Fun with Paracord

[mitunnelrat]

I can't remember if this has come up anywhere, but since I've been working with it lately I figured I'd see what some other folks have done. Thus far I've woven a wallet lanyard, two bracelets, and tied two monkey's fists.
http://mobth304.photobucket.com/albums/nn165/mitunnelrat/Mobile%20Uploads/th_imagejpeg_2.jpg
http://mobth304.photobucket.com/albums/nn165/mitunnelrat/th_SU1HMDA0NjYtMjAxMjA2MDYtMTgzNy5qcGc.jpg

I used the monkey's fist pictured to give my hitch a more finished appearance. Besides that its fun to smack people with.

I know the hitch as a cherry knot. Its a double loop hitch that attaches a branch line to a main line - in this case, my belt. It makes for an effective attachment method,

The other monkey's fist I made is in red. I saw a mod I like for an HSGI bleeder pouch, and I'm going to use the red fist as a pull on the buckles that mod uses.

The other bracelet I made (for a sister) is actually 4 colors. Red, orange, yellow, and green. I fused all 4 lines directly to a buckle so I wouldn't need to make any loops like you normally would. I also altered the weave so the two core lines could alternate coming above the center weave. To do so I made sure I ran the line I was crossing over the top UNDER the core line opposite the side I was coming from.

Am I making sense there, or is it clear as mud?

Anyway, its been fun. Anybody else get into it?

[ak474u]

A buddy of mine uses a borosilicate (Pyrex) ball on his monkey fists, it'll bounce off concrete, and goes right thru TSA. He uses his under his belt to secure an iPad case (he developed and manufactures the one larue tactical sells) his have an HK sling clip on em' too.

[Echo2]

I love monkeys fist.....a pop on the grape means crayons for Christmas....:)

[mitunnelrat]

I tried loading mine with a lead sinker. It fell out while I was working it once too often for my patience that day. I think a glass or ceramic ball (gotta look into pyrex now) will be just the thing in the future though.

As for my 4 color bracelet, a picture is worth 1,000 words
http://emob304.photobucket.com/albums/nn165/mitunnelrat/SU1HMDA0OTQtMjAxMjA3MDgtMTY1MC5qcGc.jpg

A bit too loud for my tastes (excepting the whistle in the buckle) but she should like it.

[Evolver]

Nice work!!! All your knots are straight and uniform and the colors are great for a female. A tan, green and black would look good for a guy..

[mitunnelrat]

Thanks, there's a couple "hiccups" in it, but its a fairly loose weave and the red will shift some. I'm not likely to do a pattern like that again, but it'll be ok for this one.

[torchgoddess]

I am familiar with hemp jewelry, but where would I find paracord? Does it weave the same as hemp? Also, mitunnelrat, you may have a friend in high places when it comes to glass balls/beads. I have a glass setup and soon will have a studio (again) so I can start creating..

[mitunnelrat]

I am familiar with hemp jewelry, but where would I find paracord? Does it weave the same as hemp? Also, mitunnelrat, you may have a friend in high places when it comes to glass balls/beads. I have a glass setup and soon will have a studio (again) so I can start creating..

I don't know how it compares to hemp, but it should be pretty easy for you to find. I try to buy locally when I can, so I go to M&R Surplus. If local shops come up short, or you prefer ordering online, there's also www.supplycaptain.com

And as long as you're ok with me busting your balls it'd be awesome to get a few of different sizes to try out. I'd love to have the monkey's fist as a discrete weapon. Right now its too light, and people laugh too much as I hit them with it... :D

[ak474u]

I am familiar with hemp jewelry, but where would I find paracord? Does it weave the same as hemp? Also, mitunnelrat, you may have a friend in high places when it comes to glass balls/beads. I have a glass setup and soon will have a studio (again) so I can start creating..

That's cool, I used to do a lot of lampwork with mostly moretti rods. I still have my oxy-propane setup, and a ton of rods. I need a place to make stuff again.

[Sniper-T]

... Right now its too light, and people laugh too much as I hit them with it... :D

Go to a bearing supply store, you can buy individual steel ball bearings of whatever size you want. I guarantee if you wrap up a couple of 1" steel balls, the laughter will stop!

[Echo2]

Marbles.....

I used a mouse ball....microsoft.

[Grumpy Old Man]

Or you could go to your favorite muzzle loader supply and get some .75 caliber lead balls made for a Brown Bess musket. Nobody will laugh when 400 grains of lead wrapped in paracord whacks them. Just sayin'.

[mitunnelrat]

Damn Grumpy, I like that idea most for some reason. :D

[mitunnelrat]

Ok. Change of direction. Instead of loading a new monkey's fist I decided to use it as an anchor point and put the weight on the other end of the line. My original hitch fell apart, and this worked to my favor for building an expedient weapon into my setup.

I used a chain link weave this time. It requires a loop knotted into the end to get it started, so I put a swivel clip there, which then required an extra turn for the links to run the proper direction. After that its just a matter of running a series of loops through one another, so it looks like this
http://emob304.photobucket.com/albums/nn165/mitunnelrat/SU1HMDA1MDYtMjAxMjA3MTgtMTcwMi5qcGc.jpg

The way I set it up allows my to cinch it around the belt by pulling the monkey's fist through the last loop and drawing it tight. Doing that will keep the links from unraveling themselves, but also keeps it accessible for me to do so purposely. The lanyard itself was also positioned so as not to impede with the line unraveling.
http://emob304.photobucket.com/albums/nn165/mitunnelrat/SU1HMDA1MDktMjAxMjA3MTgtMTcwNi5qcGc.jpg
http://emob304.photobucket.com/albums/nn165/mitunnelrat/SU1HMDA1MDctMjAxMjA3MTgtMTcwNC5qcGc.jpg

It'd be a last resort type of weapon because its really not much of one at all, but its set up to work that way if it must. Its got enough other more practical, utilitarian purposes to be worth keeping though. Not the least of which is I'll never drop my keys again ;)

[Sniper-T]

Came across this whilst surfing, seems like a neat idea:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Paracord-belt-with-mini-Altoids-buckle-survival-ki/

[mitunnelrat]

Paracord belts look cool, but (at least the one I made) don't seem very effective to me.

