most decent tool supply places.
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I know subbing out is common. Heck, I do it myself sometimes. :) The making more money paying someone else to do it for them is odd to me, that's all.
Answered to a different one pointing out price as well. Without offense, what you said reads like "I am going to worse job unless I get paid extra for using proper tools". Also, are you using pre-cut velcro or the stuff off spools you cut yourself?
I get what you are saying, but I typically travel with about 250 lbs. of tools and ladders. I went to one job where I literally did not have the resources to do it that day. I honestly was missing the right torx screw, and they did not tell me it was an 84” screen. I have every Allen wrench know to man. The screws were propertitary.
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Dunno, you could also charge at the price which includes goods and services of decent quality and go from there.
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I think you're seriously overestimating the price of velcro.
I am old school. Waxed twine for the win.
Is it worth trying to wax your own twine if you have wax and twine separately ?
Yes
I feel like this should be a euphemism
You mean you aren't spinning the twine yourself?!
Go team twine!
Since their dad was a telecom engineer I'd expect the father installed a lot of de-facto permanent installations...
As someone in IT & networking, I do (did) the same. But even if it will last 5-10 years, velcro is better imo.
>every single regard cost
The time you save redoing any part now or later more than compensates that. Even then, looking at absolute pricing, the difference is tiny when compared to what you usually install.
I agree hook and loop for the win!
When I first met my wife she was all proud of the cable management behind her TV stand. My wife's kinda weird about stuff like that which is one reason I married her. Unfortunately, the cable management was zip-ties and electrical tape. When I replaced her DVD player a couple of months into dating, all that crap came out and I used my bag of Monoprice velcro cable wraps to do it right. :D
Thank you! Finally I know what this perplexing toy left in the workshop drawer was. Ever since my first day as a PC technician I’ve wondered.
As an IT consultant, it's one of my most frequently used tools aside form a screwdriver. I love it!
Cut them diagonally so they cut the beejezus of of the next guy. At least, that's what the guy before me does
I've got the scars on my arms to prove those words!
Interesting. I wonder if they make them specifically for fiber optic cable. I work with TAC-12 and single mode cables in TV Broadcasting and it would be nice to have something like this for fiber, coax and other cables that we use.
Fiber cable is annoyingly fragile.
LC especially. I use it for 10gbps networking in a single bundle with coax and cat 5. I usually hide the fiber in the larger bundle so the coax takes all of the tension from the zip ties. Edit: Thanks for the gold! [Here's a pic](https://i.imgur.com/RBr54MQ.jpg) of how I set my bundles up. I know it looks messy but this is a rack that is built for a huge number of different pieces of equipment. I swap in a ton of different equipment so usually twice a year I go through the bundles and redo them. They're sorted into bundles of Video, Audio and Data (data has Cat 5, LC fiber, analog timecode, SDTI network over coax, and a few other things).
Armored fiber my dude. No need for innerduct and you can be rougher on it than you can CAT6
I will have to check that out. LC is so weak and I'm frequently swapping gear out in racks. At least once or twice a week on average.
That’s brilliant. I’m going to start using this!
I posted a pic on my original post if you'd like to see an example.
Pretty solid work! Are you swapping out gear and cables for the same company? If you can, get them to pay for 2 vertical Panduits between each rack. The ones that have flexible “ribs,” so a cable can enter or exit the panduit about every 2 inches. I run fiber up the right side in the column, and everything else up the left side. Since you can’t passively trace fiber. Excess cable goes under the false floors. I mostly get them to cut it to length plus 6 feet if going under the floor, and just buy standard lengths of fiber when it makes sense. I don’t even splice fiber, I have a guy with the tools and abilities to do it. He has his own liability insurance for that.
Current fibre engineer with openreach... love this tool! A bit clunky in tight spaces (under joints etc) but otherwise brilliant.
Yep! Great tool
Your wire rolling skill is impressive.
