Show us your lanyards!

[peacefuljeffrey]

have a question about the 550 cord too. My bracelet is slightly tight...getting it wet will loosed or tighten it?

ken

That's nice work, Ken. Looks good!

Um, bad news as far as 550 cord, though. It does shrink after getting wet. In the book I have about braiding tack with paracord, they advise soaking paracord in warm water for a while and then letting it dry. They say it shrinks almost 10%!

I have used a lot of it to make closing loops for skydive rigs (they are very simple, finger-trapped loops), and they can be made easily ONLY when the cord is not shrunk before they are finger-trapped.

Here is a picture of what they look like when finished. (This one is in the form of a bracelet.)

[Big-Target]

just did my first survival bracelet for myself. Really hard to get it, in my opinion, to the right size. Ended up doing it twice to get the correct size. Used a snap clasp to connect it.


ken

SWEET!!!!!!! Me want one!!!!!

[kcardwel]

you are right ghost rider in that being a good method. What I need to do though is subtract about 3/4" because I use the little snap clips which adds that much to the bracelet. One gal I read somewhere said to measure your wrist and then add 1 inch. Think that would be too loose for me. LIke things a little tighter.

[SeanH]

While looking at my new Bark River North Star I noticed that the blade can fall out if the sheath is inverted even though it has a deep sheath. Playing with it a bit more I noticed it may also happen when the sheath is only slightly past horizontal, if the handle is bumped. If it were a tighter fit, it would be less likely to fall out but more difficult to use. I thought also that the flint may get looser over time.

Assuming that the purpose of a bushcraft blade and flint is to keep one alive it would seem important to protect them against loss.

Since I happened to have plenty of spare time while I vacationed in the upper peninsula of Michigan, I experimented with a few different solutions using the materials I had packed in with. The best I was able to come up with was a button and loop arrangement made out of pack cord. I found that a monkey's fist knot worked fine for this.

I may redo this using a narrower cord so the knot will be smaller.

[ghostrider]

you are right ghost rider in that being a good method. What I need to do though is subtract about 3/4" because I use the little snap clips which adds that much to the bracelet. One gal I read somewhere said to measure your wrist and then add 1 inch. Think that would be too loose for me. LIke things a little tighter.

I also took such things into account. You might also try just measuring against your wrist, then letting the 3/4" clip account for the necessary slack (sounds a little tight for me, but if that's how you like it...). Be mindful though of the shrinkage. I once measured out 64" of cord and after shrinking it became 54". Lost 10" during shrinking.

[BlackNinja]

So, very nice!!!

[ghostrider]

While looking at my new Bark River North Star I noticed that the blade can fall out if the sheath is inverted even though it has a deep sheath. Playing with it a bit more I noticed it may also happen when the sheath is only slightly past horizontal, if the handle is bumped. If it were a tighter fit, it would be less likely to fall out but more difficult to use. I thought also that the flint may get looser over time.

Assuming that the purpose of a bushcraft blade and flint is to keep one alive it would seem important to protect them against loss.

Since I happened to have plenty of spare time while I vacationed in the upper peninsula of Michigan, I experimented with a few different solutions using the materials I had packed in with. The best I was able to come up with was a button and loop arrangement made out of pack cord. I found that a monkey's fist knot worked fine for this.

I may redo this using a narrower cord so the knot will be smaller.

Thanks for sharing Sean. That REI cord is great looking stuff. I always try to stay stocked up on it. Not many requests for it, but I like it.

[kcardwel]

I also took such things into account. You might also try just measuring against your wrist, then letting the 3/4" clip account for the necessary slack (sounds a little tight for me, but if that's how you like it...). Be mindful though of the shrinkage. I once measured out 64" of cord and after shrinking it became 54". Lost 10" during shrinking.

wow, that is a lot of shrinkage...have been trying to shrink another one I made but hasn't seemed to shrink much...will soak it and put it in the sun today.

ken

[kcardwel]

SeanH that is a great idea! Way to go!

ken

[ghostrider]

Here's some I whipped up over the weekend.

[ghostrider]

One more. A Cobra Twist in PMI GITD/Refledtive cord.

[BlackNinja]

AMAZING

Absolutely fantastic work!!!!!!

[David Lowry]

I like this thread and there are many nice lanyards, but I have a question.

Don't some of the lanyards become so big that they are no longer useful? Some look very practical but others just look overly huge.

Please explain.

[Irish Lager]

I like this thread and there are many nice lanyards, but I have a question.

Don't some of the lanyards become so big that they are no longer useful? Some look very practical but others just look overly huge.

