Great idea. I have used heated "past their prime" exacto blades before but a soldering iron sounds a lot simpler.

The problem with cutting the cover off is that often you end up cutting into the blasa which can weaken the part you are trying to strnghten. I would think a soldering iron would also tend to reseal and restick the new edge of the monkote too which would save you having to do this with a sealing iron.