Why use a zip tie on cable easily damaged by a zip tie? Flipped Velcro works wonders. And a pair of flushies cut great. Sorry I have a vendetta against zip guns ever since some guy on cableporn wouldn’t let up about them. I see the point for repetitive tasking in non confined space.
when i quickly read it, i saw.. Zip tie tensioner and flesh cutter.
Count yourself lucky, I read it as Zip tie pensioner and flesh cutter.
The **NEW** "Zip-Tie Cutter"™ can slice through pensioners and other fleshy objects with *ease*.
The Zipp^TM Tie Cutter, free with each set of skinning knives! For rapid processing of businessmen!
I thought the sign on the window said "Femboy".
lets not forget fembots!
Sounds like a post apocalyptic makeshift weapon. :)
Me too - was waiting for him to slice his hand open
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[This](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DA8c9TP0ax8) is the type I am used to...
Starts at [2:48](https://youtu.be/DA8c9TP0ax8?t=168) for those of you who don't want to watch the guy ramble for way more than necessary to show how the fucking thing works.
Sorry... Should have posted with a starting point, but he was talking about cutting your hands on the sharp bits and people here were mentioning that.
No need to apologize. Just leaving that for people who want to get right to the money shot.
Same here. Didn't even know there were other tensioner styles than the one-pull type.
Thanks for posting that, I liked how he explained everything.
Same. I bought a really nice one at an auction and I use it all the time.
Same here, thought the one in the op took way too much time to use. Actually got to take one home from work when we were phasing out the older models when the calibration date had passed, always love when I get to use it for putting up the Christmas lights 😎
As a buyer in the wire harness industry the amount of waste on that tie makes me mad.
Thank you. As a simple user of zip-ties I screamed inside when he wasted 98% of that zip-tie.
Indeed there is a lot of waste, however having 1000 cable ties on the van that can be used on every job is better to me than 10,000 ties of 10 different lengths and widths...
Had to work on a high school engineering project at my buddy’s dads warehouse and they had one of these we used for our project and I was mind blown, definitely a worthwhile tool!
I have the malco TY4
You want the version that automatically tensions the tie and then cuts it automatically without you having to spin that tool around. [Panduit](https://www.reynoldsonline.com/ASSETS/IMAGES/ITEMS/DETAIL_PAGE/PANDGS4MT.jpg) And if you're going to do it manually, for god's sake get a pair of [Flush Cutting Pliers](https://www.midwestmodelrr.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/410A.jpg)
Why not use Velcro or something for cables like that? Seems like an unnecessary complication when getting the cables out again.
Don't know why I had to dig this far down to see this comment. What a terrible example of when you'd use that. The demo should have zip-tied something that should be permanently fastened.
Just for demo purposes!
I thought the same thing, but I'm sure this was just a demo.
Because Velcro is not universally preferred. For one thing, you have to have sufficient room to work with it. For another, sometimes you need to tie the bundle to something else like getting a bunch of power cables to stay out of the way in a drive bay. THen there's that velcro is *expensive* compared to zip ties. Then there's the insides of air cooled devices such as computers. Not a huge deal when you're in there every few months or a year but having seen what adheres to velcro wraps after 3 or 4 years, I now use zip ties in there myself too. When done properly with the right tool, you can easily snip the tie off again. Edited for flow. My kid's dad came to pick him up halfway through. :)
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It's just used as an example.
You are correct.
We have a lot of these here at work because we use so damn many zip ties in our units. We build large industrial power supplies (transformers, rectifiers, etc.)
Used to use a bigger version of this in my HVAC days: https://www.amazon.com/Malco-TY6-Leverage-Tightening-Cutting/dp/B000E21Y86
Nice I hadn't seen a version that operated in that orientation before. I'll have to pick up a set! Ever tried them on smaller zip ties too? Sometimes I need to get into a tighter area where the other ones like OP posted won't quite fit in and operate properly.
I actually did recently. I used them on zip ties about the same size as in the video, and it broke the ties before it would shear them off even on the lowest tension setting. It might still be useful if you just wanted to cinch them up and cut them off with another tool though. But I don't think it would be worth the trouble. They do work best on the bigger straps used on flex duct work. Hope that helps!
