A Shard and a glass...

The Gerber Shard is an inexpensive EDC key chain tool, featuring a prybar, nail puller, wire stripper, screwdrivers, bottle opener, and lanyard hole.

I tied a 7 lead 6 bight turk's head knot, three passes, with about 4 feet of 0.9mm nylon cord for a little extra decorative grip around the center of the tool.

With another Shard, I tied two Spanish Rink Knots, doubled with 0.9mm cord.  And another with a Gaucho knot, tied with 2mm cord.

There was a glass, but I decided not to pop the top on that beer and save it for later... 

Titanium, Delrin, and time...

I made this paracord cross pendant/fob using a few wall knots and four Titanium Cord Clutchs. The Clutchs came as three in a pack, with two having three grooves with one flat end and the other side being semi-conical, which reminded me of Civil War type minie balls, and the other had two grooves and are flat on each end.

I used some 0.9mm black cord to tie a couple of one pass three lead turk's head knots inside the grooves of one Clutch, and just coiled up a couple of feet of glow-in-the-dark sewing thread in each of the grooves of the other Clutch, with simple paracord wrist loop lanyards shown with my Spyderco Salt and Wenger Evogrip 18.

It was a lot quicker/simpler trying the thread than mixing up some glow epoxy to apply with them, since I may try some other mods with them later on, making other lanyards, fobs,  zipper pull set-ups, and maybe giving them a go over with my industrial butane torch to see what colors might come out with the titanium...

The neat little slide top Delrin Pocket Box makes a good pill container, but I may fill it with breath mints, which come in handy after a loaded chili cheese slaw dog with extra onions and relish... :P

I worked a 3 lead turk's head knot around it with 0.9mm white cord.  A bit of super glue would be needed to secure it to the box.  I could probably still do a wide knot around the body of the box and still be able to open it with it's tongue groove/dove tail lid...

Cobbled Solomon Bar Paracord Bracelet...

JD of TIAT put up another instructional video yesterday, for tying the Cobbled Solomon Bar, as a bracelet with knot and loop closure.  I gave it a try this morning with a single length of coyote brown paracord and a 5/8" contoured/curved side release buckle.

The video shows it tied with two paracord colors, 6.5 ft of each, and used a knot and loop closure.  I tied mine with a single strand, starting with 16 ft to be on the safe side, and attached it to a 5/8 inch curved/contoured side release buckle, as I would at the start of a regular Solomon bar/Portuguese sinnet/cobra stitch type bracelet.

I added an inch to my wrist size when I set up before I started tying, but in the end that made for a loose fit, so I would just tie it the same as my wrist size in the future.  You may get different results depending on how loose/tight you tie it yourself...

I tucked/trimmed the ends to finish, using about 11.5 ft of the 16 ft that I started with.  One working end was considerably shorter than the other at the finish, one 8 inch length and one 3 ft 10 inch length, so one working strand was used more than the other.  Overestimating what I'd need at the start let me finish without running out of cord, but uneven ending strand lengths may still be something to figure out in the future, starting somewhere off center when first attaching the paracord to the buckle, to eliminate wasted excess cord...

With a contoured/curved buckle, you decide which side you want facing out when you start tying, since each side looks different.  If you use a flat buckle, it won't matter since it will be reversible, like it is with the knot/loop version.

And a lanyard with navy blue and orange paracord with swivel clip, both sides shown...

Paracord Canteen Cover...

After working on this project off and on for several days, I've finally finished. I ended up using over 200 feet of paracord for the finished cover/pouch, for the 1L Flat Pack Canteen from County Comm, tied mostly with basic square knotting/macrame type knot work.

I wasn't following any tutorial, so this was a good bit of trial and error on how much paracord I actually needed, and especially finishing up the bottom side. I tried using hitching and weaving, but just couldn't get anything to work to my satisfaction, so settled on sewing the bottom side ends together. And although the bottom side is not flat, it'll still stand upright, and the needle/thread work is secure.

I used a length of tether cord to attach the canteen cap to the canteen, with scaffold knots/loops to prevent loss.

I had no idea of how much cord I'd need at the start, so after making a loop around the canteen with a few feet of cord and holding it with a cord lock, I started cutting 10 foot lengths of paracord and cow/ring hitching them onto the loop to fill up the space all the way around. I ended up with 36 strands/72 working ends, for around 365 feet of paracord to start with. That left me with using around 6 feet of each 10 foot strand for the way I completed the cover.  Other finishing methods would have used more cord.

