UNIQUE LADDER RACK KNOTS

The Ladder Rack Knot is easy to tie and though it may be known by other names, it is tied basically the same way. This is a great design for someone who is just beginning to learn to tie knots, or anyone for that matter. In other words, if you tie knots, this design should be in your knot library. This design is the first of two posts that I will show how this knot can be expanded and the ways you can use it.

There are several ways to learn to tie this knot available on the internet, but I followed the tutorial by Bud Brewer. J.D. at TyingItAllTogether calls the design a Trilobite and has two videos that you can use to learn to tie either the one color or two color design.

To tie the blue Ladder Rack, I used six feet of paracord. You will notice a knot on the loops of the lanyards, it is called a Matthew Walker Knot and though they may look a little different between the long blue and shorter lanyard, they are the same, I trebled the Matthew Walker Knot on the blue lanyard which all you have to do is add another turn or two around the two strands when tying.

The two color Ladder Racks where tied with about three feet of black and about two feet of another color paracord. My version of a two color Ladder Rack Knot is a little different than the video from TIAT, but it's pretty simple to tie it either way, just weave in the second color after getting the Ladder Rack Knot started.

This design is a little different from the others, it slides freely up and down the black paracord. I tied it using about three feet of yellow paracord, and though it looks gutted, it's not, it's just cut from a batch of flat paracord (approximately eighteen inches). To tie it you will need to be familiar with tying the Ladder Rack Knot first. I tied the Slider by leaving out the part where you run the paracord down and then back up and went straight to weaving the yellow paracord around the black paracord.

SOURCES AND REFERENCES
Ladder Rack Knot Tutorial  |  How to Tie the Trilobite Knot by TIAT  |  How to Make a Two Color Trilobite Bar by TIAT  |  Matthew Walker Knot Tutorial

UNIQUE TURK'S HEAD LANYARD

I have been tying this design for a while now and I debated on whether or not I should post it because others already have. But, I feel that Turk's Head knots are looked over by novice knot enthusiasts because they think the knots are too hard to tie. This knot can be tied by anyone who can moderately understand how to tie a knot, it just takes a willingness to try, and that is why I felt this knot deserved to my next post.
If you follow the information in this article you should be tying these lanyards without instructions in no time.

The Turk's Head Lanyard Knot was originally shown in the Ashley Book of Knots (labeled as #595 Two-Bight Turk's-Head Lanyard Knot). If you don't own a copy of the book, don't fret, you can go to Amazon.com and view some of the pages and this design is on one of those pages. Or if you would prefer, Stormdrane has created a video that shows the tying process. Also, there is another tutorial available that shows how to tie a Long Two Bight Turk's Head, which is the same thing as this except for the starting process. You might note that you can make this lanyard as long as you want by adding an initial turn or turns.

To tie this knot you will need a straw or other small cylindrical object such as as a Bic pen with the insides and end cap removed. Once you've got that part covered, grab some paracord and give it a try. The thicker tripled lanyard will need around five or six feet of paracord while the smaller will only need a couple of feet.

I started to create my own tutorial on tying this design, but with all the knowledge already available, I didn't think it would be needed. With that said, don't hesitate to ask for help if you get stuck. If I can't help you, I am sure another knotter will, I have found that most are always ready to offer their support.

UNIQUE CELTIC CROSS

If you follow my blog you may have noticed that I haven't posted many new posts lately. Recently I experienced the loss of my sister and though I have been tying a few knots here and there, I just didn't feel up to the task of publishing any of them.
I decided I would get back to publishing in hopes that it will help in this trying time. That's when I decided that my first post would be honor of her.
This knot is called the Celtic Cross and is really an attractive Cross. And though it may look challenging, it is really an easy design to tie.


I followed the instructions from Free-Macrame-Patterns.com to learn to tie the design. I tied the Celtic Cross using about three feet of paracord in neon orange and neon yellow. I followed the instructions for the first course exactly, but for the second I ran one of the strands from each color underneath the other color and followed alongside the single strand. I finished off the design with a Knife Lanyard Knot on either end.

UNIQUE CRIMSON TIDE PARACORD GEAR II

With all the hype approaching next weeks big game, I decided to get into the spirit as well. This was a post that I intended to do prior to to the season, but I wasn't able to get everything together until now.
For those who don't know, college football is king here in the south and you are born a fan. And if you couldn't already tell, I am lifelong fan of the Alabama Crimson Tide and going into next week, the U of A will play what should be the biggest game in college football this year.
With all of that said, I know that some of the readers are fans of that other in-state team and I don't want to appear one-sided, so should they pull off a miracle and beat Bama in the final game, I will make a Paracord Gear post in their honor.

