550/paracord Bracelet

Came across this item on Ebay, thought it might be of interest.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2176393536&category=135

Pete

I am racking my brain at the moment. I'm sure I read how to tie a similar thing. There was also a knot for a 'paracord belt'. If I find it, i'll let you know. I really like the idea of hip, trendy, fashionable survival gear where the only comments that people make are those of jelousy!

Yes. I also read that article on a paracord belt. I did a search but couldn't find it. I'd love to have the pattern for how to make that bracelet and give it a try, but I doubt it's anywhere on the net.

How's this? http://www.slatts.freeserve.co.uk/slatts-knot.htm

I'd be more interested in the belt version.

Have you ever had a woven nylon watchband? After getting it sweaty a few to several times, even with frequent washing, the smell is unforgettable. It seems to lock into the fibers, somehow, and no matter what you do it comes right back.

Thanks. Thats the one. That is the knot used for the bracelet though is it. The bracelet looks more like its made out of webbing tape than paracord to me.

thats the one!

I've got some real cheap paracord at home that looks like this. It's got three inner strands, but they aren't tightly woven. This bracelet could be the same stuff.

--Chris

The bracelet is made from a square knot sennet.It is easy to make.Look it up in most knot books or Macrame guides.He charges a bit much for what it is.An idea I had is to make the toggle out of "fat wood" so it can have a bit of tinder built in <img src="images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />.It is a cool idea though and have already made myself a couple.Just another $.02 worth from me.
Tanx
Boatman

Boatman, When I was in the Marines a lot of the Navy guys I worked with made 550 cord key fobs. They were some sort of continuous weave/braid that ended up a little less than 1/2" square and as long as you wanted to make them. Do you have any idea what that weave/braid/knot is called? Seems like it might be a handy way of keeping a few feet of 550 cord around.

TIA, Ed

BTW I'm still waiting on the book to look into that other thing we talked about. I'll keep you posted

EODMAN,
The key fob you mentioned is a crown knot sennet I think.I usually keep one on my SAK's.They make it easier to pull them out of my jeans back pocket.I recently switched to the Chris Reeve knot though.It can be snugged up around the wrist so you don't drop your blade in the drink.I do agree,any place to carry extra line....

Thanks for the tip.
I just made one up. It was easy. Now an even batter reason to carry about paracord.Less messy than winding it around the PSK tin....

Chris

Do you have a URL? I searched but couldn't find anything on the net about it.

Once the page loads click on crown,

http://www.mindspring.com/~tlmcclain/knots/starknot/

If that page is not satisfactory try this page,

http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/knotlink.htm

it has links to knot knowlege on the web. Anything from tying your shoes to surgery. HTH

I'm still lost <img src="images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />. Are you sure that first link is the knot? I can't figure out how to make it into a bracelet. <img src="images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />.

No i'm not sure that is the knot, it looks similar. It could also be a square knot. The knot is repeated over and over to make a braid. I am really not sure how to terminate the crown knot to make it into a loop. If you use a square knot it will terminate into a loop. Try this link for a square knot,

http://www.dfw.net/~jazzman/knotter/zippit.htm

If nothing else you can have some paracord zipper pulls. Sorry i'm knot more helpful on this, decoritive knots are knot something i've done alot of. If you have a good library near by you might want to stop in and see if there are any books on knot craft. Good luck.

Hi Ditchfield
1. Take a loop of paracord (what ever lenght you wish 10 feet would be nice)
2. Fold it in half so that both sides are equal in length.
3. Tie a simple overhand knot with the folded paracord at the looped end. - you should end up with a knot with a looped end. You can use this loop for the button to go through.
4. WIth the free ends of the paracord, tie square knots repeatedly (right over left, tie, then left over right, tie ) till you reach the end.
5. How you end is up to you. If you don't need a bracelet, you could just secure the ends with cable ties. If you want a bracelet, you can sew a button to the cable tie ??. <img src="images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

6. Experiment and have fun. Adjust the knots and the tension to make it look nice if you want <img src="images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Quite a fun project. Who knows, you can make up some and sell them on ebay too and give the guy a run for his money!

My curiosity got the better of me and I went ahead and purchased one of the bracelets from the seller on Ebay. I have decided not to take it apart at his time, but make a few notes on the apparent construction. The alternating square knot is what is used to construct the body of the bracelet. The maker used a four-holed button with a depression, in which he melted the ends of the 550 cord. I believe the construction consists of two pieces of 550 cord, as you have stated, make a overhand knot in one piece at half-way creating a loop, then the maker looks to have used the other piece with the alternating square knot to create the body. He finished by running the ends of all four cords though each hole of the button and then melted the ends into the depression to hold it all together. Pete

Wow, it's so simple. What got me confused is you saying "square knot". We call it a reef knot in UK. Thanks very much.

