Friday, November 25, 2011

Gaucho bead paracord lanyard...

I used gaucho knot beads, made with 1.4mm cord, for this paracord lanyard.  The gaucho knot starts with a 5x4 turk's head knot.  I started with a 10 ft length of black paracord, from the center making a two inch loop, then tying series of two strand wall knots, adding a knotted bead, then alternating that pattern for the lanyard, finishing with a swivel snap hook.

At a total finished length of 18 inches, from snap hook to loop end, this one is for use with a key chain, flashlight, knife, multitool, or as a wallet lanyard.

Attachment options let the loop end fit over a belt and clip to an item, or clip to a belt loop, bag, pack, or other gear and loop onto a gadget...

 A longer length version would make a nice neck lanyard, decorative hat band, or necklace, and a shorter version for a paracord bracelet.  A custom paracord pet leash could be done for a lengthy project...

I'd tied some similar variations last year for lanyards,  fobs, and zipper pulls.

31 comments:

Dan said...

wow! Love it! I'd totally rock one of these as a necklace (ok, "neck lanyard"). Hope you are having a great Holiday SD, I am thankful for you sharing your paracord talents. :)

Knotty Bear said...

How Do David ;-)

A Fantastic looking piece of work!
After seeing this; I think I needs to make me a new Key Lanyard.

Realy love the knot combination!
Thank you for sharing.

Take care,
Barry ;-)

dogdoc said...

Very excited to find this blog! I'm looking to make some round 12 strand dog leads. Any resources you would recommend for a novice?

Stormdrane said...

@dogdoc, Visit KHWW.net and IGKT.net for more knot info, references, tutorials, and knowledgeable knot tyers to learn from. :)

Anonymous said...

Hi SD,
May I ask, where and how did you terminate the wall knot? To me it looks the same end-to-end. Great job and super design.
-Bill

Stormdrane said...

@Bill, At the snap hook end, I tied three wall knots, ran the cords around the snap hook, then tied two more wall knots around the strands, right up next to the previous three.

Those last two wall knots are slightly larger, being tied around the strands. I trimmed the ends close to the last knot, quick melt with lighter to prevent the cord from fraying, and a dab of super glue on them at the knot to finish.

Wouter Mellaart said...

Great work! I saw the Paracord Bracelet on http://www.instructables.com/id/Paracord-bracelet-with-a-side-release-buckle/ Is there any way I can order one?

Anonymous said...

Well, I've been trying for several days now to do the 5x4 turk's head knot and am just not getting it. I've found numerous tutorials online and still cannot figure it out. I even tried watching some youtube videos. :-(

I can usually pick up new knots pretty quickly, but this one isn't coming to me for some reason. Any help or better links you might point me to?

Stormdrane said...

@Wouter, I do not currently offer them for sale, and instead encourage folks to tie their own.

There are many people that do take custom orders on ebay, etsy, artfire, on various online forums, etc. for those that would rather purchase one.

Stormdrane said...

@Anonymous, here's another 5 x 4 TH tutorial from the KHWW.net site. Have patience with it and keep trying. ;)

Unknown said...

OK, first off I want to thank you for putting together a top notch site that encourages knotting and braiding, I think t is excellent. I have been laid up for a while and using this time to learn. With that said, I am struggling with the 2 strand wall knot on this lanyard for some reason. I have been playing with this for several hours and managed 5 of them, but can't get it started again after the first bead. DO you have a tutorial on this knot?

Thanks again for the great work!

Stormdrane said...

@Unknown, You can see an example of the two strand wall knot in diagram (1) from the link, which shows tying a double wall knot.

Henry said...

love the bracelet, jsut want to know where did you get the kind of clip you use to tie the 2 ends to make the bracelet, and what do you call it.

Stormdrane said...

@Henry, Those are called 'lanyard break-away connectors' or 'safety break-aways', and I bought mine from Lighthound.com.

Unknown said...

Where can I find your instruction on creating a regular paracord "Fish Tail" design and the wider fish tail design? These might have different names but I'm not sure. Thanks!

Stormdrane said...

