I got tired of trying to burn the ends of ropes, utility cord, etc. So, a couple of bucks for a piece of right angle metal, and a little time with the drill, and voila. Works pretty good. Upper edge cuts the rope, and the inside corner works pretty good for shaping the melted ends. I only need to turn on the butane for about 15 seconds (in a cold garage) for it to be ready to melt nylon.