Paracord Wrap

 For this Instructable gonna wrap a handle on a custom camp axe that I made. This form of wrap could be used on any type of handle. A nice thing about this type of handle is that if needed you have however many feet of rope with your tool. Last summer I actually unwrapped a handle for rope (that I forgot) to hang my food in a tree. Sorry bears! 

 Paracord short for Parachute Cord is a lightweight nylon rope used during World War II for yeah you guessed it parachute suspension lines. Today paracord is used widely through out all branches of the military and civilian use. The Mil spec paracord has six different grades ranging in strength from 95lb to 750lb.  I use Type-III which has a minimum breaking strength of 550lbs. although I have personally tested it up to 1,000lbs. It consists of a sheath that contains seven two strand yarns. One of the nifty things about this rope is that it can be easily gutted of its inner yarns for more delicate jobs like sewing. The cord when gutted of the core yarns is considered Type-IIa  which becomes much less elastic (good or bad thing depends)  and retains a breaking strength of 225lbs.  

 OK so I use this stuff for everything $7 for 100' is hard to beat.



Things needed for this:

A tool to wrap
Paracord don't be intimidated by buying 100 feet you will use it ;)
Sharp knife or scissors
Lighter or Soldering Iron
Something to hold your tool firmly in place
Spring Clamp

This project was done at the community workshop in Portland, OR !Shop People!  Paracord was purchased across the street at Andy and Bax.

Step 1 Set Up

  So here we have everything we need all ready to go. The steel was oiled and buffed with beeswax to help prevent rust. I used a clean piece of leather inside the vise to protect the finish on the axe.  A stool or something to sit on is a great thing to have ready also.  
 
 Cutting the right amount of cord for a new project is a guessing game that I have become good at . I have no calculation just leave more than you think you'll need and cut off the excess later. To give you an idea this axe handle was nine inches long one inch deep and one quarter inch thick. I started with 20ft and ended up cutting off about two ft.

  

Comments

[mrknifeman]

this is mine. i love it!

[ad895]

nice i have that knife (which i also have paracord wrapped) where did you get yours with out the black coating on it

[x3n0c1dal]

That "black coating" is called BLUE.

[ad895]

i know what a blued knife looks like this knife is more of a power coat

[x3n0c1dal]

Hmm. Well, sorry if I was rude before. I should've thought before I spoke.

[ad895]

sorry i was kinda rude also

[rsoneill21]

Can we get an instructable for the camp axe!

[mrknifeman]

please make a website to sell these on and then comment so i know what it is. here is a website to make a website: webs.com. its free

[oud25]

that is a hefty looking hatchet dude
i want one so bad
any guess at the price your going to sell them for?

[mrknifeman]

great source for real paracord, not the fake stuff. Here ya go:


http://www.visionforum.com/browse/product/genuine-paratrooper-cord/?price=3,5&sortby=8&cid=1142

ps sorry i dont know how to paste a link. so you have to copy and paste this into your browser. pps love the paracord wrap! i am planning on wrapping m knife when my paracord gets here, but my knife wont fit in my current sheath with the rope on it, so im going to make a leather sheath. il post a 'ible when im done. maybe.

[atmooney]

This is cool! Is that a stout? Can I substitute a pale ale, or regular ale? Keep it up, thanks!

[Onkx]

Just did this for my sledge hammer. Sweet!

[Batryn]

Hi, just a question, how much cord will you need per feet of the wrap? Assuming a tubular object 1" in diameter?

[black hole]

About 1 foot per inch of length.

[funkybassman105]

Those are gorgeous tools you have there. Can you do an 'ible or two on knife making?

[mtbcrazy]

Sweet axe! May i ask where you got the steel for the axe??

[paperairplanecreator]

where'd you get your tomahawk? I've been looking for one like that, and i havent been very successful.

[Harlan Whitman]

Yeah I had that same problem! That's why I make them now. Not much else like them.

[paperairplanecreator]

Thats pretty shweet! Nice wrap on the tomahawk, im going to try that once i find a tomahawk.

