How do I cut off the protective jacket of the 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.

How do I remove the black jacket and extract the fiber optic filaments?

STEP ONE: First insert the blade into the black cable so that it runs parallel with the filaments that are inside the cable.  Be sure to go all the way thru the cable.

STEP TWO: With the cable in one hand and the knife in the other, slowly pull the knife thru the cable, away from your body, while still staying parallel with the internal filaments.

STEP THREE: Peel back the black jacket to reveal and fan out the internal filaments.  Some of the filaments may be embedded into the black jacket, carefully peeling them free. 

STEP FOUR: Cut and discard the two sections of the black jacket.