The bracelets in this edition are all designs by TyingItAllTogether and a video for each bracelet is available on his YouTube channel. There are three bracelets included in this edition of Crimson Tide Paracord Gear, the Stitched Solomon Bar, Thick Zipper Sinnet and Shark Jaw Bone.

For these bracelets I used a 5/8" side release buckle and for all but the Stitched Solomon Bar, I used six feet of cord for each color. For the Stitched Solomon Bar, I used six feet of cord for the Solomon Bar color and around two and a half feet for the stitched color.

The Thick Zipper Sinnet and Stitched Solomon Bar bracelets were tied for a new friend and reader of my blog and I hope she enjoys her new bracelets.

I hope this post doesn't offend any of the Auburn or LSU (or any other teams) readers, I respect all teams especially teams in the SEC. 

Thick Zipper Sinnet

Shark Jaw Bone

Stitched Solomon Bar

UNIQUE PARACORD BRACELET DISPLAY

Recently while building a Paracord Tying Jig for a customer, I thought of a design idea that would be great for displaying paracord bracelets. I merged the design of a gun rack into the piece, but I tilted the curves so that the bottom rack sticks out past the top rack, it reminds me of a sword display.

(Please excuse the left part of the rack that looks like it's leaning, there was something underneath the bottom of display and made it tilt inward and I didn't catch it while taking the photos.)




BUILDING THE DECORATIVE PARACORD BRACELET DISPLAY

MATERIALS
The materials required for building this project can be created from scrap materials that you may have lying around, which is what I did.

• (1) ½" x 6" x 24" board
• (1) ½" x 3" x 24" board
• (1) 1" x 2" x 36" board
• (1) 1½" x 24" PVC
• Spandex or other material to cover the PVC
• Contact Spray Glue
• Wood Screws
• Wood Glue
• Wood Stain
• Varnish or Spray Polyurethane

BUILDING THE BRACELET DISPLAY

Start by clicking on the display template located to the left, then press Ctrl + P to print the image (if your browser supports this technique, otherwise Save the image to a folder on your computer and then open it with a word publishing or image editing application to print it).

NOTE: DISABLE ANY PAGE SCALING OR SHRINK OPTIONS IN YOUR PRINTER SETTINGS PRIOR TO PRINTING THE IMAGE.

Mark the ½" x 6" x 24" board at 10" and cut, then repeat the step again which will leave you with two 10" pieces.

Next, cut the template along the lines and then use it to trace the image to the ½" x 6" x 24" board, do this for both pieces.

Using a Jig Saw or whatever tool you have to cut the curved pieces that you just marked.

Mark the 1" x 2" x 36" board at 7½" and cut, then repeat the step again which will leave you with two 7½" pieces.

Use a Belt Sander or course sand paper to round the edges of the 2½" pieces that you just cut so that it will fit inside the PVC, it should be a tight fit, don't remove too much material.

Mark the  1" x 2" x 36" board at 2½" and cut, then repeat this step again until you have four 2½" pieces.

Using a compass to draw a circle that is just slightly bigger than the diameter of the PVC on the ½" x 3" x 24" board (if you don't have a compass, I traced around a can of WD-40). Once your circle is traced, use your Jig Saw to cut out the circle, then repeat this step until you have four circles cut.

Mark the 1½" x 24" PVC at 12" and cut, then repeat the step again which will leave you with two 12" pieces.

Use a spray adhesive to secure the Spandex to both of the PVC pipes.

Now secure the bottom pieces to the curved pieces by using wood glue and wood screws.

Finish assembling the display by securing the circles to the 2½" pieces by using wood glue and wood screws.

At this point your display piece should be completely assembled.

Now start sanding, be sure to start with course to medium sand paper and move down to fine sand paper once you get close to finishing sanding. Once you have smoothed all the rough edges, you will need to stain the wood.

You can choose to leave the display stained or finish it with a varnish or spray (Minwax® Fast-Drying Polyurethane) for a nice shine.

You will have to excuse the bare display rack, I recently sold or gave away most of my bracelets and this was just a few that I wear on a regular basis.