Thursday, October 30, 2008

Neck lanyard with a safety break-away

I used around 36 feet of 2.4mm cord to make this cobra stitch/Solomon bar/Portuguese sinnet/square knotting(may be a couple more names for it out there...) neck lanyard, with a break-away hidden under a 5 lead 4 bight Turk's head knot. The Turk's head is snug enough to stay in place, yet not interfere with the safety function.








Some folks need the break-away on a lanyard for peace of mind, and it may even be a requirement if they wear one at work. A safety feature for a neck lanyard is definitely a must for kids, since 'safety' is an unknown or yet to be learned concept for children.

I started with 2, two foot long pieces, of the 2.4mm braided nylon cord, attached to both parts of the break-away(just overhand stopper knots securing them). Then I had two 20 foot long pieces of cord(middled, one for each side) for making the knots over the single strands on the break-away.

Once I had the length of those long knotted sections where I wanted them, I have a total of six strands where they all come together. Two long outer strands, two long inner strands, and the two short core strands. I take the two long inner strands and looped them around the split ring, at the length I want for the end section, and make the knots back towards the point where the long sections come together, keeping the two short core strands in the center of these knots for the core.

I then trim/melt the remaining long inner strands and the short strands to get them out of the way. I now have just the two long outer strands left, to make the king cobra section of knots over the shorter finished section, then trim/melt.

Finally, I used a few more feet(4 or 5 feet I think) of cord to make the turks head(5L4B) over a Sharpie marker, work out the slack and tighten it up, then it's slid over the break-away. Hope that's not too complicated to visualize. :)







29 comments:

Ken said...

I'm not getting my head around this one. you took to lines and doubled them around the ring. Those lines became the 'core' of each of the branches and then attached to the break-away. and....ummmm....then... ....umm...nope, I'm not getting it. what's the structure here?

Stormdrane said...

I started with 2, two foot long pieces, of the 2.4mm braided nylon cord, attached to both parts of the break-away(just overhand stopper knots securing them).

Then I had two 20 foot long pieces of cord(middled, one for each side) for making the knots over the single strands on the break-away.

Once I had the length of those long knotted sections where I wanted them, I have a total of six strands where they all come together. Two long outer strands, two long inner strands, and the two short core strands.

I take the two long inner strands and looped them around the split ring, at the length I want for the end section, and make the knots back towards the point where the long sections come together, keeping the two short core strands in the center of these knots for the core.

I then trim/melt the remaining long inner strands and the short strands to get them out of the way.

I now have just the two long outer strands left, to make the king cobra section of knots over the shorter finished section, then trim/melt.

Finally, I used a few more feet(4 or 5 feet I think) of cord to make the turks head(5L4B) over a Sharpie marker, work out the slack and tighten it up, then it's slid over the break-away.

Hope that's not too complicated to visualize. :)

Ken said...

Perfect!
thanks!

Anonymous said...

impressive

danielgreen said...

hey SD nice job realy cool but i
dont see how the break away works although its a good peice-o-work

Stormdrane said...

The break-away pulls apart as a safety feature to prevent the lanyard from becoming a choking hazard.

brianb127 said...

Very nice lanyard SD.I'm new at tying but was able to make a lanyard for my ED HALLIGAN neck peck out of paracord.Thanks

Anonymous said...

How would you make on of these if did not want the brake away?

Stormdrane said...

Without the break-away, it could be done almost the same way, in tying two single strands together where the break-away would have been, then using those as cores for the knots to the point that they come together at the desired length. A turks head would still be made over the center to cover the tied connecting knots.

Or, use one long length as a core to knot over as an uninterrupted neck lanyard neck lanyard and connect the working ends with the starting ends before finishing with adding a split ring for the attachment point.

brianb127 said...

I remember you mentioning perma-lok needles for use doing a TH. Just wanted to let you know that they can be ordered from www.tandyleatherfactory.com. Thought this info might be useful.

Knotty Sean said...

I don't mean to be thick, but I tried this a few times as you have described it. I can't seem to get this one going... :( I just can't visualize the steps.

