These steel wire 'biner traps are great, especially if you use a 'biner for your keys. Traps keep whatever is attached where you want, not sliding all around the back, loading the wrong axis, or slipping off entirely when I hook the carabiner to my belt. But the same thing I like about these wire traps - their durable strength - makes them difficult to set. It took me a while to figure out a method to spread a wire trap and keep it from slipping over the bend, and travel along the back. Or even all the way around and coming off entirely.
At first I thought that simply squeezing the wires together would work. It does, kind of. I also tried folding the end loops of the wires closer to each other, but that only makes it slip around the 'biner even easier. No, the way to do it is to pull the ends away from each other, in effect like flattening it. But it's hard to do when it's on the 'biner. I tried putting the 'biner in a vice (protected by wood of course) and carefully hammering on the trap with an extension like a screwdriver or a punch. Kind of awkward, a little dangerous, you risk damaging the 'biner, and the energy of the blows is dissipated. Doesn't really work.
Here's a good way to do it:
It's so amazing how EASY it is, with a constant, safe pull, to open up that wire trap. Forget about hammering on the darn thing.
Voila! Now it cannot creep past the narrow bend at the bottom of the biner. Everything that gets clipped or tied in there, stays there.
At first I thought that simply squeezing the wires together would work. It does, kind of. I also tried folding the end loops of the wires closer to each other, but that only makes it slip around the 'biner even easier. No, the way to do it is to pull the ends away from each other, in effect like flattening it. But it's hard to do when it's on the 'biner. I tried putting the 'biner in a vice (protected by wood of course) and carefully hammering on the trap with an extension like a screwdriver or a punch. Kind of awkward, a little dangerous, you risk damaging the 'biner, and the energy of the blows is dissipated. Doesn't really work.
Here's a good way to do it:
- Make sure the trap is positioned at the bottom of the 'biner where you want it.
- Get some quality utility line, like the piece I keep daisy chained to my key chain. Thin, but braided and strong. Thread maybe a 3' section of your line through the trap and create a closed loop in the line using your bend of choice. (I guess you could also squeeze the free ends in a vice.) Now take another piece and do the same thing. The idea here is to have two pieces of strong, thin line that can fit in the small space between where the trap ends wrap around the spine and body of the 'biner.
- Now with the 2 lines tensioned and positioned on either end of the wire trap, pull the two loops of line in opposite directions and your trap will easily expand against the carabiner. I think I just grabbed the one loop with two hands, and stood with a boot on the other.
It's so amazing how EASY it is, with a constant, safe pull, to open up that wire trap. Forget about hammering on the darn thing.
Voila! Now it cannot creep past the narrow bend at the bottom of the biner. Everything that gets clipped or tied in there, stays there.
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