Using alternating square knots, like I'd done with paracord belts and a guitar strap several years ago, I worked my way horizontally around the canteen.  I wanted the 8 inch height of the canteen covered, but you could make it shorter, or possibly longer to close the top, maybe using velcro, fashioning a flap, or sewing in a zipper. The knot work is tight, making for a stiff but still flexible form, so the pouch could be used to carry other items besides the canteen.

My hands sometimes bother me and cramp up, so I took frequent breaks with this project, also being careful to avoid blisters that you can sometimes get with tightening a lot of paracord square knots.  I have no idea how much time I actually spent on this project, but there's definitely a lot of hours in this one.  I used an adjustable shoulder strap from my Spec-Ops Pack-Rat with the cover, adding about 12 feet of paracord, with a Solomon bar/Portuguese sinnet/cobra stitch, for a wider shoulder pad, knotted over it.

Along with the canteen, I also got some new Pico Grappling Hooks and a Maratac Stainless Steel AAA Flashlight, that both fit neatly on a keyring.  I added a few gaucho knots with 0.9mm cord on them.  The knurling on the the light is great for easy one handed operation, and I'd say this is the nicest quality/built AAA LED flashlight I've owned.

The grappling hooks were made for use by soldiers in the field, to snag trip wires and IED detonation cords, but any good scout or civilian could certainly find them useful to retrieve items that might be out of reach otherwise. If you hadn't seen them before, you now know you need one your EDC key ring!  I have another on a split ring and attached to a Drop-Line Rapid Line Deployment System.  My deviant side can't help but imagine a cat 'o nine tails fitted with lots of the little grappling hooks, ouch...

Paracord suspenders...

This is one of those projects that's been on the 'to do' list for a long time.  Just a simple three point attachment version of suspenders, non-adjustable and made to fit me.  I used shock cord for the core, Flat Gate Clips from County Comm for the attachments to clip to my pant's belt loops, and then knotting over the shock cord with paracord, tying the Solomon bar/Portuguese sinnet/cobra stitch.

I started with about 10 feet of shock cord, looping the center of that length onto one flat gate clip, measuring about a foot down with both cord ends to tie a cross knot, splitting up the two cords and measuring about three feet down each, tying a scaffold knot to each of two more flat gate clips.

I had about a 60 ft length of black paracord that I cut in half, then used each to tie Solomon bars around each of the two single lengths of shock cord to where they meet at the Chinese crown knot.  I had just enough paracord left at this point to make a couple more knots on the other side of the crown knot, tucking/pulling end strands under the knot work.  I used another 12 ft length of paracord to tie a Solomon bar from the third flat gate clip up to where I ran out of cord with the other strands, then tucked the excess under the knot work to finish.  If I'd had more paracord available, I would have started with a 100 ft long hank, cutting that in half, then once the two shoulder straps were covered, I would of had plenty to continue down around the single back length of shock cord.

Since these are not adjustable, I made a guesstimate with the single section from the back and the two shoulder straps down the front, with all the flat gate clips attaching to the belt loops of the pants I wear, and where the pants fit around me as I wear them.  The shock cord allows the suspenders to stretch(old example video link  I made with Solomon bar over shock cord) when sitting, standing, bending, and moving about.  If you were to just use paracord alone, you'd likely find the suspenders uncomfortable to use without any give in them.  I've found a good fit with just enough tension in the cord to keep the shoulder straps in place while standing, but not too much or you'll find the back attachment pulling your pants up to the point of giving yourself an uncomfortable wedgie...

The initial fit is good, but I'll have to see how they do over time.  I have other suspenders that I occasionally wear to help keep my britches up, with a three point belt attachment Perry type suspenders, and a two point side clip type from Duluth Trading Company.

Suspender clip attachments come in a variety of styles, shapes, and sizes, but generally have wide attachments for use with elastic webbing.  You may find some out there that can be cannibalized for use with making your own paracord suspenders...

You could try knotting directly over/around elastic suspenders, anchoring the paracord at the attachments at start and finish, similar to knotting over bag/pack/gear handles, but I haven't tried it with my suspenders, so I dunno if it'd work out or not.  Another possibility is to make loops on the ends of the shock cord, to fit over your belt, instead of using attachments.

Some folks wear either a belt or suspenders, but when I wear suspenders, I use them along with a belt, worn over a tucked in t-shirt and underneath a button down shirt with straight hem that's meant to be worn untucked.

There's a thread on the DIY Tactical forums with some neat ideas of using side release buckles and webbing loops instead of the metal grip clips with low-profile suspenders.

A few more photos of another pair of shock cord suspenders with  fixed loops instead of attachments, to use with a belt.  Started with a 2" loop and cross knot, down a foot then another cross knot, and finishing with a pair of broach knots for the shoulder straps.  The other couple of photos show starting the knotting from the broach knot ends and ending at the other side of the cross knot, with the end strands to be tucked under the knot work with hemostats...