@Unknown, I'm guessing by 'fish tail' that you mean the weaving type paracord pattern, like from this blog post, and another.

Mac said...

I am trying to use the link you posted to the Ashley book of knots and I simply can not figure out how to make them. Is there an instruct able or you tube video out there to show me how to do that knot you have in the paracord.

Stormdrane said...

@Mac, I uploaded a video showing the tying process for a Gaucho knot.

Mac said...

Sorry, I meant the knot that you tied in the paracord to make that sleek look. I am trying to make a necklace and it appears to be the only look that will be thin enough to pull it off.

Stormdrane said...

@Mac, The two strand wall knots are tied one after the other, worked up close to each previous knot.

The snake knot starts off with the two strand wall knot and gets an extra tuck.

smet337 said...

Hey stormdrane,Can you please tell me what size those beads are? Cause I had done one on a bead and when I put it on next to the knot I was like um this is why bigger then my knot.Thanks again for all your help! Scot

Stormdrane said...

@Scot, I used 1.4mm cord to tie those Gaucho beads, which have about a 6mm inner diameter hole, to fit two strands of ungutted paracord, and the outer diameter of the beads are around 12mm.

You'd have to use the same type/size of cord and a tube/cylinder/mandrel to tie/tighten the knots around, to duplicate the ones I've tied.

I used an old insulin syringe and metal chopstick tube to tie the ones in the photos, and brushed the inside of the beads with super glue to secure them before use.

Anonymous said...

hey stormdrane, the 1.4 cord you used from the direct ink you put it up with?

Stormdrane said...

@Anonymous, The 1.4mm cord I most often use is from 'mowfugger' on ebay, but many knot tyers also use the similar braided cord, 'Handy Hundred', from the R&W Rope link.

Anonymous said...

Stormdrane,

First let me say that that you do great work. I found your blog site when I first started tying 6 months ago and have tried and completed several of your projects.
I have been trying to complete the Gaucho Bead for some time and just can't get it. Did you start this over a larger surface then tighten them on the insulin syringe. Thanks for your help with this.

Scott W

Stormdrane said...

@Scott, I tie them loosely on the syringe that I used for a mandrel, then tightened them up in place, before sliding them off, trimming the ends, which can then be melted on the inside of the knot with a soldering iron/wood burning tool tip(with synthetic cord), or given a coat of super glue all around the inside of the knot, then let dry before adding to a lanyard.

You can tie the knot over a larger item first, then slide it off and onto a smaller mandrel to tighten it up, if you want to, but I didn't find it necessary for this project.

Some projects are easier if you tie them around a larger mandrel first, then tighten them up on the object they'll be finished on, like I do with tying some knots around Sharpie markers, then tighten them up around wooden beads to finish...

Anonymous said...

Just came across this and was wondering how you tie off the end to the snap hook?

Stormdrane said...

After the last guacho knot bead, I tied three more two-strand wall knots, then ran the working ends around the snap hook, and tied two more wall knots back towards the lanyard, around those two strands, then trimmed off the excess cord and melted the ends to finish.

If you look closely at the snap hook end, the last couple of knots are slightly larger than the others, because they were tied back around the working end strands.

Jason said...

I was inspired by this post I just had to try making one of my own. It's still in the works but I would love to share a picture of it when it's finish with you. I'm making it wrap around and connect back into itself to make a lanyard for my work badge. Thanks again for the inspiration!

Unknown said...

Hey just wondering how you get such a small gaucho knot bead. do you mind me asking what is it tied onto. Thanks

Stormdrane said...

An answer from a previous comment about the beads:

I used 1.4mm cord to tie those Gaucho beads, which have about a 6mm inner diameter hole, to fit two strands of ungutted paracord, and the outer diameter of the beads are around 12mm.

You'd have to use the same type/size of cord and a tube/cylinder/mandrel to tie/tighten the knots around, to duplicate the ones I've tied.

I used an old insulin syringe and metal chopstick tube to tie the ones in the photos, and brushed the inside of the beads with super glue to secure them before use.

Hope that helps! :)