Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Medic Alert Tag...

A soldier told me a friend of theirs had made them a paracord bracelet, while in Iraq, and had incorporated one of his dog tags into the bracelet, and I'd heard of this being done before from a couple of military folks that served during the first Gulf War.

They asked if I knew how to do that, and I imagine there are at least a couple of possibilities, but not having seen that particular one, I could only guess and give it a try with what I have to work with, which happened to be my Type II Diabetic medic alert tag.

The stainless steel medic alert tag that I have is smaller than a dog tag, but was easily added to a paracord bracelet and sized just right for a cobra stitch/Solomon bar/Portuguese sinnet type bracelet, by running the cord through the rings that originally attached it to the stainless chain it came with, as the knots were done.

As worn, the tag sits flat and when the bracelet is removed, the tag can still be angled to read the engraved medical condition on the backside.  Tying the tag in place with thin elastic cord would allow the tag to easily be flipped over to read the reverse side.

16 comments:

brianb127 said...

Very nice SD.I have a friend in the military that I made a neck lanyard to wear his dog tags on. I forgot to take a pic and post it on my blog. It is just like the solid white I have posted but I used od green and black for his. Once again you have done an outstanding jod.

danielgreen said...

Happy New Year,SD! This is very nice i've never heard of this idea but it sounds like a good one. Keep up the good work!

Albert A Rasch said...

SD,

Very nice! Not only does it look good with the tag, but it looks pretty darn nice on its own!

You have motivated me to try my hand at a little of this knot tying buisness. First I have to finish that darned pirouge I've been writing about in my blog. I can think of a half dozen different applications for knotwork on pirouge, turks heads on the paddles, weighted monkey knot on the end of a throw line, even some handles on the wooden seat boxes.

I'm definately enjoying your blog!

Regards,
Albert A Rasch
The Rasch Outdoor Chronicles
Proud Member of Outdoor Bloggers Summit
Southeast Regional OBS Coordinator

Anonymous said...

I love it. I'm not a fan of the dog tag ones. Normally the dog tag is way to big. but the Medic alert is a great size.

I hope you have a wonderful new year and keep up the blogging I love your work.

Stormdrane said...

Thanks everyone. I hope ya'll have a Safe and Happy New Year!

Zak said...

Bit late for a timely comment, but I was looking at the Survival Straps website, and by the bolt there are four strands, like on this project. How does that work? I only know how to make the double strand thing. (if you know what I mean)
Also, could you make a post on how to make it possibly?
I really like reading your blog, and trying out some of your ideas!

Stormdrane said...

I assume you mean the core strands wrapped around the buckle ends. The two strand core is just the simplest way to do paracord bracelets and with smaller buckles like the 3/8" and 1/2", usually there's just room to loop onto one end and around the other before knotting.

But with larger buckles, like 5/8", you can run the cord back and forth two or three times to fill up the space on the buckle ends, with 4 or 6 strands in the core, before you start knotting.

Here's a few photo links showing the cord attached to a buckle and run back and forth between and around them for different amounts of core strands.

1
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6

Zak said...

Thanks a lot! That cleared that question up.

Anonymous said...

Hey, I wanted to make one of these for me and my brother since we are both allergic to peanuts and neither of us like the look of the medic alert bracelets they have for sale. Do you have have a link for where you got that medic alert tag? Thanks.

Stormdrane said...

I bought that one at a Kroger grocery store in the pharmacy section. A little googling brought up this one on ebay.

Unknown said...

Love the look and would like to know how I can get one....

Any info is greatly appreciated!!

Stormdrane said...

@MC, Paracord bracelets are a do-it-yourself type project, easy to follow tutorials can be found on the Instructables website. You can find medic alert tag/bracelets online or at your local pharmacy, and it's easy to apply them to a paracord bracelet as you make one.

Bellator said...

That post came in handy when my fiancee had to start taking medication. She doesn't like the look and more importantly the feel of most regular medic alert bracelets, so I decided to try to make my own. And with her desire for it to be resizable I decided to try some hook and loop strips for a closure system, which worked rather well and hopefully the glue will hold them securely to the bracelet for a long time.

Picture

Stormdrane said...

@Bellator, Nice work!

Kenn Fong said...

Great blog, Stormdrane!

I have a genuine MedicAlert bracelet and I was thinking of making one of these for it using silver and red paracord. What is your experience with lighter paracord when it gets dirty? Short of any petroleum or ink-based stains, what happens to the lighter paracord after it encounters sweat and dust?

And what do you think of combining this design with a watch band? I was thinking of putting the MedicAlert tag one of the straps, perhaps cheating by making that one slightly longer before including the side-release buckle.

Cheers, kenn

Stormdrane said...

@Kenn, For cleaning, I use an old soft bristle toothbrush and liquid soap in the sink, and let air dry. Lighter colors do show dirt and tend to get the look of an old t-shirt or socks over time, but regular cleaning prolongs a paracord bracelets life. When the cord just gets worn and dirty beyond cleaning, just a new one.

I think adding the medic alert tag to a watchband would look just fine. Just decide which side of the watch you want it and go for it. :)