Steel cable with hawse fairlead?

Hawse fairleads are all the rage but I only see them with synthetic rope. Can they be used with steel cable?

Yes, you can get a warn fairlead for cable on amazon

They can, but then if you buy rope later, buy a new hawse too.. the steel scores them, and they will tear at rope down the line.

cal said:

They can, but then if you buy rope later, buy a new hawse too.. the steel scores them, and they will tear at rope down the line.

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There must be hundreds of old roller fairleads laying around rusting, after being abandoned for synthetic line and hawse fairlead.
Once you go try synthetic, you will never go back to steel cable.

I literally have a dozen new steel cables sitting in my garage.

Got any 150' cables cal?

No but some 100s

Guess after seeing how much damage a broken steel cable can do change my mind about using steel.
As a 16 year old teenager, I watched my uncle winching out an dead ironwood tree, out east of the Glamis sand dunes.
The cable broke and came flying back at the his Jeep, blowing the windshield out, then sizzling past his head before taking out the rear window and hatch.
His injuries were just minor cuts but he missed being killed by a couple inches.
Did a lot of damage to his Jeep too.

It was a lesson well learned, I have never owned a winch with steel cable and never will.
Not to say steel cannot be used safely but the safety factors, displayed by synthetic, make it superior.
I'm only in this for the fun. No need to chance getting hurt.

Was he using a line damper?

lazyxj said:

It was a lesson well learned, I have never owned a winch with steel cable and never will.
Not to say steel cannot be used safely but the safety factors, displayed by synthetic, make it superior.
I'm only in this for the fun. No need to chance getting hurt.

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Make it superior in what aspect?
UV resistance?
Resistance to chafing?
Working life?

Yes, it has less snapback, but that is not the sole factor in determining "best" material. If your uncle had been using proper tecniques, such as inspecting the rope and the load beforehand, and using a line weight, things would have probably gone much differently.

Any equipment has the ability to maim or kill if you don respect it.

The positive qualities of synthetic do not make it idiot proof, or tolerant of abuse/neglect.

devildog0 said:

Was he using a line damper?

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It was 50 years ago, I don't remember the details, only the aftermath.

I know about using a blanket or jacket for damper, I used steel cable for years until synthetics became affordable.
Synthetic's lack of pop back from a broken rope is a good enough reason to use it, IMO. It does require special handling, not a big problem since it doesn't get used often.

Steel is fine and can be used safely as long as you pay attention to it's condition and don't overload it. It may be more durable if you play in rocks a lot
Synthetic has characteristics that make it more appealing to my needs, YMMV.

The weight difference between the two is a nice bonus too.