[the crowing]

Excellent beer choice my friend... oh yeah and good 'ible!

[Harlan Whitman]

;)

[robosnitz]

Hey Harlan, could I commision you to make a knife for me? Contact me at: [e-mail]

[rhino777]

I appreciate the fact that you're playing with sharp things while drinking a Lagunitas Imperial Stout. :)

[olmon]

Good instructional that can be applied to all sorts of projects, even to make a nice grip for a walking stick. However, the knot that you called a 'basic granny knot' is (as done in the illustration) correctly called a 'square knot'. Similar, but not the same. The square knot will hold tighter & also looks slightly neater then the granny knot.

[Taktell]

Also known as a 'Reef Knot' to people outside the USA

[Harlan Whitman]

Thanks for clearing that up I thought they where all in the same. But after a bit of research it turns out the "granny knot" is not something I would personally ever want to use. The reef knot and square knot are in the same I'm assuming for know. :)

[poza]

true. a reef/square knot can be distinguished form a granny/thief knot quite easily. reef/square knots result in the working ends resting on the same side of the knot (when laid flat). they also "emerge" from the knot at the same place where they "entered" - that is, each working end will lay along side its own standing end. this results in the knot tightening on itself - creating a more secure knot.

the granny/thief knot on the other hand results in working ends being found opposite one another either longitudinally or laterally. your pic is in fact (as stated by other posters) a reef/square knot.

on another note, i've not worked with paracord before. i made some knife blades and i intend to cover their handles with paracord but i didn't want to drill any holes in the steel to secure the cord. can this be done? will the cord slip on the steel shank?

[srilyk]

If you were in the Boy Scouts then you also would probably learn to tie the square knot with the couplet "Right over left, left over right and under".

This also shares the distinction of being the correct way to knot the bow on your shoe. It creates a much stronger knot.

[olmon]

A little dab of silicone or urethane sealant/adhesive at the beginning and end would allay any worry about either slipping or unraveling. I haven''t used that particular style of wrap (or paracord, for that matter) but i have used urethane to make nylon cord wraps (actually just a tight winding) secure on walking stick handles & it is still holding great after 10+years.

[Harlan Whitman]

Thanks for detailing out the differences in those knots. As for your knives it depends on the shape of the blade. If it happened to be the ones in your ible I would say paracord would not slide around due to your integral pommel. Only one way to find out...

[Taktell]

Also I should mention; I love this idea for hand grips, I'll be making extensive use of this in the future!

[brupielink]

Nice instructable! Almost finished my wrap, until i read i needed to drill a hole.....
So frustrating!

[Harlan Whitman]

Good practice run! ;)

[Asa J]

Nice, but I really want to see how you made the axe!

[olmon]

I learned something too - - I wasn't aware that square and reef knots were one & the same. - - LOL - - Guess Old Dogs can learn new things - -

[mgalyean]

If I want to consider line/paracord wrapped on a tool handle as a backup source of line, I keep the number of tight U-turns to a minimum and keep the overall texture even to reduce uneven wear on the line so it retains its use better if unwrapped and used. With a simple coil wrap the there are no pieces of line that stick out and wear more than others and it is far easier to uncoil if you do need it. Just a personal preference, not a criticism. Sweet 'hawk!

[Harlan Whitman]

I agree totally with your very good points. This wrap was done on request for a customer. For my personal use I do this wrap with gutted cord over to layers of coil wrapped non gutted cord. Just got to decide if you need the indexing and additional grip given with the wrap shown in the ible. Like you said preference...
Thanks,

[stayputnik]

Nice 'ible... great pictures too... very clear and well done. The other thing I like about this project is the 18 feet of paracord would be invaluable in a survival situation, so this is an excellent way of making your paracord do double duty. I'm definitely going to do this with everything requiring a handle that I take camping with me.

[preynolds1]

cool knives

[CementTruck]

Nice Paracord 'ible......but I'm really interested in the axe/tomahawk. Any chance of posting an 'ible for that? I've been looking for a decent throwing hawk, but can't find one that doesn't cost an arm and a leg.