Saturday, July 07, 2012

The 'Beanstalk Bar' Paracord Watchband...

I tied this 'Beanstalk Bar' paracord watchband earlier today, following JD's(TIAT)YouTube video tutorial for the pattern.

I tied the watchband with a 5/8" side release buckle, instead of knot and loop closure, and used a single strand of olive drab paracord of around 9 feet for a finished 8.5" long band.

My Timex Reef Gear watch continues to be a great platform for tying paracord watchbands and it's proven to be a reliable timepiece for over 12 years now.

I think I'll also try to tying a 'Beanstalk Bar' as a lanyard or fob for my fixed blade Kershaw Field Knife, to aid in retrieval from the sheath and grip retention in hand...

And shown done with a leftover two foot length of paracord for a 2" long fob, with the ends tucked back  under the knot work on one side to finish.


7 comments:

smet337 said...

As always Stormdrane your work is flawless!!Hey I was wondering,why does JD always use 450 cord? Is it easier to manipulate? Have a good day Scot

Da Curly Wolf said...

Not always. Some of the stuff JD does with 550. 550 is a little stiffer, which works better with some of the knot designs he's come up with. I don't use anything but 550, and it does make it a little more troublesome to tie a few of the more intricate knots...still worth it to me to do it that way. JD if you haven't followed him before has a backlog of stuff he's slowly putting up. The backlog of knots he's come up with and hasn't shown us yet, vs what he has shown us...either in pictures on his twitter and facebook or done videos for...large. He's going to be putting out a book of fusion knots come august.

Adam King said...

but that fastener clip is soooo ugly!

Stormdrane said...

@Scot, I believe JD's explained his use of 450 somewhere in one of his videos and/or on the Fusionknots forums, and his source even offered a discount for his followers at one time, may still be in effect, not sure.

At one time, the 450 type was available in a lot more color choices than 550 paracord, but now both have many options and pricing is about the same too.

For decorative use, 450 is fine, but the polyester type fibrous inner strands tend to shrink, so that needs to be taken into account(preshrink) for sized projects like bracelets and watchbands...

Stormdrane said...

@Adam, I like 'em cause they're durable and secure, but for folks that don't like side release buckles (available in various sizes and color options), there are many knots that can be used with knot and loop type closures.

Some will use sewn on BDU buttons or coins with a hole drilled in them, and others like stainless steel bow/D type shackles. There are many jewelry type findings that can also be utilized to secure a paracord bracelet or watchband, so you're able to choose from many options when tying your own... ;)

Taylor said...

How much cordage should I use if I wish to use two different color strands like JD?

Stormdrane said...

@Taylor, There's a long and short cord with two colors, so you have to figure out how much you need for the short, which will fit around your wrist size, and then you can estimate how much you need for the long piece.

So, If you used 2 feet for the short section, you might estimate the long at around 8 feet to tie the pattern a round the shorter section, compared to using a single strand of 10 feet in length.

Exactly how much you need is dependent on many variables, so it can be different for how the bracelet/watchband is tied, with knot/loop, side release buckle, or shackle, how tight or loose you tied the pattern, the cord you're using, wrist size, etc...