Paracord Carabiner Spool

This was a project I'd tried a couple of years ago that wasn't working like I wanted at the time, so it's been on the unfinished 'to do' list too long. This time I ended up with a much better working model. The paracord is zigzag spooled(like you may find with cordage you buy from store that comes on a spool) onto the PVC pipe over the carabiner. With the carabiner held in hand or secured to gear, the cord can be pulled off and quickly deployed from the free spinning spool. If the ends of the spool were flared/capped, keeping the cord from spilling off the spool, it would be easier to coil cord onto the spool...

The biner I used is an Omega Locking D Carabiner that I've had for almost 20 years, that has a tubular formed body compared to some that have odd shaped cross sections. The oval and D shaped carabiners will have the most room for carrying more paracord, so that's what I used. The diameter of the carabiner tubing was slightly smaller than the interior spool diameter, that I intended to put over it, which is just what you need to measure for.

I had some leftover 1/2" diameter PVC pipe, to use for the spool, stored in the garage from a light tent project several years ago. I used a hacksaw to cut a 3" long length to fit the carabiner. Of course you can't just slide the PVC onto the carabiner, so I cut it again down the center of the length of the pipe, making two halves.

I fit the two parts around the carabiner and used gaffer/duct tape to wrap around them and secure them back together. The pipe then spins freely around the carabiner. I wrapped as much paracord on the spool as I could, which was about 40 feet worth, and still be able to open the carabiner gate just enough to slip it over nylon webbing/PALS/MOLLE attachment points on a bag, backpack, strap, or vest.

The PVC pipe makes for a firm spool where my previous tries with softer rubber and plastic tubing would give/warp too much when adding the paracord, creating too much friction and the spool wouldn't freely spin around the carabiner. I may eventually add a short tutorial for making this project later.

A similar product, that might could be used/converted to dispense paracord, is a cave reel /diver's spool. They come loaded with string, but it may be possible to put some paracord on them instead, although I don't know how much would fit...






Earlier in the year, a friend made me some smaller bead sized metal tubular spools with flared ends. I'd tried finding similar and making my own but was unsuccessful. My intended purpose was to add thread, fishing line, or some 0.9mm braided nylon line onto the smaller bead spools and them add them to a survival type paracord lanyard. My photo shows the beads next to a penny for scale, and the paracord lanyard is a 'Bug Belly Bar' tied by Manny, who also made the beads.

Paracord Carabiner Spool Part II...

Digging through the closet, I found an empty spool, that previously held 50 feet of Wellington 1/8" Braided Poly-Pro Sportsman's Cord, along with a partially used spool of orange cord and unopened black. The label on them even says, 'Reusable Spool'. I believe I bought them at Walmart, several years ago, and don't know if they even still carry it, after a quick search on Google didn't bring anything up.

I cut the empty spool down one side with a utility knife and was able to work it onto a Blackhawk carabiner. I just used some package tape to cover up the cut along the spool, since I had it right in front of me, but will go back and use gaffer's/duct tape later. Even though the spool is shorter in length than the PVC pipe, that I used in the previous blog post project, I still managed to put 40 feet of paracord onto the this spool, wrapping it in the common side-to-side method.

The hole through the center of the spool is a few millimeters larger than the carabiner diameter, so it does rattle around a little bit, but I think tucking a short piece of scrap paracord in between the spool and the carabiner will quiet it down and keep it from moving until needed...

In case someone wants to search for the Wellington cord spools, the part number on the label is: 11120 and the UPC code is: 79085 11120. Or just keep an eye out for similar sized plastic spools with cordage to re-purpose the spools after the cord is removed. I think solder and wire may come on the same shape/size type spools. I'll have to remember to look for them the next time I get to a craft or hardware store.

*Note that the other spools, that still have cord on them, turned out to be made of a different plastic than the first. I had to cut the stiffer material spool all the way in half, then tape it back together around the carabiner, after which it worked like the first.

Swiss Chocolate Brown...

