To provide a method for quickly and simply joining the tail end of a preceding material with the top of a following material even when they are thin, in a recovery operation for a fractured sheet, in a continuous treatment line of a metal strip such as a continuous annealing facility for a steel sheet, without needing a power supply, and to provide a device for realizing it.

The method for joining the tail end of the preceding material with the top of the following material in the continuous treatment line of the metal strip comprises the steps of: sandwiching an overlapped part of the tail end of the preceding material and the top of the following material with a male die having a shape of a triangular pyramid or a quadrangular pyramid projecting in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the metal strip and a female die having such a shape as to make the male die fit therein; making the dies pierce the overlapped part; and then inserting the male die into the pierced part from the reverse direction of the piercing direction; making the male die and the female die sandwich the pierced part and be engaged with each other to crimp the materials.

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