SwampDonkey: I too like the figure-eight knot, tied within an inch or two of the lanyard hole to help get a knife in hand. Orange paracord is great for this purpose.

On some knives, I make the remaining cord long enough to tie at the ends and create an "over the thumb and across the back of the hand" lanyard as described in another post here.

When not tied, the free ends are less likely to snag on branches etc.

Bear