Trying to catch up with several ongoing projects from the last couple of months...  Swiss Bianco sent me one of the new Limited Edition Victorinox Harvester Swiss Army Knives with Swiss Chocolate Brown Alox scales.  A nice addition for any knife collection or edc use.  I hope to visit with Roger at his booth again this year at the Blade Show in Atlanta this June.





A few more spool knit lanyards for ID badges/wallet leash/keychain tether/knife/multitool/gadget retention, using #95/Type I size paracord, that I tied with some of the skull beads Schmuckatelli Co. had sent me, using the Spartan, Sabertooth, and Mini Jester skull beads.

For this size cordage, I like the pins/nails on the spool set between 3/4" to 7/8" for a pattern that's not too tight and stiff and not too loose to easily snag and get individual loops pulled out of sorts.  You really have to experiment to see what you like best as cord and spool variables give different final results.

For the two-peg spool knit lanyards shown, working directly from a long hank or spool of paracord that I know has at least 35 feet or so left (to be on the safe side), I fed two feet of cord through the spool, knitted a 36 inch length for the neck section, measure out two more feet of cord after that and then cut that working end.

I bring the start and end sections together and slide on a split ring for attachment (you can use a carabiner or swivel clip, etc.) over the two end strands, and set it at two inches from the end of the knitted sections, then tie a Solomon bar/cobra stitch/Portuguese sinnet back up to the knitted ends, and then the double Solomon bar/king cobra stitch back down to the split ring, and tuck/pull the working ends under the knot work with hemostats/marlinspike, and finally trim off any excess to finish.

And an upcoming blog post will show some projects done with some new County Comm items they'd recently sent me to play with, including the Ultimate EDC Capsule, Titanium Peanut Lighter XL, and the A/B Cache Dual Compartment Capsule, with a hank of International Orange paracord.  

I'm an Amazon affiliate, so 'Thank You!' to those that shop there through my links, since I receive a small commission from sales through those links posted in my blog.

If you need an edc backpack, check out the limited edition VENOM and VENOM RED mochi drawstring backpacks with Stormdrane logo, which I receive a percentage of sales from, each having a stiched paracord handle that I worked with Mochibrand for the design.

Time for a Schmuckatelli Co. Giveaway! *Entry period now closed.

Mike at Schmuckatelli Co. sent me a package of Made in the U.S.A. goodies (skull lanyard beads!) from his packed desk drawers, with some prototype finishes, including a cool proto totem (all one piece) of stacked Tiki beads (Kiko, Ona, and Ku) and a selection of other beads from their lineup.

This giveaway is sponsored by Schmuckatelli Co., and Stormdrane.  I've split the skull beads up for three winners: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prizes with a lanyard that I tied for each prize package, so the winners can have a lanyard to add a bead to, or add them to ones they tie themselves.

 Don't know how to tie a lanyard?  I encourage folks to get some cord, learn some knots, and have some fun maybe trying/tying something out of their wheelhouse and dress it up with some cool skull beads.

There are examples of uses for the spool knit lanyards throughout my blog pages, like using them as a lanyard to attach to a wallet, keychain, flashlight, pocket knife, multi-tool, cell phone, gadget, gear, gizmo, zipper pulls, molle straps on bags/pouches/backpacks, etc...

The 1st prize includes a 425 paracord spool knit lanyard, in licorice (black/red combo) with a 4 bight Turk's head knot on the Grimloc carabiner.  The beads include the proto pewter Tiki totem, 18 karat gold plated Mind skull, proto finish rhodium and 18 karat gold plated Aquilo Sugar Skull Bead, 18 karat gold, rose gold, and rhodium plated One-Eyed Jack, blue powder coated Grins, pewter Brous bead with logo, pewter Vinnie Garoon Cowboy Bead, and pewter Classic skull bead.


The 2nd prize includes a 325 paracord (I think that's what the size/diameter is, wasn't labeled, lol) spool knit lanyard, charcoal gray, with 1.4mm cord gaucho interweave knots on the Grimloc.  The beads include a proto finish 18 karat gold and rhodium plated Aquilo Sugar Skull Bead, blue powder coat Grins, pewter Jumbo Emerson, pewter Vinnie Garoon Cowboy Bead, pewter Classic skull bead, pewter Brous no logo, and Kiko Tiki bead.

