So Ive started playing around with parachute cord, paracord. Normally made of a nylon outter sheath with seven inner nylon strands with a tensile strength of 550 lbs. They are used, as the name would suggest, in constructing parachutes. People have been weaving all sorts of things from bracelets, key chains, and other crafts. A number of different weaves have been employed in the handicraft.
My first exposure to this hobby came from the paracord bracelet. As a survival tool, this could be unwound to 10+ feet of usable paracord from a 7 inch bracelet. However, the unwrapping of the object seemed really slow and time consuming. After browsing through a number of Youtube videoes, I ran across one from paintballhead03. He had a weave that would easily unwind after tugging on one of the ends. I think he called it the blaze bar or millipede. That is what I patterenned my first project after. I used this connector because I needed one end to be closed and the other end to be able to release from the project. The portion still connected can be pulled on to unravel the cord. Once unraveled, it can be easily removed from the connector. This will not be a bracelet but repurposed to a keychain. The measurements with made with a different connector at first and now the sizing if off. Not to mention its a bear to put on. The bracelet is very limp and contained less amount of cord. Mistakes are expected on first attempts
The next item I played with is the monkey fist. I like to call it monkey paw. This involves creating a spherical object. The inside could be a knotted ball made from paracord or other round object. This example I used a 1 inch clear plastic sphere. This seems the most popular sized object to use. Each of the six faces displays 5 strands of cord. There will be 2 strands emerging from the monkey paw. I melted one end and created a lanyard with the other end. I used a sliding knot that people know as a hangman's noose. Since the inner object is so light, a single strand is more than enough. Jigs have been created to make tying this easier but you can also use your hand as a jig for smaller objects.
Again I am using the same weave as found on the bracelet for its quick deployment properties. I just created a very long lanyard. About 20 inches in length. It contains approx 30-40 feet of cord. The weave is somewhat loose but I think I can make it tighter and more stiff next time around. I plan to make a very stiff belt. The width of this is just under an inch. I think I will call this the monkey tail.
The last thing I made for now is another monkey paw with a different lead out. I kept both free ends and used the same weave for the lanyard. I kept the loops long to connect to a key ring or some other object. A steel ball is contained in the weaving and its pretty heavy. Heavier than I thought it was going to be when I ordered it. This can be a formidable weapon but I was intending this to be a weighted end to connect to the disassembled monkey tail in case you need to toss a line to someone. The loops can be attached to the keyring of the monkey tail to keep this items together
