This is another try for me, at a paracord sheath. I had tried one, two or three years ago, with a knotted section of paracord(like the paracord guitar strap I made), but wasn't satisfied with it, especially being too thick, and had put the idea on the long 'things to try later' list.A recent thread on EDC Forums had me ready to give it another go and I used weaving this time. And if you don't mind the time and effort, this method can also be used for making variations of paracord bracelets, belts, shoulder straps, etc...
I used a long section of gutted paracord(about 12 ft used in finished sheath), to weave around four sections of paracord(inner strands intact), which were centered to have 8 strands to weave around.
A sample photo showing a short gutted piece of paracord woven around the other strands to give you the basic weaving method.
I started at the lined up centered ends, by sewing one end of the 12 ft working strand to itself, around the end of the cords. Then started weaving over, under, around, and back. Continuing until I had the length I wanted(about one foot long) and finished this part like I started by sewing the end to itself around an end cord strand.
I worked each the 8 loose strands back into weave on what will be the inside of the sheath, and trimmed/melted the ends in place. I could have sewed them down, but I just went for the quick fix. I also worked a length of shock cord into the weave for a loop which would go around the lanyard knot/button knot, that I added last, used to secure the sheath flap. Other options could be done with sewing velcro sections on, maybe a button or snaps, or maybe even magnets.
I folded the completed woven section over, to form the parts for the body and the flap of the sheath, using my Victorinox Spirit as a size guide. Then I took another 5 ft section of gutted paracord and worked it around the woven edges to make the sides. Going from the top of the body, down to the bottom, across, and back up the other side. The start and ends of the cord were tucked and worked into the inner woven sections. I did have some nylon webbing that could have been sewn in place for the sides instead of more paracord, and elastic would probably be even better to allow various sized items to fit in the sheath for a snug fit, but I decided to stick with using mostly paracord for this one.
I've not added a belt clip, belt loop, or other attachment method yet and that's just something else to experiment with later...
28 comments:
Stormdrane,
I have been following your knots for quite a bit now.
I wonder how it would work with shock cords on the side. Maybe that can create a sort of universal sheath...
Maybe that also server to secure the multitool (or folder) more tightly to the sheath - as long as the elastic don't get loose.
Yes, shock cord on the sides would probably work well like that, similar to the way some universal fit cell phone pouches have the elastic sides to keep a snug fit for various sized phones.
Stormdrane, You rock! Just got to figure out the attachment for my belt... Will be trying this out soon. Thanks!
Now that is one cool sheath.
Once we're moved and settled, I may well give that a try to see whether it would make for a good sheath for my cell phone (the very thin LG Glance).
Dang! Stormdrane,
That's a fine looking piece of hand work. Keep on!
Regards,
Albert
The Rasch Outdoor Chronicles.
Where do Donations to the HSUS Go?.
Outstanding work! That inspires me to try to make one for my iPhone. Thanks for posting about it.
Stormdrane,
Love all you stuff you do and check your blog quite frequently. I am trying to make a necklace for a friend and make the snake knot cross that you posted in Aug of 2007. I am just wondering how you join the top, bottom and sides togther neatly? Any way you can post or describe with pictures how to do that?? Thanks in advance.
Your work is something to strive for!
Yeah, it's just a matter of size but this could be made to hold just about anything on a belt - ammo clips, for example!!
Ty,
The hard part on the snake knot cross is getting the first knot of the arms tight.
I do one arm at a time, getting the first knot worked as close as I can, then loosely tying the second snake knot which lets you go back and more easily tighten up the first knot.
With the second knot keeping the first in place, work any excess slack out of the first knot and then you can tighten up the second knot and finish the rest of that side and then do the same with the other arm of the cross. Hope that helps.
So...for instance, you make the top and the loose ends go to the right and left sides of the cross, correct? Same thing for the bottom...you make the bottom towards the top 6 knots, then one loose end goes to the left side and one to the right side? To sum it up, the bottom and top loose ends are joined to make the right and left sides of the cross? Sorry for all the typing ;-)
Yes, you are correct. the strands from the top and bottom sections are worked together, out to the sides for the arms. The same type of way the round/square sennit crosses are done.
