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zip tie unlock key

Looking for the little gadget that allows you to undo a zip tie but can't find the name for it so I can get one on aliexpress or ebay.

Reply to
chop
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chop wrote on 1/24/2023 12:29 AM:

Use a good old 'safety pin'.

How-to unlock and re-use a zip tie

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Reply to
invalid unparseable

I just use a small/tiny screwdriver.

You might have to put it in from the inside, and I've always been able to, but maybe that gives an advantage to the safety pin.

Reply to
micky

Not as useful as the correct tool.

Reply to
chop

Not as convenient as the right tool.

Still not as convenient as the right tool.

Reply to
chop

FFS how expensive is a fresh zip tie compared with your labour?

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

Here's one example - but it shows "unavailable" on amazon <?>

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One youtube clip showed a guy making one from scratch that was sized & shaped like a car key - it looked like it would get into tighter places than the big scissor style. I'd be tempted to use this guy's idea but actually use an old brass key and file the business end into a tip that was like a flat tipped jeweller's screwdriver ... which is what I use.

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Several other youtube geniuses were using the tip of their razor sharp pocket knife or razor sharp exacto knife ..

- they'd work also - just have the band-aids handy ! :-)

John T.

Reply to
hubops

This video clip shows a few examples where it is difficult to get under the cable tie to cut it - and his tool works like magic !

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John T.

Reply to
hubops

snipped-for-privacy@ccanoemail.com wrote on 1/24/2023 5:41 AM:

It is available on amazon.ca but quite expensive.

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Reviewers say it is perfect for small plastic cable ties but will struggle with big ones. What I think is that big ones will be easy to open with just a safety pin.

Reply to
invalid unparseable

Cable cutters, knife, scissors.

I do use a safety pin occasionally, but always forget the right direction to push it in. The YouTube will help me remember it as an orthodox procedure.

Reply to
Pancho

They might not be a speedy or as effective, but if you have one of them and you don't have "the right tool", then they are much more convenient.

Reply to
micky

With big thick ones you can definitely use a small screwdriver. I have a dozen more than 3 feet long that sell for about 50 cents a piece that I took off tellephone poles, used for illegal advertising.

I used one to snake a wire from the left side of the windshield to the right, when I put in sun-visors with lights, and I've used it for something else similar that I forget right now. They are excellent

Reply to
micky

You could have used your finger to lift the rubber rim of the windshield on the inside to slip the wire in. I think all the rim covers on the inside of the car can be pried open easily to conceal wires.

Reply to
invalid unparseable

I think not. I don't think you've been working on my car.

Reply to
micky

That's not the type I want. The type I want is a small flat metal thing, roughly triangular with a hole in the middle.

And the name doesn't produce anything on aliexpress or ebay either.

That's a lot closer to the one I want, but the one I want doesnt have the crucial bit at right angles at the end.

Or a key blank, but the ribbing is undesirable.

Maybe feasible to cut the whole of the ribbed end off and just file the little tab into what used to be the big round bit with a hole in it.

But someone must be stamping them out in china. The problem appears to just be what you call them.

I saw the one I want in a short video on facebook and the unlocker was incidental to the purpose of the short video which was a handyman project. I didnt think to ask the poster about it, assumed that I could search for it on aliexpress and ebay and there is no way to find the short video again on facebook, it just dumps stuff into your feed with a bit of selectivity about what you have chosen to view in the past and and occasional question about whether you want to see more like what you have just viewed.

Yeah, I do too, but want the dedicated device.

Those are a bit more likey to damage the cable tie.

Reply to
chop

chop wrote on 1/24/2023 12:53 PM:

"Sim tray pin" should work.

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Reply to
invalid unparseable

You're a hack . Stuffing wires into the gasket can cause leaks .

Reply to
Snag

Spark plug gapper - file/grind a couple tips onto it for big & small cable ties. It already has the keychain hole in it ! :-)

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... but ... but .. I know, I know - you want the dedicated device - good luck with that ... John T.

Reply to
hubops

That is nothing like what I want. I already have those and they don't work anything like as well as the one I want.

Reply to
chop

I am not talking about the rubber gasket of the real windshield. I am talking about the inside of the car there is a rim run along all the windows and in front of the driver near the top of the windshield. I saw the technician pushing the wire into it when he installed the antenna for my remote car starter. The rim is designed to be pried open easily so you can hide wiring inside. Why do you think you don't see electrical wires hanging all over the place inside your car?

Reply to
invalid unparseable

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