When making your own suspenders, to figure out your shoulder strap length for the shock cord, put on pants and attach the back part of your shock cord suspenders(loop or attachments), then pull each of the shoulder pieces over your shoulders down to where they'll either attach to your pants or belt, and decide the strap length on the tension you want, taking into account what attachment you'll use, then add the attachment or loops on the strap ends.  You're left to choose what type of paracord knot work you want to tie over it...

A hard head and a little backbone...

This hefty Titan Stainless Steel Skull got a Backbone Bar added to it, using black and olive drab paracord, with a large Flat Gate Clip for attachment to a key ring or belt loop.  A couple of the end strands go around the clip and are tied in a double wall knot around all four strands, then trim and tuck the ends to finish.

The skull is large enough to use as a paperweight on it's own, although I prefer it with some knot work for lanyards/fobs, and I even tried one out to top a walking staff/cane.  When I get around to it, I'll add some glow-in-the-dark powder and epoxy to the eye sockets.

With a bit of epoxy in the divot on the underside of the skull and then placed over a screw that's still partially exposed above a cane/staff, it looks to work ok.  Just for decorative use though, as I think if it was used to clobber someone, it might end up getting launched instead.

Someone else may know of a more secure way to mount the skulls on a walking staff/stick/cane, maybe carving the top of the staff to fit the underside of the skull along with a screw/bolt and epoxy...

I've tried a couple of knot work attachments with the skull on the staff, with paracord going though the skull and then down through the staff lanyard hole in a loop, then weaving or headhunter knots around the staff, but haven't found one I really like yet...

I used large and medium clips on a wall knot paracord lanyard(navy blue), with a few spaced out Gaucho knots tied with orange Tether Cord.  This one's for clipping to a key ring, pocket knife, flashlight, etc. with the other end attached to a belt loop...

Keeping track of time...

The last paracord watchband that I tied, was using JD of TIAT's 'Stitched Solomon Bar', and I liked that pattern so much, that I used it again with my Maratac Mid Pilot Automatic Watch from County Comm.  

The differences in this watchband version and the previous one, are a four strand core that's paired off and knotted around, and it's made in two sections, so no strands run across the underside of the watch.

Each section of paracord was tied between the watch pins and one half of the 5/8" side release buckle.  So sizing is in three measurements, of each of the two paracord sections and the space between the watch pins across the back side of the watch.

I started with a six foot length of paracord for each side of the band, and ended up using between 10 and 11 of those 12 feet of paracord in the end.

I tucked the end strands into the knot work on the underside of the band to finish, and they can be further secured with sewing needle and thread, melting, or a drop of super glue.

Walls go up, Crowns go down, Gaucho between flanked Spanish rings...

Coyote brown paracord in a round crown sinnet pocket knife lanyard/fob, with a couple of wall knots down the length. A 3 pass Gaucho knot in the center and a pair of 3 pass Spanish ring knots out to the sides, using black 0.9mm cord.

I used my copy of Bruce Grant's 'Encyclopedia of Rawhide and Leather Braiding' as a reference for the Gaucho and Spanish ring knots.

 And another with a square crown sinnet and 2 pass Gaucho knot around the center with 1.4mm cord.  The unseen center paracord section has round crowns tied, that the Gaucho knot was tied over.

The pocket knives shown are my Spyderco Salt I and Camillus Heat.

Clay pipes and pineapples...

A long pineapple knot tied with tan and gray 1.4mm cord, over a clay pipe, that my dad gave me years ago.  I thought he might have bought it at a Civil War reenactment, historical site gift shop, museum, or such, but when asked, he said it came from a tobacco shop in the mall, probably a Tinder Box. 

Besides being one of the greatest smelling places with all the tobacco and cigars, the Tinder Box shops also had(guess they still do but haven't been to one in years) display cases with lighters, pocket knives, intricately carved chess sets, and other assorted gadgets, gear, and accessories. 

The cord for the pineapple knot, worked into the long 4 bight turk's head knot, is just slightly darker than the base knot, so it doesn't show so well in the photo as it does in hand...

Gaucho bead paracord lanyard...

I used gaucho knot beads, made with 1.4mm cord, for this paracord lanyard.  The gaucho knot starts with a 5x4 turk's head knot.  I started with a 10 ft length of black paracord, from the center making a two inch loop, then tying series of two strand wall knots, adding a knotted bead, then alternating that pattern for the lanyard, finishing with a swivel snap hook.

At a total finished length of 18 inches, from snap hook to loop end, this one is for use with a key chain, flashlight, knife, multitool, or as a wallet lanyard.