I will shelve this one for a while I guess, till I get more knots under my belt.

Stormdrane said...

Sean, when I get a chance, I'll try to take a couple of photos of the process. I know seeing something done helps a lot more than just reading how it's done. :)

Knotty Sean said...

Thanks SD. I am a visual learner for sure!

sldhed8 said...

SD, I found this off storl's blog and quite impressed. Tried a few things already. Want to try the lanyard, and like Sean, needing visuals. I have everything dialed, but how to start this one.

Stormdrane said...

A few sequence photos:

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

sldhed8 said...

Awesome. Thank you SD! I tried it from your explanation, and didn't stop knotting until I got to the end. Makes more sense how you did it. Thank you for the pictures.

I just got a demo order of 40 side releases today from ITW, now I'm in business for the bracelets and reflective I.D. leg wraps.

Anonymous said...

SD, can you tell us where you get your cordage? I have an ok local suplier for 550. Where can I get the smaller sizes you use in the tutorials(which by the way are GREAT!!)?

thanks!

Stormdrane said...

I've bought Paracord from the Supply Captain and other online retailers over the last few years, and some of the smaller diameter nylon cord from 'mowfugger' on ebay, various hardware stores sometimes have different types like mason line, Army/Navy stores usually have some, and online rope makers/distributors like R&W Rope Warehouse also carry different sizes/types of cordage. Look thru my 'links list' in the side bar of the blog page.----->

Unknown said...

I was just wondering how you secure the ends of the turks head knot. Are they tucked in and if so how do you keep them from coming undone.

Stormdrane said...

With synthetic cord, the ends of the turks head knot can be melted in place after trimming and tucking, with a torch lighter, soldering iron, or wood burning tool.

You can also sew the ends in place or use a drop of super glue, which is what may be done when using natural material like cotton or hemp cord.

Anonymous said...

go to vtarmynavy.com this the the Vermont Barr army navy surplus. They sell 450 and 550 paracord in almost any length and color. It costs (I think) $18 for 250 ft of paracord. It's ALOT cheeper than supply captain or anywhere else. Give it a try

carol said...

these are really great unique and useful. i would love to be able to make my own lanyards for my team at work.

Anonymous said...

I was having some trouble pulling up the pics you laid out on an earlier question in the comment...

I couldn't convince you to relook at those could I?

Picture 1 comes up but the ones following it do not.

Thanks for all your great help!

Stormdrane said...

@Anonymous, Try them again, all 7 are coming up ok for me... :)

Anonymous said...

Yep...they're coming up for me now. Sorry.

I really appreciate your help on your various blogs and newsgroup postings! Your steps really help trying to learn.

kcnal said...

Thanks for the help on this type of lanyard (neck). I was hoping to make one like another great looking piece you made I saw you posted on the candlepower forum. (http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=106012&page=7)

which is a black/grey with dual loops. Is the basically done the same way or do you have any tips on how I start that one out?

Thanks for the help.

Stormdrane said...

@kcnal, The black and gray one posted on CPF was done differently, being a four strand round braid(diamond/spiral name if using two colors and pattern made). Example of tying them on boondoggleman.com.

I started from the center of both strands, brought the start along the strands when I had the length I wanted, trimmed/melted one strand, used another for whipping to hold the ends together, and used the remaining two strands for attachments.

There are many possible variations on tying that type of lanyard, in how it starts and finishes..

kcnal said...

Ok..thanks. I'm going to give it a go.

Is there a basic "guestimate" of estimating the length of the cord required.

I'll check out the link you provided. Thanks again! (P.S. I saw the Auburn ones you did..nice!! and I'm not an Auburn fan...nor Bama (for those listening in...I don't want to start a SEC football war!)

Stormdrane said...

@kcnal, I think I started with around 20 feet of paracord(10 ft of each color) for tying a neck lanyard with the 4 strand round braid/sinnet. YMMV

My folks still use the Auburn colored neck lanyards, each time they go on cruises, to carry their ship IDs.