I've been meaning to celebrate Alabama's 14th National Championship with a new post, but time hasn't allowed it. With the 2012 season less than two weeks away, there was no better time than today.
This is my first attempt at using 450 Type II Paracord. I have been meaning to get some 450 to test the differences with 550, and since Vermont's Barre had a different color of red that I hadn't been able to get in 550, I decided to give it a try. Once it arrived, I was please to see that Imperial Red matched almost exactly to Alabama's Crimson color.
I am truly pleased with the support from my readers, I asked you to click on the advertising links and try to reach five dollars in advertising revenue in one day and you really came through, at last count it was over seven dollars, Thank You.
Since you did your part, I've been working for the past several hours to put together the tutorial that I promised.
As with most of my tutorials, I'll be including the tutorial in PDF form and a shorter version that is in image format.
This is an original design by JD of TyingItAllTogether, found in the photos of some of his new work on his Twitter channel.
This is a really great looking design, though it may not sparkle as well as it should in this monochrome format, but I kind of dig single-plain colors for fobs that I intend to carry on my key chain.
Although JD keeps churning out new and innovative tutorials, to my knowledge he hasn't release a video for tying this design yet.
At this time I am not releasing a tutorial showing the tying technique. If JD decides to create a video showing how to tie it, he will do a better job of explaining it. However, if you familiarize yourself with a couple of his videos, you should be able to tie the design. Watch the following video by JD titled "How to Make a Paracord Firecracker Sinnet (Key Fob) by TIAT", which is almost the same, you just need to crisscross the cords.
If you still can't figure out how it was tied, review one of his other videos, How to Make a Corset Spine Bracelet by TIAT, this shows the crisscrossing method.You may also want to view JD's original version of the Crisscrossed Firecracker Sinnet which is tied in three different colors, this will make it easier to see where the cords should go.
Notice: In case you did not see the previous section, the original knot design was labeled and created by JD of TyingItAllTogther.
This design was created by JD of TyingItAllTogether, I am only showing how to tie it and attach it to a buckle.
I am frequently asked how I attach buckles to bracelets, since it's hard to explain, I thought I would show it in this tutorial. The method used to attach this bracelet to a buckle will work on many different types of knot designs.
This tutorial is broken down into three parts, but for a better explanation of how to tie this bracelet, I've uploaded the tutorial in Adobe Acrobat PDF form. To download the tutorial, right-click on the following link and select "Save As", or just click it to open it in your browser: Download Tutorial.
In a previous post, I presented the Braided Turk's Head Lanyard. It was originally designed by Trident and creates a stylish lanyard, I added the lanyard to a Turk's Head-handled flashlight.
This design shows the versatility of the Long Two Bight Turk's Head and has been a favorite of mine for a while.
To create the lanyard for the flashlight, I used two four feet long strands of Tiger Camo paracord followed by twelve feet of Black paracord atop the braided strands. I don't remember the total length of cord used for the flashlight but somewhere around ten feet should be sufficient.
To tie the lanyard, start by middling two strands which will leave you with four equal lengths. Start braiding by following my Diamond Braid Stitch tutorial and braid the entire length of cord to the ends.
Complete the lanyard by tying a Long Two Bight Turk's Head atop the braiding. Use the first part of Bud Brewer's tutorial to tie the Long Two Bight Turk's Head. You will need to modify the tutorial to suit your needs, in the original tutorial, the first image shows three turns, you will need to keep going around the braiding until you have almost completely covered the braiding. Also, when making your initial turns over the braiding, for every turn you will need to skip two segments of braiding in order to make the end result look correct.
I finished off the lanyard by attaching a 1/2" D-Ring and small lobster clamp by using West Country Whipping to cover the splice.
The flashlight is straightforward if you have completed the lanyard, just tie a Long Two Bight Turk's Head and stretch the cord out to extend the opening. Make sure the end result is tightened so that no slippage will occur.
Stay tuned, I intend to place my own spin on the Long Two Bight Turk's Head tutorial and hopefully it will be easier for those who haven't been able to figure it out yet.
For this post, I decided to show some of the newest "quick deploy" solutions for creating emergency paracord bracelets. You may have noticed one of the designs in the image from before, I previously featured it for an emergency bracelet and I thought it would fit perfectly with the other two bracelet designs.
