To clarify here, your scissor blade is not pressing against the tie that you’re cutting. It’s pressing against the head underneath the portion that is sticking out. Scissors are not the ideal tool for cutting zip ties flush, but you can certainly get a flush cut with them if you don’t have anything else sitting around.

Adjust your grip and the position of the blades until the bottom blade is against the head and the top blade is against the tie you’re cutting.

Remember that the handle for a given blade is on the opposite side of the blade. In other words, when the scissor blades are open, the handle on the right controls the blade on the left and vice versa.

Depending on how your zip tie ends up tearing, you may actually end up with a flush tear. It’s not going to be flush every time, though.

You don’t need to squeeze so hard that your knuckles turn white or anything like that, but you do need a solid, firm grip on the zip tie.

It doesn’t matter if you go clockwise or counterclockwise so long as you keep going in the same direction.

Expect to spend $3-5 on flush cutters. The blades on flush cutters are typically around 1–2 inches (2. 5–5. 1 cm) in length. This is fine for zip ties, which are typically around 0. 25 inches (0. 64 cm) in width.

Flush cutter jaws usually stick out from the handles at an angle. The flat side is usually the side of the jaws that are facing towards the handles, not away from them. They’re designed this way so that you can cut wires flush when they’re sticking out of the ground.

If you mess up, you may be able to trim the remaining zip tie down with your flush cutters if there’s enough sticking out.

If you want to total control over the pressure, set the slide or knob all the way to the left and tighten the zip tie by hand. This way, you can simply use the cable tie gun to cut the zip tie.

If you are only using the gun to cut the zip tie, pull it through the head by hand and pull it tight to secure it. Then, slide the zip tie through the gun but don’t pull the handles. Stop when the tip of the gun is flush against the base of the head. The zip tie will continue to tighten until the gun senses the pressure you set it at, so don’t worry about harming whatever you’re tying.

If you’re only using the cable tie gun to cut the zip tie, you only need to press the handles once.