survival bracelet

[skyout]

Cockscombing is the way to go for walking sticks. Skyout has provided some excellent links, but any instructions you can find on cockscombing will be useful.

Try Vince's site:
http://www.frayedknotarts.com/tutorials/coxcombing/coxcombing.html

[Mike]

Wow great links, thanks.  That stuff looks pretty hard & advanced.  I think i will start with a simple whipping first, just something to give my walking stick a little grip.

[skyout]

Mike, the French hitching (basic coxcombing) is only one line doing one "half hitch" after the other; easy to learn and would look good on your walking stick.
Click the link/go to Chapter 10/click "coxcombing".
http://books.google.com/books?id=eIsyaFWrwxAC&pg=PT9&dq=coxcombing+knot&cd=1#v=onepage&q=coxcombing%20knot&f=false

A simple Turks Head on each end to cover up the start and finish would look good, too.
Patrick Ducey has a grid for the 3 part x 4 bright TH here:
http://khww.net/viewpage.php?page_id=25
The same link has a nice tut for a little larger TH by Loren Damewood  that is tied in hand. It's a nice tut because Loren ties the TH on the front of his hand rather than turning his hand over and over.

One thing I've learned is to not give up on these knots. There are so many talented people that are willing to help, just ask if you run into a snag.

[Mike]

I decided to try somethn else  besides the bracelet.   I took 20+  feet of 550 cord and folded it in half a few times and the last time was through a steel ring.  Then I used another 10 feet and made the solomen bar around it.   Now I have 30 feet I can throw in my backpack or hang it wherever till I need it.  I could of easily just balled it up and stuffed it somewhere, but it wouldn't look neat that way.  Here's a pic.

[Untangling]

Hi,

Firstly, the post and picture above me is a very good example of the Survival Bracelet.  A couple of things to consider.  If you are making it for fashion it's fun to use three (I have even used four) colours in a bracelet.  For me personally, the results can look very beautiful especially when you have a block colour for the main bracelet and then the outer weave just edging along.  

However, it's important to remember that the idea behind the bracelet is that its for survival so untangling a bracelet when its required for a survival task and ending up with four coloured sections of cord all to short to be used really defeats the object.  The technique for survival is to create as many strands as possible to weave in the bracelets core.  This way you can achieve a wider bar which increases the bracelets abillity to store cord without becoming uncomfortable.  I have created a page dedicated to demonstrating the Survival Bracelet knot and the actual use of paracord (mainly in a Survival Kit) I hope to expand on this with videos.

If anyone would like any help on creating their own bracelets or knotting techniques for this please PM me and I am very happy to help!

[DEE]

I always carry extra emergency line in a small coil....
There is a method of securing a long length of light line into a circular roll that I use for my ice fishing safety line. I learned it from the guys in 103 Rescue Helicopter Sqn. They use it to secure the drop line and when it is dropped the line unties as it falls. Try this with some para cord. It is a great way to carry a long cord in a compact manner.
Take five rounds of the line and form a coil about 10 inches across. Use masking tape and put a single strip around the coil at four points [it rips away easily]. The remainer of the line is secured around this coil by slipping loops of line, alternating left, right, left, right, under, over, under over, into each other. Work the slip loops through to the end of the line and secure it.
When needed, simply untie the securing knot and pull on the end of the line. It will unravel quickly.
I hope this explanation makes sense. I will try to do one up and take some pictures for posting later. Or... if someone else already has this one on file perhaps they could share... PTYFNA.    D.

[CreditonJules]

  Be warned!  Knotting can become addictive!

I came across a Survival Bracelet whilst doing some research for a Company and thought - "I can do that".  I did just the same as you and went onto eBay.

There were a couple of people selling (I'm in the UK) kits so I bought one to have a go at - and was hooked!  Stormdrane has already be mentioned.  Also go to YouTube - there are some great videos  there - especially from TIAT - check it out - this is a hobby you will never be bored with because there is so much to learn!

For my survival bracelet I tend to use 2 lengths of 10ft with a buckle containing a whistle.  These are a bit big and bulky to wear (unless you do have rather big wrists) so I always suggest clipping them to a rucksack or something similar.  It's just a neat way of carrying a large length of useful paracord.

Happy knotting!

[DEE]

Okay, no luck with the pictures but.....
I knew I had seen the slip loops somewhere = ABOK P.472, #2686. This type of chain sinnet is tied around the 4 or 5 strands that you tape together in the middle. The first round is usually pretty sloppy but you can keep applying the chain 3 or 4 times. It gets much neater on the second round and real tidy on the 3rd. and 4th. I still working on the graphics. ZUJ. D

[asemery]

I wish I had thought of this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ss-I9Ad6H5g

[wood]

I agree asemery, wish i had thought of it too. I came up with this a while back don't know if someone else though it up too and if they did, what it is called.





Sorry the pics are blurry. My camera doesn't do close-ups well.

[KnotMe]

That's the phoenix tail (http://www.mresource.com/fiber/coepart2/phoenixknot.htm) knot in Chinese knotting tradition.  JD calls it the zipper sinnet (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUBTRs7Avk0).  It probably has other names.

[Essexman]

Going back to the comment about burning and melting the ends in place, i prefer the method where you take the two ends and tuck them under the weave for an inch. The weave holds the ends tight, then if you ever need to use it you tug the ends out and undo the bracelet. A king cobra bracelet on a medium size wrist could hold about 15 foot of paracord.

[squarerigger]

It looks to me like the Andy Smith version from asemery's post is alternating front and back loop tucks, whereas the phoenix tail/zipper sinnet version from knotme and JD is always loop-tucked from the front.  Does anyone else see this?  It gives a different appearance but no different function because they all come undone readily when you need them to do so.

SR