Precision Fiber Cleaver (FC-500)

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

A fusion splice is only as good as the cleave that goes into it, and the Jonard Tools FC-500 is a fusion-grade cleaver that holds the cleave angle under 0.5° on 250 µm and 900 µm coated fiber. The scaled holder sets the cleave length from 5 to 20 mm on 250 µm fiber and 12 to 20 mm on 900 µm, so it matches whatever the splicer or the splice-on connector calls for, and the scrap goes into a built-in fiber trash can instead of onto the bench. The blade has 16 positions rated for 3,000 cleaves each, 48,000 in all, and an FC-500RB replacement blade goes in when the last position is used up. At 3 × 2 × 2 in and just over half a pound it rides in a prep kit easily; it's the cleaver in Jonard's TK-151, TK-184, and TK-185 fiber kits, sold here on its own. Backed by Jonard's lifetime warranty.

Features

• Cleave angle under 0.5°. The flat, square end face that fusion splicing needs for low-loss joints.
• 250 µm and 900 µm fiber. Takes both bare coated fiber and tight-buffered fiber.
• Scaled holder, 5 to 20 mm. Sets the cleave length by the scale, 5 to 20 mm on 250 µm fiber and 12 to 20 mm on 900 µm.
• 48,000-cleave blade. Sixteen positions at 3,000 cleaves each; index to the next position as one wears, and fit an FC-500RB when the last is done.
• Built-in fiber trash can. Collects the cleaved scrap so it isn't loose on the bench or the floor.
• Small and light. 3 × 2 × 2 in and 0.57 lb, with a lifetime warranty.

Where It Fits

It suits fusion splicing technicians who need a repeatable sub-0.5° cleave at a closure, a tray, or a bench, FTTH installers fitting splice-on connectors, where the cleave length and angle are what the connector's splice depends on, data center and enterprise crews splicing pigtails at panels, anyone building a splice kit who wants a fusion-grade cleaver at a price well under the one-step automatic models, and the fiber kits that carry it, since the FC-500 is the cleaver in Jonard's TK-151 prep kit and TK-184 and TK-185 clean-and-prep kits. For mechanical splices and field connectors, the FC-220 is the lighter option; for a cleaver that rotates its own blade and collects scrap in one motion, the FC-600 is the step up.

Good to Know

The cleave is the last thing that touches the glass before the splice, so the sequence matters: strip the coating with a fiber stripper such as the JIC-375 or JIC-125, wipe the bare fiber with an alcohol wipe, then cleave, and don't touch the glass between the wipe and the splicer. Set the holder to the cleave length the splicer or the splice-on connector calls for, and use the same length every time on a job. Seat the fiber straight in the holder and close the cleaver in one smooth motion; a hesitation or a fiber that isn't seated is what makes a bad cleave, and a splicer that keeps rejecting cleaves is usually telling you about the seating, not the blade. The blade is indexed by hand on this cleaver: when the splicer starts reporting cleave angles creeping up, rotate the blade to the next of its 16 positions, and keep a count so you know when the last one is coming; at that point fit an FC-500RB rather than pressing on. Empty the scrap collector into a sharps container, never the bin, and keep the anvil and clamps clean of coating dust with a swab, since debris under the fiber shows up as angle. On 900 µm fiber the minimum cleave length is 12 mm, not 5; check the connector's spec before assuming the short lengths apply. Keep the cleaver in its case between jobs; the blade and the clamps are precision parts, and a drop is a service call.

Specifications

Documentation