Microduct Sheath Slitting Tool (MDS-100)

Ships direct from the manufacturer. Please allow up to 10 business days, though it often ships sooner.

A microduct bundle is a thin outer sheath around a cluster of small ducts, and the trouble with opening it is that a knife deep enough to get through the sheath is deep enough to nick the ducts underneath, and a nicked duct is a snag point for every fiber blown through it afterward. The Jonard Tools MDS-100 is a slitting tool shaped for that one job. Its slim safety head slides between the microducts under the sheath and rides along them as you pull, keeping the blade on the sheath and off the ducts, and the high carbon steel blade is set so it cuts no deeper than 1.4 mm (0.055 in). The thick handle gives a solid grip on the pull, and a large loop on the end hangs it from a belt, a carabiner, or a key ring, so a 5 in tool that weighs next to nothing is there every time a bundle needs opening.

Features

• Slim safety head. Slips between the microducts under the sheath and helps prevent accidental nicks to the ducts as the tool is pulled.
• Cutting depth under 1.4 mm (0.055 in). Deep enough for a bundle sheath, shallow enough to stay out of the ducts.
• High carbon steel blade. Holds an edge through repeated sheath cuts.
• Thick handle. A secure grip for the pull along the bundle.
• Large loop. Hangs from a belt, a carabiner, or a key ring.
• Small and light. About 5 × 1 in and 0.04 lb.

Where It Fits

It suits blown-fiber and microduct crews opening bundle sheath at every branch, pedestal, and splice point, FTTH construction teams breaking out individual ducts from a bundle for a drop, outside plant technicians doing a mid-span entry on a buried or aerial microduct bundle, anyone who has been opening sheath with a utility knife and finding scored ducts afterward, and a belt or a key ring where a dedicated tool at this price is cheaper than one damaged duct.

Good to Know

Start the cut at an end or at a small nick in the sheath, slip the safety head under the sheath so it sits between two ducts, and pull the tool along the bundle in one steady motion; the head rides the ducts and the blade follows it, so keep the tool flat against the bundle rather than tilting it up. The depth limit assumes a sheath under 1.4 mm; a thicker sheath will need a second pass or a different tool, and forcing it is what defeats the safety head. Peel the slit sheath back and check the ducts for scoring before you cut or couple them; a scored duct should be cut back past the damage rather than used, since fiber blown through it will find the snag. Keep the blade clean of sheath residue, and replace the tool when it starts to tear rather than cut; at this price it isn't a tool to resharpen. Once the bundle is open, the individual ducts are cut square with a duct cutter such as the MDC-14 or MDC-28, which is the next tool in the sequence. The blade is small but sharp; clip the tool on by the loop rather than dropping it loose in a pocket.

Specifications

Documentation