Attachment options let the loop end fit over a belt and clip to an item, or clip to a belt loop, bag, pack, or other gear and loop onto a gadget...

 A longer length version would make a nice neck lanyard, decorative hat band, or necklace, and a shorter version for a paracord bracelet.  A custom paracord pet leash could be done for a lengthy project...

I'd tied some similar variations last year for lanyards,  fobs, and zipper pulls.

74 Face Globe Knot....

This was my first attempt at a globe knot with this many faces/facets, and also the first time I've used pins with a mandrel for knot work, usually doing projects that I can get by without needing them.

I was following CUrchin's tutorial, but was using a smaller diameter cord than I thought I was, and half way through the knot, realized my error.  If I'd used 2.4mm diameter cord, like in the tutorial, the golf ball should be evenly covered with 3 passes, but when I started working the slack out and added the third pass with my cord, which is actually about 2mm, I could see I'd need another pass, but I was already getting uneven with tightening it up.

Since I already had so much time invested in this one, I went ahead  and finished it, even with my mistakes.  I'll make sure to take more time on my next attempt to hopefully get it right, although I'm already thinking of using two passes of paracord, which may throw me off as well, haha...

After tying the initial 3 lead 4 bight knot and doubling it, it was a bit awkward in adding slack in the knot to fit it over the pins in the cardboard tissue tube, so I had to start over when that got out of hand.  It was easier after I figured that I needed to work the slack into the knot for each of the 4 outer bights, on each side of the knot, one at a time.  From that point on, following CUrchin's video slideshow was just a matter of play/pause to make sure I had all the overs/unders correct.

CUrchin mentions retying the initial knot around the pins if working the slack into them doesn't work, but not having used pins before had me scratching my head at a loss, even with a simple 3L4B TH knot.  I've learned to tie turk's head knots from loosely tied diagrams of the knot, and even to date have not used printed out grids that are meant to be placed around a mandrel and used with pins.  That would surely open up much larger and complicated projects for me, but I tend to want to stick with easier fare.

The hard part with tying globe knots, for me, is in the time spent working the slack out and tightening them up.  If I get in a rush, it quickly gets uneven, scrunched up and crowded in some spots and spread out on another as seen in my photos, and I've not been able to fix them any other way than to start over.  That's a real bummer of a feeling for a project that can involve a few hours of work...

If I posted all the mistakes and errors I've done in learning knot work, this blog would probably have 10 times as many or more posts, lol...  Hopefully showing my slip-up will help someone avoid the same blunder. ;)

Pray for fire...

As mentioned in the previous post on the 'Sailor's Cross Knot', adding a small 1/8" x 2" firesteel to the vertical section of the cross is easy to do.  For this project I made a Sailor's Cross Knot lanyard/fob/zipper pull, with swivel clip for attachment, jute cord inside the paracord, and a removable/replaceable firesteel in the vertical section of the cross, shown with a Wenger Evogrip 18 Swiss Army Knife.  I ended up using less than 5 feet of paracord, and double that length of jute twine(Thanks for the roll of twine, Manny!).  An Arms-Akimbo knot was tied with the single strand coming out the bottom of the cross.

I first replaced the paracord's inner strands with jute cord, which can be pulled apart and made into a nest to use as tinder to catch a spark from a firesteel or flint.  From that you get a flame that you use to get kindling burning, then add in larger bits of sticks, branches, and logs for a sustainable fire.

I'd seen a video, done by fellow knot tying friend Ken earlier this year, showing some wax/paraffin treated jute twine being pulled from a wet section of paracord and lit with sparks from a firesteel.  I didn't give the jute for this project a wax coating, but it's certainly a useful idea, giving the jute a longer burning time like a candle wick, to help in getting a fire started.

I added the jute to the paracord by tying one of the inner strand ends to the center of a length of doubled up jute, then pulling the inner strands out one end, and the jute replaces the twisted nylon core strands.  Depending on your paracord's outer sheath, sometimes the inner strands don't fill up all the space inside the core, so you may be able to leave some of the core strands in with the jute, for later utility use, or you might have to pull them all out to make room for the jute, depending on it's diameter as well. 

Jute has been made for centuries, and paracord has been around 70+ years, so their uses in knot work are as old as they are, but the internet has plenty of search results to explore for more recent combinations of the two, like this example from 'The Paracordist'.

If you don't have a lighter or matches, learning primitive fire making and survival techniques can help you use a firesteel to get a fire going.  There are literally millions of hits Googling those topics, so if you get sidetracked, have fun but don't get burned.  Fire can be dangerous, so be safe with it.