Both of these bracelets are created in a similar way. The foliage green bracelet (the bracelet on the right) is called the Millipede Survival Bracelet by paintballhead03 and used around 12 feet of paracord to tie. The other design is something I thought of when tying the Millipede bracelet, it's simply a Genoese Bar bracelet that is tied around a Slip Knot the same way as the Millipede bracelet is tied. This design may have been created before and if needed I will provide a tutorial that shows the tying technique. Until then, follow the instructions from the Millipede video that shows the starting technique which uses two Slip Knots, one for each strand, then instead of tying the Millipede wrap over the Slip Knots, tie a Genoese Bar over the Slip Knot cores.
Chain Sinnet Square Knot Emergency Bracelet
For the other quick deploy bracelet I have decided to show the Chain Sinnet Square Knot once again, but this time it's tied using Salmon paracord because the ladies need emergency bracelets too. The creator of this knot design, Andy Smith, created the video from which I learned to tie this bracelet. It's fairly straight forward and of the three designs is probably the easiest to tie and looks most like the Solomon Bar.
I once thought that there was no way that someone with basic tools could produce a better Lacing Needle than the Tandy Leather Factory's Perma Lok Lacing Needle, until now. After trying many different techniques from collaborations between my readers and I, I decided that I would take the simplest route possible. You can make this type of Lacing Needle with little more than a screw driver, drill and something to cut the needle material (i.e. hacksaw or Dremel).
Vise (anything that will securely hold the needle)
INSTRUCTIONS
Once you've acquired the tools and materials, the rest is fairly easy.CAUTION: ALWAYS WEAR SAFETY GLASSES WHEN WORKING WITH METAL AND FOLLOW SAFETY GUIDELINES OF THE SPECIFIC TOOL YOU ARE USING.
Please excuse the mess in my workshop
Determine the length that you want the needle to be and mark it and then cut it.
Place the needle in an upright position in the vise.
Using the #43 drill bit, drill down the center of the shaft of the needle to a depth of ¼" (be careful to drill straight down the center). I used a smaller bit before using the final bit so that it is easier to drill the center point.
Use one the 4x¾ Metal Screws, screw in the screws with the screwdriver until you reach the total depth.
Remove the screw and you're pretty much finished. If you want to produce the polished look like my final result you will need to remove the paint from needle. I used my Dremel, but you can use sandpaper in a pinch. Once sanded, use a polishing compound to bring the needle to a brilliant shine (I recommend using Flitz, it's the best polish on the market).
My most recent purchase from Supply Captain included this Urban Camo paracord and the Emerson Skull attached to the loop of the Crown Sinnet. For the other fob I chose to use the classic style of the Solomon Bar which will never go out of style.
To make this fob, you will need to know four knots: Matthew Walker Knot, Round Crown Sinnet, and the Wall Knot.
To tie a Round Crown Sinnet, you can follow my Instructables tutorial, but instead of six strands, use four. Links to the remainder of the tutorials are located in the Sources and References section.
This tactical-looking pouch can be tied easily using one knot design. If you look closely at the pouch you will notice that it is simply a Wide Solomon Bar that is lashed together on the sides.
The amount of paracord you will need depends on the size of the pouch, I used four-seven feet long strands for the Wide Solomon Bar section and two-four feet long strands for the sides. You will also need a short strand to go around the top of the pouch and about two feet for the Solomon Bar on the backside to make a loop for a belt.
You will notice that most instructions on tying a Wide Solomon Bar uses three strands, the two strands on either end are for the Solomon Bar section and the middle strand is the "X" strand that joins the two Solomon Bar sections. I added an extra strand to each of the Solomon Bars in order to make the finished Wide Solomon Bars wider so that the magazine will slide in and out of the pouch easier.
You need to measure the full vertical length of your magazine (front-bottom-back). View the video by JD at TyingItAllTogether to show the tying technique. You will notice there is a single strand that is the core strand that both sides of the Solomon Bar are tied around, both of these strands need to be just a little longer than the length you previously measured. Instead of using a metal ring to lash the strands, use a length of paracord approximately one foot long. Keep tying until you've almost reached the length you need. Use the inner core strands and form a loop on the end of each strand and either sew it together, or singe it together. Continue tying the Wide Solomon Bar until you've almost covered the loops, bring the bottom end around the back forming a "U" shape and then insert the strand that you used for the metal ring into the loops that you formed.
For the sides, I removed the inner strands of the paracord and made a zigzag pattern to lash the sides together.
For the belt loop, I attached a short strand of paracord through a couple of loops on the backside by using a Lacing Needle. Once I had two strands attached to the pouch, I tied a Solomon Bar around the strands.
That's pretty much all there is to tying this pouch, it is really easy to tie once you've figured out how to tie the Wide Solomon Bar.
