Over the years I've been on this forum, I've developed some skill w/ paracord. I never posted pictures, but probably because I didn't know how. Here are a couple of hatchets I did recently. They each use over 60' of 550 cord.

Those are great! Well done.

Sweet! well done.

Lee

They look really good- how much pitch gets caught in the cord?

You made those hatchets look good! Not only a great looking cord wrap, it's an excellent way to carry paracord for an emergency. Good job.

thats a great, sharp question! on the one I use, I pull a ranger band over the topper knot, this protects against abrasion and acts as a muck collector!

You can see mine, with evidence of use in this pic:


thanks for kind comments all!

Well, paracord wraps look cool. And I suppose if you have a skeletonized handled knife, it may make for a more comfortable grip. But practically speaking, the paracord must get dirty and filled with bacteria. How is a bacteria-laden handle good for the outdoorsman?

Although the paracord wrapped handles look good, I really question their practicality. Most people out hiking very seldom carry a hatchet or small axe with them. While hiking or climbing I don't (nor anybody I know) carry a hatchet due to the fact that a good folding saw can get the job done for my purposes.

I use a hatchet while car camping and or at a base camp if we are hiking/climbing the high country. If I needed some rope while in camp, unraveling if from the carefully wrapped hatchet or axe handle would seem counterproductive to simply using a hank of loose rope from the general camping supplies we have.

Outstanding.

Reminds me of a friend whose cross-stitch looks as good on the backside as the front.

Have a couple knives I'd like to to that to, would be handy.

Thanks for the pics.

Practical? I doubt if that is the point.
They look very cool and are great samples of ropework.
Kudos.

How do you like those Normark hatchets?
I have always liked the design of them but found their edge to not be quite as good as it could be.

I've found it quite practical. For hundreds of years sailors have wrapped items in cord to enhance grips; am I afraid of bacteria in my handle? LOL, I don't think so, no offense but thats silly. Do I plan to unravel it if I get in trouble, not thats why I carry paracord. Do most hikers carry hatchets? no, most hikers don't have a clue what to do with a hatchet or knife other than to pick their fingernails. Thanks for the positive feedback chicken. Its a fiskars hatchet; and to be honest its the sharpest thing I own. I can beat the hell out of wood all day, then shave hair clean in one stroke.

A paracord wrapped handle improves your grip when you are sweating and in the rain. It is also a good way to carry extra cordage without taking up space. As far as bacteria, if that is your greatest worry, you are worried about the wrong things. If you need to, just let them set in direct sunlight when you are able. It will kill most of it.

thanks montanero. also, thinking about it paracord is synthetic; and dries very quickly. there is just nothing on which micro-organisms can grow.

Wrapping cord around tool handles is a good way of improving their grip. It needn't be para-cord, any synthetic cord with the right characteristics will work. Polyester and nylon are good. Polypropylene, very prone to abrasion and UV damage, and Dyneema, tough as iron but slippery, not so much. Any middling two to five millimeter utility cord will serve. For smaller tools braided mason line can work well.

In Florida, land of heat and humidity, cord wrapping handles can improve comfort and function. But you also have to be careful. If the tool handle is prone to rust cord wrapping can hold salty sweat against the vulnerable steel and cause corrosion.

Also, IMHO, handle wrapping is not a particularly attractive way of carrying cordage. Yes, it means you have some cord, assuming you haven't lost the hatchet, but so would stuffing a hank of line in your pants or jacket pocket. And a hank in your pocket doesn't require it to be unwoven before use and, an important point in my book, the stuff in your pocket hasn't been riding exposed to the sunlight and the sort of physical abuse hatchets and such tools get.

Having some light line at hand is good. But it is better if you can break it out quickly and if it isn't half worn through or weak from UV damage.

A thirty foot hank of light line tends to disappear if you coil it loosely.

I agree 100%. I put way too much work into it to have any intention of unwrapping it to sling a bear bag or rig a tarp or something. that's what the cord I bring is for, like you said Art.

Very nice work...

That truly is some Beautiful work,Indeed!As for bacteria,If anything,It would be the Good Bacteria,but of course,lol!Short of Dis-colored,I've yet to see Paracord's Integrity,Compromised by U.V's but,I'm sure if Salt water were added to that,I'm sure something would come of it!In lieu of whale/walrus parts,I would call that the Scrimshaw of Today!I would Happily purchase some of that Knowledge, if it were available!