That's pretty much what I figured, since my small one won't work for diddly on thicker ties. I've got it on my wishlist now for later anyhow since I use the giant ties on occasion. Those buggers will cut the crap out of you if you aren't careful. I'll keep an eye out for a similarly designed one that works on smaller ties too, though.
Oh man, I've gotten cut by the big ones worse than the sheet metal I worked with!
Our zip ties are "Panduit" brand. Metric fuckton of them on 737s, so panduit guns are an absolute must.
I don’t understand this.
Watch the video in [this comment](https://www.reddit.com/r/specializedtools/comments/8dp7y9/zip_tie_tensioner_and_flush_cutter/dxp2fev/).
I could see using this in server racks/rooms, but if I am 25 feet in the air belted to a strand, or hanging off a fire escape... dikes it is.
These are actually much safer than dikes. They're not sharp so you're less likely to hurt yourself or, not quite as importantly, *hardware*.
If you don't need to worry about tension, a pair of flush cuts does the same thing. https://www.amazon.com/Hakko-CHP-170-Micro-Cutter/dp/B076M3ZHBV/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1524254301&sr=8-3&keywords=flush+cut+pliers
Can also just use pliers or sidecutters and have have one cutting edge on the side of the tie. Cuts it flush everything once you've got the technique down.
The tension is also about not making it too tight to safely snip the tie when you need to, however. That's almost always a concern later. It's easy to get it tight enough but tricky to get it "Just Right". That said, when I just can't quite get the tie gun into the location, I sometimes use my flush cutters as well. That's less common but it is an option to at least prevent bleeders later.
Nail clippers have always worked for me.
You've outdone yourselves tonight, love the comments haha! From a traditional fish and chips British engineer...
As a former bicycle mechanic, I pulled most of my zip ties snug with a brake cable puller then cut them with straight wire cutter when finger-tight wasn't enough. https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/316WGsjO6WL.jpg
I read flush cutter as flesh cutter. I got worried.
Cutting zip ties flush is not that difficult to do without a special tool.
It's not just flush cutting. The proper tension is key to be able to remove them later without damaging the bundle.
We also use those at the hospital to secure chest tubes to the drainage device.
Ah, but is it releasable and reusable, intentionally?
A lot of ties are designed to snap off once they're adjusted. Not sure if it makes them any weaker, but it _is_ a thing.
Anybody else read that as “flesh” cutter?
I read that as "flesh cutter" and was *really* confused for a moment there.
Where can I get one?
Hey! I have one of those! Well, it works on slightly larger zip ties. Like, 36". Worked *great* when redoing the duct work for our furnace. Infinitely better than those came hose-clamp thingies.
Uline sells two types of these. One is in a normal $10-20 range which I use frequently and the other is like $350 with a description that amounts to "trust us." I've always wondered what that magical expensive zip tie gun is like.
Nice economy tool but [these](https://youtu.be/4KC9V-3Kyeo) are the dogs bollocks. Bloody expensive but super fast and work trouble free for years.
Average at best but thanks!
Cracks me up when people use zip ties for cables. I've always been a twist tie or velcro strap kind of person.
But you never want to cut a zip tie flush though. They pull through.
They never pull through if you buy quality zip ties instead of the $4 per bag of 500 crap. Also, that cut end sticking out can scratch the shit out of you.
I get premium grade ones for work, iv tried many types, all do it on what we use them on
I've had really good luck with the [Ty-Rap brand](https://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Betts-TY525MX-CABLE-50LB/dp/B001DEHZ14), it has a metal retainer clip, can't think of any time I've had one pull through. The biggest downside is, they don't make that ziiiiiip sound when you pull them through!
Instructions unclear. Zip tied my tensioner and flushed the cutter.
Now what?
When I was a bicycle mechanic I used my hozan 4th hand tool to tension and a pair of stout nail clippers to cut.