[MachoDrone]

i'm pretty sure i did it while mowing
he doesn't know it.. he just bought the joint next door. the only place the bottom wire droops is along my property buried weeds of his unkept pasture.
there's no energizer on the fence.
without buy expensive crimpers or tools is there a good way to fix it good as new?
i'll buy new tools, if that's what it takes.

 

[MTB98]

You could add a ratcheting strainer there. They’re inexpensive.

 

[MachoDrone]

oh, duh.. i have one on the shelf that'll do nicely. thanks a mint

 

[j. white]

i'm pretty sure i did it while mowing
he doesn't know it.. he just bought the joint next door. the only place the bottom wire droops is along my property

LOL, I've done that to both my neighbor's fence and my own. Just be glad your blade didn't grab the wire. Don't ask me how I know this. 😅

 

[Treefarmer]

There should be a tightener on the wire. Slack the wire a foot to 18 inches and you can tie a knot in the wire. I don't know if I can describe the preferred knot but I'll try.

Make a loop with one strand and leave the free end coming across the standing wire at 90 degrees with 4-6" of extra. Hold the loop with the crossover wire on top. Bring the other wire through the loop from below, go over the loop wire, under the standing wire and loop it back around in a second loop over the standing wire and under the second standing wire. Done correctly, you will end up with two loops- one around each standing wire and the free ends will cross each other. Pull the wire tight and either clip off the free ends leaving an inch or so or bend them back around the standing wire which is usually my choice. It's the first image in: high tensile wire knots - Google Search

Do go ahead and let you neighbor know you found. Maybe you broke it, maybe not. If the installer had a crimp in the wire and pulled it tight, it may have broken on it's own. That's pretty easy to do if there's a loop and it's pulled tight. A broken wire isn't a big deal, it happens frequently from trees, deer etc.

Treefarmer

 

[Firewood Bandit]

Probably won't apply in this situation but I always have eye protection on even if it is sunglasses when working with high tensile wire. It can poke your eye out.

 

[etcallhome]

Probably won't apply in this situation but I always have eye protection on even if it is sunglasses when working with high tensile wire. It can poke your eye out.

Good advice , plus if you need to cut the end of the wire , make sure the curved part of your pliers is facing AWAY from YOU ..
My older brother had a piece of wire , what the phone company called C wire,( high tensile wire with copper outer coating) come back and imbed into his safety glasses. If no safety glasses he would have lost his eye, wire was dead center to his pupil . His glasses , picture of him wearing the glasses made the company safety magazine .

 

[Treefarmer]

Probably won't apply in this situation but I always have eye protection on even if it is sunglasses when working with high tensile wire. It can poke your eye out.

Good point. When we aren't working with a free end, we stick it several inches into the ground to anchor it. It's good stuff but does have some safety challenges when working with it.

Treefarmer

 

[The Satch]

Yep, I was working in and out of the shade last summer and couldn't see with my sunglasses on that well, slid them up my forehead, and lost my grip on the end of the not-yet-tensioned twitch wire. It caught me in the side of the eye, luckily I managed to get it closed, but it broke some blood vessels, had a red eye for about 2 weeks.

 

[MachoDrone]

engaging squint protection