Thursday, December 31, 2009

Crown sinnet paracord bracelet...

Here's a crown sinnet(round) paracord bracelet with a side release buckle(a 3/8" sized buckle was used). The paracord's inner strands were left intact.

I used a 2 foot length of paracord to loop onto one end of a buckle with the center of the cord, loop around the other part of the buckle, adding about 1 inch longer than my measured wrist size, tied one square knot/reef knot to secure the cord, then tuck the ends with hemostats and trim any excess. You can sew, melt, or super glue the ends to further secure if needed.

The separate wrist section is the core that the crown sinnet will be tied around. I used 2 six foot long paracord strands for tying the crown sinnet, which made a finished knotted length of about 7.5 inches over the core strands. You can use more or less paracord depending on what size you're making for yourself. It's always better to start with too much, than to come up short...

You can also use a lanyard knot and loop type closure instead of using the side release buckle. I just melted the four sinnet strand ends in place, but you can finish with other methods, like a lanyard knot or tucking the ends...

The BoondoggleMan.com website has a tutorial of a square crown sinnet bracelet(Seamless Square Bracelet), made where the ending strands tuck into the starting end. That version requires the bracelet be made large enough to fit over the hand when sliding onto the wearer's wrist, where a buckle or knot/loop version allow the bracelet to be tied closer to a person's wrist size.

Monday, December 07, 2009

Half Hitched Paracord Can Koozie...

Here's a half hitched paracord can koozie(cozy). About 1.5 feet of paracord for the drawstring/cinch cord with cordlock, and 30 feet of paracord for the half hitching around the can. A carabiner can be used with the drawstring/cinch cord to attach to a belt loop/bag/pack...

Knitted and crochet type can and bottle koozies(cozy) have been around for a long time, but I haven't come across any done with paracord. An EDC Forums member that was serving in Afghanistan, had asked for ideas earlier this year.

With web surfing, I've come across knitted/crocheted examples like the ones that can be seen here and here, and another knotted example, tied in smaller diameter cord, is shown in the KHWW.net 'Knotty Gallery' of member Frank Brown.

And also shown used as a pouch for an alcohol can stove.  Suitable for and Altoids mint tin/candy/gum/survial tin pouch, cell phone, etc...

Wednesday, December 02, 2009

Half Hitched Paracord Drawstring Pouch

This one is tied in the same manner as the glow-in-the-dark pouch of the previous post. I used a one foot long piece of 550 paracord for the drawstring/cinch cord with cord lock, and 20 feet of paracord for the pouch.

I tied it around a 1.5" diameter by 5" long piece of foam tubing as a mandrel, but you could use a section of PVC pipe, or any other similar cylindrical object to tie around.

This was made for a multitool, like the Victorinox SwissTool seen in the photo, but since these half hitched pouches can expand/elongate/stretch, it also works well to store a cell phone, Altoids/survival tin, deck of cards, or a pistol magazine, etc...

I haven't added any belt loops to it, but I'm sure something like that could easily be rigged with some more paracord, a belt clip, or maybe a carabiner or two could also work to secure the pouch to a belt/bag/pack etc...

I'd guess at doubling the amount of cord for doing a paracord half hitched can koozie, to be on the safe side It can be tied directly around a soda/beer can. And since you're only feeding the cord around once for each half hitch, compared with twice for the cow hitching method, it takes a little less time.

And another photo of the pouch mounted onto a backpack shoulder strap with a few Grimlock Locking D Rings.

Stuart Grainger's 'Creative Ropecraft' has some good diagrams and variations of half hitching/needle hitching.