Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Hooked on hats...

These hat hook/tie clasps have been around a long time and I've kept one a baseball cap off/on over they years, but as for being worn for 'good luck', I can't say they've helped me catch any fish.

They fit snugly on a baseball cap bill, but the brim on my boonie hat is a bit thinner, so this one needed something to tighten it's grip to better secure it.   Bending the hook any further isn't an option, having already tried that with some pliers, so I added a two bight Turk's head knot with some 0.9mm cord to dress it up a little and keep it in place.

The gold plated Eagle Claw hat hooks are probably the most popular, but I preferred a more subdued gunmetal finish for the ones I currently use.  They can also be found in other colors, like red, white, blue, orange, pink, and I've even seen a camouflaged version(ebay).

I was going to try doing my initials in Morse code on the hook, using thin and wide Turk's head knots/Spanish ring knots, but my initials would comprise a bunch of 'dots' and only one 'dash', so that'll probably be something for another project... I saw that idea mentioned on the IGKT forums, and member 'peejay' showed an example done on a cane, on the KHWW forums.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Only Stormdrane... can make simple things exciting. I always have fun reading your posts and I hope they are fun for you to create. Meanwhile I am waiting for the book to come out - SEVENTY FUN AND USEFUL PROJECTS BY STORMDRANE - after all you have that many wrote, up photoed, and ready to go.
- Bill

Luciano Chavez said...

Hi Stormdrane,

I recommend you press down the barb with some pliers. I fish a lot and I have yet to notice losing any more or less fish with a barbless hook. As long as the hook is sharp enough and penetrates to the bend and you keep the line taut you should be good.

Of course, if you accidentally hook yourself, removal of the hook should be easy since there is no barb to grab onto flesh.

jdub said...

Looking for lanyard ideas for a CRK Sebenza and happened on your blog. Amazing stuff! If I find a lot I can use I'll donate but while I'm looking I'll definitely buy supplies using the click-throughs on your site. Thanks!!

Patrick said...

Is that two colors of cord?

Stormdrane said...

@Patrick, Yes, two colors were used, as I made two passes with white 0.9mm cord, then went between those with black 0.9mm cord.

I sometimes use a Sharpie to color the white cord to red, orange, green, blue, etc.. since I don't have other colors in the 0.9mm sized braided nylon cord/mini blind string, and although it's not permanent like a dye, it holds up well enough for my uses. ;)

Anonymous said...

hi i have a question about the medical bracelet i want to make one but how do i attack the metal piece?

Stormdrane said...

@Anonymous, Attaching a medical alert tag, or other dogtag/ID to a paracord bracelet can be done several ways, but just a couple simple ones are:

Tie the bracelet first, then use jump or split rings to attach the tag to the bracelet.

Or, run your cord through the tag attachments as you tie the bracelet, where it will be centered when worn.