Recently while trolling the internet, I came across this design tied by a fellow Blogger. He was tying the design mainly for use as a leash, but this is a tough, rugged looking design that can be used in many different ways. Before tying this lanyard, I thought about using this design as a strap to replace the "Oh Crap" handles in my Jeep.
Tying this design will take patience and time to create a great looking piece. Since I usually try to only post knot designs that are fairly easy to tie, I hesitated on posting this here, but I feel that the novice knot tying enthusiast can tie this with a little effort. It is tied in parts which will make it difficult to determine the amount of cord you will need. The full length of my lanyard was 16 inches and required 12 feet for the Turk's Head section, and two 40 inch lengths for the braided core. It is tied with a Long Two Bight Turk's Head on top of a Four Strand Braided Core.
Once you've determined the length you want to tie, start braiding, I showed this technique here and I also included the tying diagram below. When you finish braiding, start the Turk's Head Knot.
Bud Brewer created a tutorial on tying a Long Two Bight Turk's Head and expanding it to Long Four Bight Turk's Head, but we only need the first part for this design.
When tying the Turk's Head, make sure the strands fall in place over the braiding in order to get the best end result.
I recently purchased some exciting new colors of paracord from Supply Captain and I thought I would use one of those colors to tie one of my favorite bracelet designs by TyingItAllTogether. The color I chose to use is called Urban Camo and I used approximately 6-7 feet for the main design, you will also need a core strand, I used approximately 2 feet of black.
Click the Image to Expand View
ATTACHING THE BUCKLE
Click the Image to Expand View
To tie a Dragon's Tongue bracelet using Buckles is pretty much a matter of what looks best to the one who is tying the bracelet.
I chose to start by tying two Cow Hitches leaving the black (2 feet) strand in between the Urban Camo (larger strand). And then I simply followed the instructions from the video by JD at TyingItAllTogether until I reached the desired length of my bracelet.
From there you will need to remove the excess paracord and secure cord to keep it from coming uncompressed, there are a couple of ways to accomplish this. Keep in mind that at this time you will only be removing the excess Urban Camo (main) strands, leave the black (core) strands in place.
Use a Quilting Pin (or whatever you have on hand that will substitute) to hold the Urban Camo paracord in place.
I used a Wood Burning Tool to cut the strands and melt them in place at the same time.
You can use scissors to cut the paracord and then use a lighter to singe the ends, then you can use a matching color thread to secure the Urban Camo paracord in place.
Once the Urban Camo paracord is secured in place you can attach the opposite end of the buckle with the black paracord. I wrapped it around the buckle twice and tied a Cow Hitch by joining the ends together and hiding the joint inside the buckle. To learn how to join two pieces of paracord, Wishbone1138 has a video showing the technique.
Last week I decided I would go on a little hiking and fishing trip and I would need to take along the right type of paracord bracelet. Although the Stitched Solomon Bar by JD at TyingItAllTogether isn't what I would call a "survival" design, it is becoming one of my all-time favorite bracelet designs, so I decided it would be the design I wanted to tie.
A few months back I purchased a Carabiner Keychain with a Compass from Walmart, and until now I hadn't decided how I would use it. Since these bracelets are going to be used for hiking, fishing, and other outdoor events, the colors didn't need to be flashy so I went with a single color on each bracelet.
Since I was going to be using a single color, I thought about tying the bracelets with a single strand of paracord, but it would be easier to use two lengths instead. I used approximately 8 feet of cord to tie the Solomon Bar sections of the bracelets and approximately 2 feet for the stitched sections.
If you decide to use a Carabiner Keychain like the one in this post, you will need to first remove it by sliding it off the keychain. Then you will need to decide the location on the bracelet that you would like to place the compass. And then start tying the bracelet as you would normally tie, when you reach the point to attach the compass, attach the compass by inserting all four strands into the slot and from the opposite end of the compass, start tying the bracelet again.
Once I tied the first two bracelets, I decided I might want a little bit of flare every now and then so I tied an OD with Neon Orange bracelet.
This is a variation of a design by Hotmetalmel from the Fusion Knots Forum it uses fused Cross Knots separated by the Endless Falls Knot by TyingItAllTogether. I added a loop for a keychain and attached it with a couple of Blood Knots.
The Cross Knot looks good from the front and backside, but on this design, I prefer the look of the backside of the knot coupled with the backside of the Endless Falls Knot which makes a great looking bar.
I was thinking for my first tutorials that I would show some of the knot designs that you might commonly see. This is a great design, it's easy to tie and can be used with different strand variations. I am showing the directions for a Two Strand Wall Sinnet, but the directions are the same regardless of the amount of stands you choose to use.
