Tightening an existing woven wire fence?

Our first fences are not very good, and are sagging and not very goat-proof in places.

I read somewhere online to get a 'fence crimping tool', and to crimp the horizontal wires with it.

Is this the sort of thing that you would use to tighten a woven wire fence?



Or is there something else that would work?

Does anyone have any tips or tricks to share about fixing up woven wire/hinge joint fencing?

What  is in the picture might work.   I would be concerned about it fitting  between the verticals.  Then there is the issue of how much sag there is in the fence.  

Normally, I use one of two approaches.  If the trouble spot is isolated, I put in a tall steel fence post.   If there is a large stretch of fence that needs to be worked on, I use a fence stretcher (in my case a come-along attached to a pipe the is woven through the fence).   Of course, the process is less of a pain if you can loosen the staples.

John F Dean wrote:What  is in the picture might work.   I would be concerned about it fitting  between the verticals.  Then there is the issue of how much sag there is in the fence.  

Normally, I use one of two approaches.  If the trouble spot is isolated, I put in a tall steel fence post.   If there is a large stretch of fence that needs to be worked on, I use a fence stretcher (in my case a come-along attached to a pipe the is woven through the fence).   Of course, the process is less of a pain if you can loosen the staples.

Thank you.

It's all steel posts, attached with tying wire, so unwiring it and then re-stretching it would be a huge job. I found a couple of videos about using pliers to stretch a fence, and another one about fence stretching in general so I'm hoping that will help too.

I have used a claw hammer successfully as well for minor sags. Put the wire between the claws and twist.

Kate, How are your corners/ends of fence braced? If you go to the effort of re-stretching the fence, well braced corners and ends (gates) will help keep it from sagging again. "H-bracing" seems like it is best, but also an angled brace is another method.
Are your steel posts the "T" style posts? Here in the U.S. there's some manufactured bracing fittings for those... also pre-formed wire clips for holding the woven wire...

Wire ties to the posts doesn't sound so bad, easy to release the fencing with diagonal cutters... Here in the U.S. there is a second style of steel post, stamped sheet metal, that has little hooks that one crimps/hammers shut over the fence wire. Hooks down low point down, to prevent lifting the fencing, hooks on top the opposite to hold it up. All the hooks you don't use grab your fencing in ways that aren't helpful at all... and the hooks rarely survive prying open and a second crimping.

There's all sorts of gadgets for wire tying... for fencing, concrete rebar, and safety wire twisting pliers... some that might be a labor savings over hand twisting with pliers, especially the methods with pre-made ties.

Pliers worked! Thanks everyone : )

He tried a claw hammer but in the end he preferred the pliers for this job. Fence is now tight and goats are staying in.