Well my "helpful" hint has nothing to do with cutting - except costs.
The genuine Baofeng programming cable comes out with tax around $20; there are plenty less expensive cables around and I had one.
My computer whiz kid and I spent countless hours trying to load a driver, find the right comport etc. Drove me nuts until we decided that we had eliminated everything except the prog cable. Ordered one from Baofeng. Arrived three days later.
Worked right out of the packing.
Now programming my 6 UV-5R's with pleasure !!
Do yourself a favor - get the genuine part, save a whole load of grief.