Bat Light with paracord handle finger grip wrap...

I first saw the Nebo iProtec Bat Light online last summer. It looked like a nifty multipurpose LED flashlight to add to the wish list, and I finally bought one a few weeks ago.  It reminds me of the tire thumpers I had when I was a truck driver, only this has a flashlight built in and is a whole lot brighter than the keychain flashlights I usually carried.  I like it so far, it just needed some paracord added to the handle/grip area.

With a 20 foot length of licorice paracord(a red & black color combination), I started tying at the clicky/button switch end of the light with a Spanish/woven ring knot, tied and tightened, then a few coiled wraps before tying each of the other Spanish/woven ring knots, repeating that pattern, creating a finger grip effect over the knurled grip section of the light.

I've used similar handle/grip wraps before, good on walking/hiking staffs, flashlights, knife and tool handles, etc.

I kept tying beyond the knurling, up over the smooth center section of the light, so I added some silicone tape, for grip, around that part before continuing, so that the knot work wouldn't twist loose.  The knurling offers plenty of friction with the paracord around the rest of the grip to stay in place.

I ended up using about 16 feet paracord when finished, out of the 20 foot starting length, so I could have continued with a bit more knot work, but I was satisfied with the grip as I had it.

There is a tiny hole in the base of the light for a wrist lanyard, too small for paracord, but a split ring or 1.4mm cord can fit through it in case I want to add a lanyard.

The textured rubber sleeve that fits over the top of the light could be removed if one wanted to add even more knot work along the length of the light.

I've used the light frequently when going out before sunrise to pick up the daily newspaper.  With rabid animals reported in the area over the last couple of months, I like having something in hand that I might could clobber one with if attacked, lol...


And another photo of the Bat light next to my 3D-cell Maglite for size comparison.  My Maglite is shown with a paracord grip that I tied for it in July 2006.

Here are a couple more links for the doubled Solomon bar/Portuguese sinnet/king cobra grip tied as adjustable with a cord lock, and for a Mini Maglite/koppo stick grip version.  I also suggested these type of grips would work for Jeep grab handles when a blog reader had asked me for ideas.

Encompassed in Brass

I received a couple of cool new items from County Comm last month.  The Brass Match/Compass Capsule and the Companion Compass.

I've tied/untied several ideas with both pieces, using paracord, gutted and un-gutted, tether cord, 1.4mm cord, and 0.9mm string, even zigzag spooling some.  They look nice just as they came, so I almost left them naked, just with a dummy cord attached, lol...

For the capsule, I went with 0.9mm cord to tie a Gaucho knot variation from a 3 lead 5 bight Turk's head, expanded to a 5 lead 9 bight, then worked in the Gaucho pattern.  Next was Moku hitching, then another Gaucho to finish.

I stared with a 10 foot long strand of the 0.9mm cord, tying and tightening the first knot, then added in another 10 foot strand to do the Moku hitching with both strands, and finished with the other Gaucho knot with the remainder of the second strand.

I got lucky with the cord I'd need guesstimate, and ended up just 18 inches left of both strands, so no waste as those scrap ends will eventually get put to use.  I used black tether cord with scaffold knots at each end for a two foot long dummy retention cord to attach to a belt, bag, gear, etc..

For the Companion Compass, I was thinking of adding it to a zipper pull, or a tether cord necklace, but instead attached it to a Grimloc, to clip to MOLLE webbing, or use with an EDC keychain, etc...

I ran some 1.4mm cord through the compass's brass attachment point, through a pewter Schmuckatelli Co. Joe skull, around the Grimloc, then tied a two-strand wall knot, ran the cords back down through the skull bead and tied several more wall knots in a sinnet that looks a bit like a spinal column, then trimmed and melted the ends to finish.

Spanish/woven ring knot around a pendant...

I tied this Spanish/woven ring knot around one of my Shields of Strength pendants with ungutted paracord.  I'd tried smaller diameter cord first, 1.4mm and 0.9mm tries, but the pendant didn't want to stay centered with the narrow knot work, so I went with paracord for this project.

I used a 1/2"/12mm split ring to fit around both the pendant and the knot work, and still have room for the ball chain covered with gutted paracord.

I had tied a 3 lead Turk's head knot first, around a cap from a butane lighter refill can, since it was about the same diameter as the pendant, then moved that knot to the pendant, adding the split ring, then worked in the Spanish/woven ring knot pattern, staying inside the split ring, tightened it up, trimmed and melted the ends to finish.

I also tried the Round Brocade Knot(Coin Wrap),  following JD's(TIAT) instructions from his most recent book, Paracord Project Inspirations, but the curved/convex/concave shape of the pendant, being different from a flat coin, was testing my patience, lol.

The wrap is snug around the pendant and stays in place, but it could still be forced out/removed, so a coat of super/krazy glue could be added to the knot to make it more permanent if desired.

And an example shown of 0.9mm cord, tied into a Gaucho knot variation, used on the Shields of Strength Battle Shield pendant that I keep on my EDC keyring.  If you tie a knot that's wide enough to fit/form around the outer rim of the shield and tighten it up in place,  smaller diameter cord can work, it just takes a bit more patience.

I started with a 3 lead 8 bight Turk's head knot, raised/expanded that into a 5 lead 14 bight knot, then worked in the Gaucho pattern.

As with the paracord wrap, I used the butane refill canister cap as a mandrel first, then slid the knot off the cap and around the pendant where I gradually tightened it up over several passes as I used a finger/thumb on one hand to shape the knot around the edge of the pendant, and a clay stylus/improvised marlinspike with the other hand to work out the slack.  I added a coat of brush on super/krazy glue to finish.  I used around 4 feet of the 0.9mm cord in the finished knot.


And the pendant shown with a small neck knife on a ball chain with kydex sheath.