"Pete" wrote in message
...
Topaz305rk wrote:

What common tool can be used to do this ? This steel whip sure is
tough

In the field, use a set of linemen pliers.

When I worked for a two-way radio company, we used to use a pair of small
bolt-cutters to trim antennas.

VK3ZMB

If you're talking a good quality whip, like one made from 6140, you will
ruin your pliers or even the best bolt cutters you can find. They may work
on cheap whips, like the ones on discount store CB antennas, but not on a
good quality whip. And it seems that some of the 'thinner' whips are
tougher than the thicker whips.

Notch it with a file or an impregnated fiberglass wheel on a rotary tool,
than bend it sharply and it should snap off clean. The harder the steel and
the more difficult it is to cut, it seems the more brittle it gets, and the
easier it is to snap.