As for the rope; sorry 'bout that! The easiest way for me is to cut it with a cigar guillotine cutter into thin coins, then rub it out. If you don't have one handy, let me know; I should have put one of my extras in the bag just in case.
Oh, I definitely have cigar cutters, including the Xikar scissors which I figure would be perfect for cutting the rope. And you did write on the baggie to use a cutter, I just wasn't sure about the technique.
Glad to see you back!
I'm not a Scientologist, I just build Xenu's spacecraft.