Granted, I used a different weave that the one pictured, but I found the belt would stretch too much and also sag under anything belt mounted, especially a holstered pistol.

I shelved it, and used most of it in other projects. I think I have a section left in case I want to try its weave again, which is made to unravel quickly.

I like the concept though.

[mitunnelrat]

I upgraded my bracelet to one with a king cobra weave last night, and made a king cobra watch band today:
http://emob304.photobucket.com/albums/nn165/mitunnelrat/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG00626-20121008-1959.jpg

To make a king cobra you do a normal cobra weave, but instead of cutting it at the end you double it over on itself and keep going back to the buckle you started from. Make sense?

Its approximately 20 feet of cord, 1" wide, and about 1/2" thick when done.

[Brownwater Riverrat 13]

OK time to "PIPE" my self aboard. Look up this http://www.amazon.com/The-Ashley-Book-Knots-Clifford/dp/0385040253 this is the book that I lived by as a young seaman all the way to Senior Chief in the Navy! This is the shit! Anything and everything you want to and can do is in there. I stake my reputation and life on it. It's worth the money. I can't say enough about it.

[robsdak]

paracord is my friend. LOL here are just a few of the things i have done. i use steel, wood, glass or rubber 'Super Balls' depending on what people want it for.

http://i366.photobucket.com/albums/oo102/robsdak/3-3-10.jpg

http://i366.photobucket.com/albums/oo102/robsdak/3-3-10005.jpg

http://i366.photobucket.com/albums/oo102/robsdak/riflesling003.jpg

http://i366.photobucket.com/albums/oo102/robsdak/8-17-09003.jpg

http://i366.photobucket.com/albums/oo102/robsdak/8-17-09002.jpg

[robsdak]

Paracord belts look cool, but (at least the one I made) don't seem very effective to me.

Granted, I used a different weave that the one pictured, but I found the belt would stretch too much and also sag under anything belt mounted, especially a holstered pistol.

I shelved it, and used most of it in other projects. I think I have a section left in case I want to try its weave again, which is made to unravel quickly.

I like the concept though.


i have been looking at older posts, to give a 'possible new member' a starting point in the direction she wants to go. anyway, i wanted to comment on this one.

MI, the problem your having is your not getting it tight enough. i have done several belts and they wear/carry weight like a leather belt does. it just takes repetition to be able to feel and get the right tension. i have made things so tight and stiff you would think there is a wood/steel rod inside the knots. hope this helps.

[mitunnelrat]

Has anybody (not you Rob, we already know you have!) gotten to any paracord projects since we last discussed this? I'd love to see them.

(J/K Rob, fire away! Lol)

[mitunnelrat]

i have been looking at older posts, to give a 'possible new member' a starting point in the direction she wants to go. anyway, i wanted to comment on this one.

MI, the problem your having is your not getting it tight enough. i have done several belts and they wear/carry weight like a leather belt does. it just takes repetition to be able to feel and get the right tension. i have made things so tight and stiff you would think there is a wood/steel rod inside the knots. hope this helps.

And I just realized I never answered this. I'm gonna have to find that weave pattern again to give it another go - or just hire you ;)

[DarkLight]

I've started playing with paracord and just made some bracelets for the family. One thing I did differently though is to use a Chain Sinnet weave instead of a Cobra knot. When it's done it looks exactly like a Cobra knot but doesn't require you to untie the bracelet to get to the cord. You just pull out the one end from the final loop and pull both ends and voila, 7-9 feet of cord (depending on wrist size). You could make a pseudo-King Cobra with it as well and get the same amount of cord as the King Cobra, I just haven't tried yet.

No pictures since they just look like your standard black (and one blue) "survival" bracelet.

Slight tangent -
I saw a kind of cool idea on another site (not going to put up the URL because Rob is a member and they aren't...Rob gets links, they don't :p). They had two different lines of survival bracelets as follows:
The thin white/red/blue line bracelet that looked like a Cobra weave with a line through it. I grabbed some screen shots and put them together below. They are to support EMS, Fire, Police and "Red, White & Blue".


http://i1144.photobucket.com/albums/o488/DarkLight72/thinline_zps4408ac3d.jpg (http://s1144.photobucket.com/user/DarkLight72/media/thinline_zps4408ac3d.jpg.html)

The other cool idea was a "Support" bracelet, with a "ribbon" knot worked into the weave:


http://i1144.photobucket.com/albums/o488/DarkLight72/support_zpsfecbf198.jpg (http://s1144.photobucket.com/user/DarkLight72/media/support_zpsfecbf198.jpg.html)

The reason I bring this up is...I was wondering if we as a group thought we might be able to come up with an identifying mark or bracelet. Being able to quickly identify another colony member in a crowd or post-fan event might be nice. Don't get me wrong, nothing is fool-proof and I know they could be "cloned" or duplicated but not everyone has an ant patch on everything they wear.

Just a thought.