A Wall Knot is tied almost like a Crown Knot, but instead of going over its neighbors loop, it goes under. It sounds more complicated than it actually is, so check out the tutorial for a better visual description.
For this post I thought I would show one of the knots that I have been working on recently. JD at TyingItAllTogether created the original version of this knot and published a video on the tying technique. The original design is great, but when I started fiddling with a few strands of cord the other day I thought I would see how it looked in a "wide" form.
I am labeling this knot as a prototype because I don't know how useful folks will find the design since it is wider than most lanyard knot designs. With your feedback I will determine if a tutorial should be made.
If you have noticed the scrolling marquee, I stated that changes are coming to my blog. From this point forward, almost every knot design that I post will be accompanied by a tutorial that will show how I tied the knot. I will only be adding a tutorial if the knot meets the following criteria:
- If there are no tutorials for the knot freely available online.
- If the tutorial(s) that are available aren’t clear or I feel that I can add something to make it easier to tie the design.
The first tutorial is a four strand braid and you can find tutorials for this design online, but I found that they could be easier to explain. I know that this braid is called many different names, but since I am going to try and better the tutorial from the BoondoggleMan, I will keep the name that he gave it.
DOWNLOAD THE TUTORIAL
With every tutorial that I add, I will provide a link to download the tutorial so that you will be able to store each tutorial on your computer for future use. To view the tutorials on your computer, you will need Adobe Reader which is available for free download.
Download the tutorial (right-click the hyperlink and select Save Link As… and then save it to your hard drive location).
Download the tutorial image (right-click the hyperlink and select Save Link As… and then save it to your hard drive location).
CORD USED
You need four strands of cord to tie this knot; you can use two strands by splitting the strands in the middle which is the way the tutorial will show.
CORD RATIO
If splitting the cord as shown in the tutorial, 3 inches of cord will result in 1 inch of finished cord (3” per every inch needed).
Click on the image to view the original size.
Click on the image to view the original size.
I tied approximately thirty inches of the DiamondBraid Stitch and then connected the two ends together with a knot that I covered up with a HeadHunter’s Knot and then I tied a Knife Lanyard Knot that connects to Monkey’sFist that is wrapped around a regular Table Tennis (ping pong) ball. The total amount of cord used to tie the Monkey’s Fist Lanyard was about 18 feet of Panda Camo and about 9 feet of White paracord.
I have been working on this post since receiving my new "Panda Camo" paracord from Supply Captain a couple of weeks ago. I wanted to publish the designs prior to Alabama winning the BCS National Championship, but once they won I’ve been celebrating and haven’t had time until now. For those who don’t understand why I am using this color paracord to tie Alabama-themed designs, I will explain. One of the greatest coaches in Alabama history often wore a houndstooth hat and I believe that this color is a great match for that design.
For those who don’t follow or care about football, I hope you will still find this post useful.
There are several designs in this post, some of which I have tied before and some new and different styles.
You’ll notice that I included another Chinese Good Luck Knot necklace, but for good reason. Prior to the Championship game starting, my stomach was in knots and I needed to find some way to ease my mind. That’s when I thought about the Good Luck Talisman I tied for my rear view mirror, if it can bring luck I figured why not give a try. I modified the end result slightly by introducing another strand to the center of the knot. To make a long story short, I wore the necklace for the entire game and I don’t know if it helped, but the other team didn’t score a point. Needless to say, for every future Alabama game, the Good Luck Knot necklace will be around my neck.
You may want to tie one of these in your favorite team’s colors and see if the luck will extend to you as well.
Chinese Good Luck Knot Necklace
One of the new designs is called the Four Lead Diamond Knot; I tied it from instructions in the Ashley Book of Knots (#790). If you don’t own the book, Amazon offers a preview of the book that includes the instructions located on page 142 (another link in Google Books is available in the Sources and References section).
Four Lead Diamond Knot (ABoK #790)
The other new design was tied using several knots; I started with a Crown Sinnet, a.k.a. the Square Stitch. I then added a four strand Matthew Walker Knot over the Crown Sinnet. Continuing down, I tied a Round Crown Sinnet, a.k.a. Circle Stitch. Near the middle, I tied a Two Pass Head Hunter’s Knot, which I thought was appropriately named to add to a football team fob. On both ends of the Head Hunter’s Knot, I tied a Wall Knot. I continued tying a Round Crown Sinnet until I reached the desired length and then I finished it off with another four strand Matthew Walker Knot.
