Introduction: Survival Bracelet With Fishing Line
I first saw these bracelets here on instructables and thought that they were absolutely awesome - so I decided to make one myself. The first one I tried to make was the Paracord bracelet with a side release buckle. But it never turned out the right length so I made it differently.
Then I thought that some fishing line in it would make the bracelet even more useful in a survival situation. So I knotted a bit and made an instructable out of it to help people makeing a survival bracelet themself.
Step 1: Things You'll Need
- about 25 feet of paracord (depending on how thick your wrist is)
- a lighter
- scissors
- about 15 feet of fishing line (depending on how you knot it or how often you wrap it around)
Step 2: Measuring Your Wrist
Take one end of the paracord and mesure your wrist by winding it around. Then take this length three times and cut it off. Melt the cut edges with a lighter to get them nice and smooth.
Step 3: Making the Central Loop
Take the cut-off piece and knot the ends together to get a big loop. Put it around your wrist to see if it fits. It should not be rather loose because otherwise it won't fit later on. It's easy to shorten it, but you would have to untie the whole thing when it's too tight.
Step 4: Starting to Knot
Now you can start knotting the bracelet. Take the big loop you made in the previous step and lay it down in front of you with the knot facing in your direction. Now take the rest of the paracord and loop it around the shorter bit. The ends of the long piece should be the same length. Make a overhand knot to keep the string in place.
Step 5: The Knot Itself, 1
Take the left-handed string and lay it over the big loop and under the right-handed string. Then take the right-handed string, lay it under the big loop and through the loop you made with the left-handed string. Make sure that you pull the right-handed string from the bottom up through the loop and not from the top down.
Step 6: The Knot Itself, 2
Now it's important to tie the bracelet right. Otherwise it will start twisting. If you look at the bracelet and the string comes out at the bottom, you have to pull it over the big loop in the middle. If it comes out at the top, you have to pull it under the two strings in the middle. When doing it right, the bracelet should become straight. Another important thing is to make every knot evenly tight, so that the bracelet looks nice.
Step 7: The Fishing Line
Tie the bracelet until you reach the end of the central cords. It's time now for the fishing line. Repeat steps 3-5 with the fishing line. I know that it's not as easy as it is with the paracord, but try to make it as tight as possible. The best way of tieing it is to tie it shifted like shown in the picture below.
If you want to you can just wrap it around as well. That is much easier, but I think that you won't be able to use the same amount of fishing line. I myself first knotted it but then decided to wrap it around.
Step 8: (Optional) More Fishing Line
When you reach the end, you can go up again. Like that you have about twice the length. It might come in handy someday...
Step 9: Going Up Again
When you are finished with tieing the fishing line, make sure that it will hold and wont slip off or untie itself. Then you can take the paracord again and tie it the other way up again. Just turn the bracelet upside down and use the same knotting technique as before. Like that the fishing line is protected and the bracelet looks better as well.
Step 10: The End of Knotting
When you reach the end, just take the ends of the paracord and slip them through the loops of the knot, pull it thight, shorten the string and melt the ends. If you do it right, the braclet will hold. If you do it wrong, the bracelet will untie itself by time.
Step 11: Adjusting the Length
The bracelet is nearly finished. Put it around your wrist and slip the knot of the middle strings through the loop on the other side. If you're lucky, the bracelet fits. If not, just untie the knot and retie it at the right place.
Have fun with your new bracelet!
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31 Comments
9 years ago on Introduction
You know that inside the paracord itself is some small line that can easily be used as fishing line
10 years ago on Introduction
I do not comment much, but i first got on instructables when i was about 8 and thought, and still think that it is a place for people like me who love to explore and build things. So I, now 13, would like to thank you for such a quality 'ible. I have made many great things thanks to this website, and you sir, are now another reason i love this place, thank you
-Guy-man
10 years ago on Introduction
Definitely a great idea, I do strongly recommend using braided line in place of monofilament. Mono has a memory factor that might prove more cumbersome in a survival situation. Braided line has minimal to no memory and is also available in different colors if only being worn for aesthetics, which is cool too. Here's a link to my mod that was recently featured on instructables home page.
https://www.instructables.com/id/Replace-bulky-buckle-on-paracord-bracelet/
10 years ago on Step 11
This is an awesome mod to the existing paracord bracelet braid, I have to admit that I used part of your idea but I wrapped (looped) the fish line around the central cord. It's not visible but I know it's there when I need it. I used braided fish line in the same color as my bracelet (OD green) so it's even less visible. It did make for a more rigid bracelet, which I kinda like, but definitely the lazy way of doing it. Thanks for sharing.
11 years ago on Introduction
I would add a piece of strong wire just under width of your hand (so it doesn;t effect you when wearing it).
Its useful for hooks, joiners, a spark in some situations or stuff like that.
As for using spider wire, braid will deteriate a lot more over time as compared to sun protected mono. But you could add braid as well, have a whole fishing setup with mono leader and braid main line hahaha
11 years ago on Introduction
gut the center 550 cord, and replace with fishing line, make the center piece about 36-48" long, makes a wide braelete, but theres your line, hooks? your on your own.
11 years ago on Introduction
What type of paracord do u use, is it 550?
12 years ago on Introduction
When i first looked at this i questioned why it was called "Survival bracelet with fishing line", i expected it to be all fishing line. Then i saw it and realized, that is a great idea. Some sites recommend using the inner strands as fishing line, but they are really too thick. This is a great way to solve that problem without changing the bracelet's looks. Thanks for the great post.
Reply 11 years ago on Introduction
Lay a piece of duct tape sticky side up. Lay your fish hooks and small lead weights long-ways along one edge. Fold the tape over and create a strip with your hooks and weights inside. Place this with your filler cords when making your survival bracelet. Now with the fish line inter-woven into your cobra weave bracelet, you now have a complete fishing kit.
Reply 11 years ago on Introduction
good idea
11 years ago on Introduction
Good idea, very useful instructable.
11 years ago on Introduction
Nice colors. Look like Hellboy Jewelery!
11 years ago on Introduction
Wouldnt fishing line ( replacing the usual inner strands ) lessin the amount of weight the overall paracord line would hold up?
11 years ago on Introduction
The problem I see with "knotting" the line, is that everywhere there is or has been a knot in monofilament, the strength of the line is compromised. In fact, a knot IS a weak point. If the monofil could somehow be incorporated into the weave or even encased in the weave, it would be a better solution for a true survival bracelet. You certainly don't want to *need* your survival kit, only to realize some of it is damaged.
None the less, this is an excellent idea! Thanks for the instructable
12 years ago on Introduction
I made one with some larger rope. It turned out OK. That's a 8.5x11 paper for scale.
Reply 12 years ago on Introduction
lol, that's more like a belt! on second thought... that's not a bad idea!
12 years ago on Introduction
It's great !I like it so much! I 'll try this one ,But ,Is this thing could be without the fishline?
12 years ago on Introduction
How do you keep it from twisting?
Reply 12 years ago on Introduction
if it's twisting either you had a twisty start loop or you didn't switch the left right on each knot.
12 years ago on Introduction
Awesome idea! Could do it with 2 ply of B-50 Bow String too...around 8 bucks for 1075 ft spool of Brownell B50 Bow String (Dacron) Flemish 2 Ply Bow Strings: 40 - 50 lb bows require 6 strands per ply, 2 ply 50 - 70 lb bows require 7 strands per ply, 2 ply Note: 2 different color ply should be used to make it easier to follow when you make the Bow String and just serve the string with a left over strand or 2