The 3rd prize includes a Type I/95 paracord spool knit lanyard in olive drab, and the Grimloc has a 1.4mm cord pineapple knot tied on it.  The beads include pewter Kiko, Ku, Grins, Mind, Cyber, Joe mini bead, and Green Man.

Giveaway entry period is from 6 November 2017 through 12 November 2017.  To enter, leave a comment with your name and location AND the title of the last book you read on this blog post (first/last name, your city/state/country location AND book title), which helps tell one entrant from another if they have the same name. Example:  David Hopper, McDonough GA, The Directory of Knots.

One entry per person, and I'll open this giveaway to U.S. residents and international entrants also, but if someone outside the U.S. wins a prize package, they agree to be responsible for any taxes or customs duties and accept the risk of packages disappearing in the mail, which can happen in the states at times as well, but luckily I've had no problems with packages I've mailed out at home or abroad not ending up where they were supposed to.

At the end of the giveaway entry period, names from the pool of entrants will be drawn and the winners names will be posted, and they will have one week to reply/respond, or alternate winners will be chosen, so be sure to check back after the giveaway ends to see if you've won. Spam links in the comments will be deleted.  After contact with the winners has been established, their prize package will be mailed out to them from my location here in McDonough, Georgia.  Good luck to all and happy knotting!


'Like' and following the Schmuckatelli Co. Facebook page is appreciated, but not required to enter and does not affect the chances of winning. Actually running giveaways can be quite time consuming and and tricky nowadays keeping up with following rules, policies and guidelines, but I know I enjoy entering them and have been lucky to win a few here and there out of the countless ones I've entered over the years. :)

I encourage my friends, followers, blog readers and subscribers to enter, but my family members are not eligible to enter and will just have to be satisfied with knot work I've already sent ya'll for birthdays, Christmas, or other holidays and whatnot or wait for possible future stocking stuffers. ;)

Some of these beads are one offs, so there are no replacements.  Monetary value is hard to determine as well, but you can get an idea if you look at similar finishes with the different beads that are currently offered on the Schmuckatelli Co. website.  My best guesstimate on value for each prize package, based on similar beads on the site and cost of materials for the lanyards I tied (not counting the time/ hours spent tying them) is approximately:  $80 value for 1st prize, $65 value for 2nd, and $50 value for 3rd prize.  No substitutions for prize packages.

This giveaway is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook.

And a few simple photos showing how to  get those lanyard beads on to the lanyard loop, and sometimes fit the lanyard loop through a knife/flashlight/multitool lanyard hole, size permitting, as not everyone may know how.

Take a thin piece of string, fishing line, or dental floss through the lanyard loop, bring the ends together, then run them through the lanyard bead, and pull the loop up through the lanyard bead with one hand and push down on the bead with the other.

A loop of paracord can be a tight fit for some beads depending on the thickness of the cord and the diameter of the lanyard bead's hole.

Not all paracord is the same.  Sometimes the paracord may need to be gutted (inner strands removed) to make it thin enough to fit beads and lanyard holes, experiences can vary when buying cord from one vendor/distributor/manufacturer compared to another.  Cheapest is not always best, shop around.

Here I sit, contemplating what to eat, pizza or tacos, sporting a Made in the U.S.A. t-shirt that Schmuckatelli Co. sent me.  Even had one in my size, a 'Put the fork down!' size, one of those with lots of X's, lol.

Zigzag Spooling Paracord...

I finally got around to putting up a video showing how I zigzag spooled the paracord for my Carabiner Paracord Spool project.

0.9mm Braided Nylon Cord

I used a three peg knitting spool to make this lanyard shown attached to a Victorinox Farmer. The Ashley Book of Knots actually has a section on knitting spools and calls this a six sided sinnet. I used about 10 feet of 0.9mm braided nylon cord(40 lb test) for it and made lanyard knots to attach the ends to the small swivel clip and the small carabiner. The finished length is about a foot long between the attachments, so it's long enough to use as a wrist lanyard too.