How do I cut off the protective jacket off the fiber optic cable ?

How do I cut off the protective jacket off the fiber optic cable ?

The fiber optic cable is protected by a plastic covering or 'jacket'. Depending on your application, you may need to remove portions of this jacket. It is not difficult to do, however it does require a steady hand and a bit of patience. We do recommend 'practicing' this technique on a scrap piece of cable.


First cut your cable to the specific length required. You'll then need to cut off the protective cover (or jacket) to expose the raw fiber optic filaments. This is best accomplished using a very sharp hobby knife (as seen in the photo).

	Carefully insert the blade into the jacket, try not to go all the way through the cable, just far enough to break through the jacket. SLOWLY draw your blade down the jacket. We've found that when you move slowly and in the same direction as the fibers, you'll have little or no damage to the filament below the jacket. At times your blade will want to travel to the side of the cable. When this happens, we 'go with it', turning the cable so the blade is always on top. It does not matter if the cut is 'straight', as long as its clean and continuous.

	After you've completely cut through the jacket the entire one and a half feet, you'll need to "pull" the fibers free from the jacket. You'll do this by starting at the cut end of the cable and peeling the jacket away from the fiber optic filaments. BE CAREFUL when pulling the fibers out of the cover. Again you'll want to move slowly. Sometimes the jacket will not be cut entirely through and the fiber will not come free. When this happens we recommend you stop pulling the fiber and use the hobby knife again to gently cut the jacket at the point of resistance.

	Once you've pulled all the filaments free from the protective cover, you can cut away the excess jacket. However, double check the empty jacket before cutting it away, as sometimes a few stray filaments are closely adhered to the inside of the jacket's wall.