Alternatively, some folks make the arms first and then do the top and bottom sections. The strands at the top are then sometimes used for a necklace, since there's not the usual loop from doing it the other way.
How much para per inch did it take to make this? I'm wanting to use this basic idea to make a lightweight pistol holster but have no idea how much to start with.
My guesstimate for used amount of cord for the woven section is 1"/1' (inch/foot).
My attempt to explain:
The math of it throws me for a loop, but here's what I used for the woven section of the sheath, which is about 1'(foot) long and 1.5"(inches) wide:
About 12'(feet) is the amount used in the length of gutted cord and four 3'(foot) lengths of non-gutted paracord were folded in half and woven around with the gutted strand, and the 8 ends were folded back and tucked into the end of the weave. But, I trimmed off the 8 strand excess ends which totaled about 1.5'(feet) worth of cord, which means I used about 10.5'(feet) for that non-gutted paracord part of the weave.
So, if I understand the totals, it comes out to 22.5 square inches of woven area and about 22.5 feet of paracord used. And that comes to about 1 foot of cord per 1 inch of woven area.
The same weave could be done with one long strand of paracord, either gutted or with inner strands intact, but the math would probably vary a little bit because the of the cord size differece in gutted/non-gutted.
Now I also used more cord to finish the sheath including: a half foot of gutted paracord for the button knot, one 5' length for the sides of the sheath, 4' for the belt loop, and a length of shock cord for closing the flap to the button knot.
Ha, now I'm more confused than when I started. I just use more cord than I think I will need and then add a little bit more. I can always use the left over bits for something else. Hope that helps. :)
Thanks, I'm going to try my hand at a holster for my 1911 to hook to my pack when I go hiking. If it works I'll send pictures, but I'm not getting my hopes up on the first attempt.
Well, I've got a first draft of my holster made. How can I send a picture of it to you?
You can send it to my email: stormdrane [at] hotmail [dot] com
Or you could use photobucket, xanga, or other similar online photo host and add the link here in the comments so others can see it to.
I still need to figure out how to hook it to my pack, and I'm going to add some wire along the backside of it for rigidity.
http://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv134/batk270/062309_200900.jpg
http://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv134/batk270/062309_201000.jpg
http://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv134/batk270/062309_201001.jpg
http://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv134/batk270/062309_201100.jpg
Brian,
That came out pretty cool! Cocked and locked and ready to rock! Thanks for sharing!
I'm tempted to try this technique for a mag pouch.
I'm also tempted to use this as a mag pouch, but i'd like to see how the sides are woven together. i see that it crisscrosses but i can't exactly see where the material gets passed thru in the small pictures.
If you click on the photos, a larger version should pop up. I used a single strand to zigzag down one side of the pouch - around the spaces between the woven edges of the pouch, across the bottom, and back up the other side. The ends of the strand were tucked into the woven section and I ran needle and thread thru to further secure them.
Hey Stormdrane,
I like the way your pouch came out. Keep up the great blogs. Just a quick question, How did you secure this weave as you were tying it?
I tied the weave in hand, so there was nothing used to keep everything secured, like you might have weaving with a loom, and it worked fine for me on a small project like this.
Do u have a knife sheath instead of a leatherman sheath?
@john, The sheath/pouch can be made and sized to accommodate a knife, multitool, flashlight, cell phone, etc... ;)
Awesome project. Here's a question. How would you weave more than one pouch together??? I'd like to make a three or four magazine mega pouch for my. 45 that I'd wear in the small of my back during IDPA practice....that added to the one in the firearm and the double holder on my left would mean more practice....less loading. you work is really nice!
If you make individual pouches, you could just use some smaller diameter cord to bind them together along the front and back edges where they come together.
Or, perhaps just make one large pouch, with maybe a kydex/plastic divider insert to separate the magazines. You could still have it worked with individual flaps to close up over the wider one pouch body...
Make a wallet with it but use a credit card for size
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