Please explain.

its a preference thing,
depends on what it is being used for, and the person using it. i tend to like my lanyard/fobs a little longer than the average person, and if its on a light or fixed blade i tend to prefer the longer fob so when it is being carried on a belt it can be hooked to a caribiner so it doesn't get lost.
but in the same fashion i can see where they would look ridiculous at times.
J

[ghostrider]

IL is right. Everyone has different tastes. While he may like his fobs a little long. I mostly use mine on flashlights, or small knives to act as an extension of the small handle. Therefore, on my knives I like them to be rather shor. One person had me make a handle for his bag out of para cord, and it was overall 10-inches with a 1-inch loop at each end. Some people don't even use/or like them at all.

To each his own.

[peacefuljeffrey]

Wow, that orange one looks like I might have made it!

I need to get some o.d. green cord, man... I like it, but all I have is neon green and kelly green or something like that.

Hey, are the multiple overhand knots on the Monkey's Fist ones intended to slide?

-Jeffrey

[peacefuljeffrey]

I like this thread and there are many nice lanyards, but I have a question.

Don't some of the lanyards become so big that they are no longer useful? Some look very practical but others just look overly huge.

Please explain.

I am inclined to agree. As much as I love to make them, and I love the designs, I really do not like to have them attached to my knives. I find that they get in the way.

The Delica in my pocket has one right now, just a narrow one called a Chinese Staircase (at least, it's called that in summer camp!). The lanyard is about 6" long altogether, and as such is not particularly useful. I would note that most of the lanyards we've been displaying are not "knife-retention" lanyards. These are not the kinds of lanyards that sailors put on "bo'sun's whistles," which enable them to be hung around the neck. Those, I like. They can get very intensely complex, based on what I've seen.

If I were going to be aboard a boat, i would probably attach a long lanyard to any knife I planned to wear pocket-clipped.

-Jeffrey

[ghostrider]

Wow, that orange one looks like I might have made it!

I need to get some o.d. green cord, man... I like it, but all I have is neon green and kelly green or something like that.

Hey, are the multiple overhand knots on the Monkey's Fist ones intended to slide?

-Jeffrey

Yes, I call that one my FAF (Fully Adjustable Fob). I designed it so that the user could adjust the length of the loop, and/or the distance of the MF from the whipping. I tie it in a manner so that the "slider" can be manipulated to somewhat lock in place when the desired length has been attained. I've made them for quite a number of people and so far the feedback has been quite positive.

[ghostrider]

I am inclined to agree. As much as I love to make them, and I love the designs, I really do not like to have them attached to my knives. I find that they get in the way.
...
-Jeffrey

Jeffrey is right. Most of what have been posted are in fact fobs, not lanyards (although I have posted some lanyards). Fobs serve a different purpose than lanyards. Lanyards are mainly used to secure one item to another item. Fob, OTH can act as added grip for a small knife, aid in drawing the knife from the pocket or finding something like keys or a small knife in the bottom of the purse or pocket. One forum member even said that he sometimes leaves the knife inside the pocket and leaves the fob hanging outside the pocket. When he needs the knife, he just pulls on the fob. You should try one or two different ones on your EDC Spydie. You may, or may not find that you like them. I once put one on the knife of someone who had given me the knife to sharpen. I didn't say anything about it to him, but the next time he saw me he commented how much easier it was to draw it out of his pocket.

Another person gave me his byrd Robin to sharpen and was reluctant to let me put one of my FAF's on his knife (the Robin is a perfect example of a knife that is better with a fob). I told him that if he didn't like it, then he could just cut it off and throw it away. That was about two, maybe three months ago, and he still mentions how much he likes the knife (which I procured for him) and how glad he is that he let me put the FAF on his knife for him.

Most people use a fob for one thing or another (mostly keys). A car alarm remote control is a type of fob.

I've only attatched fobs to about three knives myself (not counting my Subcom F). One of those knives I no longer carry, one has a very short fob (nothing more that a Knife Lanyard Knot butted up tight against the knife handle to act as a finger stop), the other has one that can double as a lanyard for when I'm wearing shorts made of thin material. All of them were tied directly to the knife, and done in such a way that they don't interfere with the blade. I tried a fob on my Crossbill and found that I just didn't like it. I think some knives are better with them, and some knives are better without them.

[David Lowry]

Thanks guys. I didn't realize the part about hooking them to your belt, or other things. Nor did I know it could help as an extension to the handle.

I knew about the pulling out of the watch pocket thing.

Regardless.....I love how they look. I think I may try to make some. I imagine it can be either frustrating, or relaxing.