One of my blog readers asked me to make something for holding a guitar pick with paracord. I did have one guitar pick handy, once having a guitar, but gave it away years ago because I couldn't play it to save my life.I used a basic three lead turks head knot that's commonly used for sailor bracelets, and in smaller cord or wire with jewelry for holding stones, coins, etc... I have tried this in the past with holding challenge coins, but didn't like how it covered up too much of the coin, but it works well enough to hold guitar picks. YMMV
Using a 6 foot length of paracord, starting the knot around 18" from one end of the cord, I tied it around a wine cork making the knot into eight bights and following it around again for a second pass, careful that it's not too tight around the cork, being somewhat loose so a pick will fit. The start and end strands can be equaled out by working slack through the knot in either direction.
The neck cords can be trimmed to make the necklace to a shorter length, or worked down into lanyard or key chain fob...The knot is slid off the cork and the triangular shaped guitar pick is worked into the center of the knot, placing the top side of the pick in where the neck cords come out, shape the knot down around the bottom of the pick as you work it into the knot.
A safety break-away was added for necklace use, since we all know that rabid fans and groupies will grab and rip at your clothes. You don't want to get strangled coming off the stage after your band rocks the house, lol...
The guitar pick is a snug fit in the center of the knot and will not accidentally fall out. The knot is actually thick/wide enough with two passes, to hold several guitar picks at once, so you can toss a few into the crowd as souvenirs while your band is playing a set...
Other knots that have been suggested to try as a holder, are the Spanish ring knot and the single strand star knot.
Nice work. I've been trying to figure out a way to wrap my GPS without obscuring the screen...this looks like it might work. The bad part: I have a sailor's bracelet on my wrist. The solution was on my wrist the entire time.
ReplyDeleteI noticed, though, that you talked about wrapping challenge coins. I'm a geocacher as well as a former Marine, and I've got a nice collection of geocoins and challenge coins. Besides a sailor's bracelet approach, what might you suggest for a wrap or holder?
@Ninja R, other types of cord might work with the same knot, maybe shock cord or elastic cord in a smaller diameter.
ReplyDeleteYou can try/experiment with pretty much any knot like a simple cobra stitch/Solomon bar or other flat type knot work/braid, that you may see used for various paracord bracelet designs, to work/wrap around an item as a type of holder. The edges would need to fold down around the object for a secured fit...
But since those knots aren't a continuous loop, like a turks head knot, you'd have to connect the ends, or tie them like the 'slip-on' type paracord bracelets I've posted... Hope that helps. :)
Yeah, I've seen Solomon knots used for a wrap before...it looked nice, but I think part of it was that the knot didn't terminate at the coin -- it was part of a larger piece.
ReplyDeleteI'll keep playing around once I finish with all the other knot projects I've got going on. Thanks!
Pretty neat, love the B&W photography here. I'm trying to think of some other cool stuff you could wrap in that knot... I guess I'm not that creative because my head is starting to hurt and I still haven't come up with anything! ;)
ReplyDeleteHi! thanks! I really like this!!
ReplyDeleteI will try then with other types of cord like you said. Thanks again!
Just came across your blog for the first time. I must say: this stuff is absolutely awesome! I'm the owner of a social apparel company out of Ann Arbor, MI. Is it possible to send you over an email? I would love to speak to you about possibly working together. You can grab our email at - http://www.imutheinsideout.com - looking forward to speaking with you. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHere is a link to something similar called a Spanish Ring.
ReplyDeletehttp://itsknotart.wordpress.com/2009/11/17/a-coin-held-tightly-by-a-spanish-ring-knot-it-makes-a-good-fob/
I have a silver dollar that I put one of these around but mine does not cover the edge as well as the one in this picture. I think I just need a few more bights to even it out more but have not gotten it right yet. Have you ever tried this knot?
@rawdinsroost, I have tied the Spanish ring knot before, but not tried it with this use before. It was also recommended on the KHWW.net forums, along with a single strand star knot, to try around a coin or guitar pick...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRNJH_oakfQ Im not so much about the music, but I am about the spring pole chew that they show at the beginning of the video. I do not keep pitbulls, I do not fight dogs. I do keep Jack Russel Terriers between 11 lbs and 15 lbs. My dogs being much smaller than what is shown in the video obviously have smaller mouths. I would love something very similar to the video, but out of parachord instead , keeping the biting surface smaller. Id like it to be about four feet long, with an ability to pass a carabiner thru one end of the braid and have the other end be finished and unable to ravel. Is there such a braid? Any and all help in this would be greatly appreciated. Paul
ReplyDelete@Anonymous, For a similar paracord dog toy chew, you could tie a crown sinnet with several doubled up lengths of paracord with a thick piece of rope as a core, finish with crown and wall knots, and tie knots with each individual end strand to keep them from coming back out of the knot.
ReplyDeleteIt would be a time consuming process using a lot of cord, and I don't know how long it would hold up to terriers, but let us know what you end up doing...
Im wondering if you would be interested in making a 3 foot long paracord jrt sized spring pole bite surface? Id also like to have a braided 2 foot long piece made to hang over the limb of the tree with a steel ring knotted into each end. My passion is my dogs and they take up most of my time. Im thinking that your passion (knot work) would be way better than I could ever hope to do and maybe you would think about taking on a project like im writing about and make a profit while doing it? My email is detroitchoochoo@gmail.com my name is Paul and I look forward to hearing back from you I hope.
ReplyDelete@Paul, I'm not currently doing any custom paracord work, but there are some folks on ebay, etsy, and various online forums that take paracord project requests, and someone out there can probably help with your spring pole project.
ReplyDeleteexcellent design!
ReplyDeletethanks a lot for sharing with us :)
I've seen guitar pick holders made of several sorts but yours is different and simple. Musicians who are usually on the go can definitely secure their guitar picks do it themselves as long as they can find a cord of some kind handy. Informative post! Thanks.
ReplyDeleteStormdrane - do you happen to have a video on YouTube on this Guitar Pick Holder project?
ReplyDelete@Todd, I haven't done a tutorial/video for the guitar pick holder.
ReplyDeleteThis is an awesome idea for a pick holder. It's out of the way and it looks like a cool necklace honestly. I'm impressed how crafty this knot is.
ReplyDeleteA really simple idea for a guitar pick holder is what Ready Pick has. They are clear pads that hold picks on the guitar.
Great blog and thanks for the info!
The two links in the article are dead. Do you have another link to reference?
ReplyDeleteA couple of youtube tutorials to try:
ReplyDeleteSpanish ring knot
&
Round brocade knot
Thank you for the help. Happy knotting.
ReplyDeleteHey Very Nice Blog!!! Thanks For Sharing!!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks
ReplyDelete