My confidence was not well formed <img src="images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />. What i've tied just looks like a bunch of knots (I know it is). It certainly doesn't look like the picture. What I tie, don't turn out like reef (square) knots, they turn out like lots of single knots. Any help? <img src="images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

Right. I have now figured it out, and have completed one bracelet. It is too big for me and still doesn't look anything like the picture. It also holds more like 3 foot of paracord than 10. It is losely woven and uneven, completely different from the e-bay one. Are you sure he used a square knot because mine sure doesn't look like his. Thanks anyway, i'll give it another go.

Check this out, I think it is the knot used in the bracelet...you can flip back and forth from the picture to the instructions. All you need to do is figure out a way to begin with a loop instead of a ring, and then hook your button or whatever on the other end...

http://www.elainecraft.com/instructions/var1.sq.html#squareknotsennit

I have perfected it preety much and have made a braclet that fits perfectly. The only problem was the button. I cut an OD button of an old combat jacket, but I wasn't sure how to thread 2 bits of paracord through 4 small holes. In the end I solved it by making the four small holes into two larger ones using a tiny saw and some mini files. It took a while but I managed it in the end. I am now experimenting a bit more to see what elso I can come up with.

Looks like a round sinnet to me, and from the looks of it the seller has removed the 'guts' from the paracord.

I brought this topic up on Plainsmans Cabin after trying to remember how guys made these in my Army days. A great 'how-to' was posted with pictures and everything. I ended up making a couple of the square sinnets, and haven't tried the round sinnet yet. All in all, they turned out fairly well.

If you want to take a like at that how-to posted on the Cabin, it's here:

Sinnet

Just a word, go easy on the bandwidth over there at the Cabin. Maybe someone could repost that entire how-to on ETS?

I have now made loads of fobs and bracelets from the square not sennet and also use a watchstrap made from one. After twice undoing and re-tightening the watchstrap, I have come to the conclusion that the square knot sennet is unsuitable for constant use with a heavy object attached to it as it starts to lossen.

I have also been experimenting with other knots and ideas. One that was successful for holding more paracord was a variaton of the square knot sennet. I started by tying a turks head knot (similar to the monkey fist) in the middle of a length of string. I then tied a square knot sennet from that to form a bracelet. I then tyed the loose ends together with an overhand knot to form a loop. This way the turks head acts as the button which is no longer needed and carries more cord.

The next thing I tried was a bracelet using a star knot sennet. This was very successful. Before this I had made a nice paracord fob using the crown knot sennet. After seeing the large diameter of the paracord fob I decided to experiment with thinner string that is about half the diameter and natural cordage. I just did the same as with the fob except for went on for longer. I ended it by threading the for loose ends through a button and tying them together with thread. It works well. If a synthetic string was used the ends could be melted togeth with better results.

I was working on making one of these last night, while we happed to be watching a thing on TV 'bout 6 people down in a light aircraft on top of an Alaska mtn, with the Air Force coming to rescue them. Anyway, my wife asked me what I was doing, and I explained it to her, adding that I was going to make one for her too. She thought for a few seconds, then said why not make it to go around an ankle instead. Most ankles are larger in diameter than wrists, so you would get more cord to carry, and the big bulky thing won't be in the way on your wrist. Since I had enough cord on the one Iwas making, I just kept making the thing longer, 'til it will fit around my calf just at the top of my boots. With that extra length, I now have two pieces of cord, each about 11 feet long. I haven't tried it wearing shorts and hiking boots yet, that might not look to "macho," but above boots, with long pants, no one will ever know...

On a side note, if anyone is interested in some inexpensive British paracord, Brigade QM has 400 ft, in 20 ft sections, for only $8.99. It doesn't have the internal cords like our stuff, but is still reported to be 550 lbs strong. Check it out...http://www.actiongear.com/cgi-bin/tame.exe/agcatalog/level4s.tam?xax=29858&pagenumber%2Eptx=1&M5COPY%2Ectx=26010&M5%2Ectx=26010&M2%5FDESC%2Ectx=Rappelling%20%2D%20Ropes%20%26%20Harnesses&level3%2Ectx=results%2Etam&query%2Ectx=parachute%20cord&backto=%2Fagcatalog%2Fresults%2Etam

That British paracord is the stuff I use. I also use the more standard type which is white with black dots. It does have internal strands but they are the same as the outer ones so you don't notice them. Its thinner that the US stuff as well. I sent some to PC2K recently.

wenn you put them next to each other they look just as thick/slim, but the 550 feels a bit harder wenn you squeze on it, because it has more strands inside.

Another very strong cord is the woven kind used in Venetian blinds available at sundries stores and very cheap (at least over here!!! <img src="images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />