Playing with Lanyard knot

This is "de facto" first paracord knot I ever tied.

It is called also Diamond knot, a simple lanyard knot,…

I learned to tie it from the great Stormdrane's tutorial , although the YouTube is full of them.

The first serious use of it was to additionally "secure" my  Mora knife knife with it…

The last application was changing zipper pulls on our old Thermo ruksack.

It is really easy to learn knot, decorative and useful at same time.

Valentine's Day 2015

I know it has pass but I have to share it with you.

Before the last Valentine's day I decided that it is time that my bellowed wife gets a special gift.

As any true bushcrafter - advanturer ready for anything, month before Valentine's day I started my journey to China.

Arriving there, wandering its vastness, I came across a rare animal, a water buffalo. That moment I realized that I found what I was looking for. Let me explain. The skin from the tail of that magnificent animal is considered today an ideal gift for Valentine's Day because the procedure of "removing" the strings of skin from that animal while still alive is so dangerous and hazardous that all wives around the world consider that to be the unique proof of love and sacrifice.

Long story short, I manage to accomplish that task without any injury, and get home right on time to donate that gift to my bellowed one.

But this skin tape alone seemed to me somehow ordinary, and I decided to create a form appropriate to the event.

Since I am not skillful artist with making from leather, I asked for advice my good old wise friend "Google" who transferred me to his old buddy "Youtube" from whom I got advice how that exquisite peace of leather can become a piece of art worthily of my beloved one.

With some primitive tools I found at home,

And in a hurry to finish before my darling arrive home from work, I started with my work followed with wise guidance from old "Youtube".

He advices me to make "Expanded Turks head" version of bracelet revised in "Gaucho/Spanish ring" because that complicated style together with that exquisite peace of leather obtained on such a difficult way will surely show her how much I love her.

So I started…

At the very end…

After I finally finished with my work I hide the bracelet between "salix caprea" (Willow flower)

twigs harvested at the very tops of the mountain "Špansko marketplace"

With my work my oldest daughter added her work made from the scraps left behind as her gift to her mother.

  

When arrived (where the hell was she so long) home my wife was first happy to see me alive after my adventure and after she saw the "present of love" her happiness blow out the sky…

On the hand of the bellowed one…

Closer look, just to be aware why the water buffalo skin is so valued (suppleness, softness, fineness,..), and to see my punctilious work.

P.S.

If someone is interested here is the path to old "Youtube"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhlhOGXTb6g

My first firesteel - "Rustic"

Like all other "bushcrafters" I decided to make my own hand made firesteel, too.
Provision of materials was a quite simple. Piece of tick birch branch, piece of beechwood along with cheap firesteel ferrocerium rods from ebay. Pattex Total glue and Tung oil.
The rest of the materials and tools I already had at my home.

For start I decided what shape I want to carve, measured the material, roughly cut it with saw and knife, carve it, and processed them with rasps and sandpaper. On the end I got two final shapes with witch I was satisfied.











Since "first phaze" was over I decided to treat myself with some sandwich and juice.
I returned to my working post and spoted that oval shape i made is missing. No, it is not!
It is in the kitchen, bathroom, in my pocket, under the table…. No ti wasn't.
I couldn't find it anywhere.

Already a bit crazy i looked at my "best friend and faithful companion" resting place.



"Egg shape" and the "Designer"


I do not know why but she was not satisfied with one of the shapes, so she decided to "redesign it" :)))))


Afther I throw her about 4 times from the fourth floor balkony, chased her with my shoe and  yell at her with a "series of gentle words" I remembered that it is not all gone, there is still one finished and not "redesigned" peace left.







So I calm down and proceeded with work
I made a serious of small cuts in firesteel rod, for better glue reception, drilled holes for firesteel rod and lanyard, cutt and prepare the brass rod for glueing, glued it all, pushed the firesteel rod in to the handle and brass rod in to the lanyard hole.

 

 

To be shore that this time everything will be OK, I tightened all (very tight) with cramp (or squeezer) and left it overnight to dry.

 

In the morning….

 

Well…I was so furious that I even did not made a photo of my "masterpeace". In few words, the handle broke all over the length… So much about tightening!

 

Result - 2 of 2 destroyed

Some time passed. Firesteel rod was just lying there.

I had some days off, so I was occupied with our daughters and, of course, our bellowed "designer".

The devil in me just won't rest. I remembered that friend of mine left me some "exotic wood scraps" for playing with.

 

Maybe I could….

 

So, third attempt

 

Peace of wood I choose was beautifully variegated but also full with small cracks.

So I think to myself, it does not have to be standard shape firesteel handle.

Let's give this peace a meaning…

At some point of that process I was with my friend  explaining to him the purpose of firesteel and what I am planing to do… He said to me: "Leave the peace rough as it is. It looks good to me just as it is."
I was thinking, OK, anyway I will give it to him as a gift on the end.

 

This time before final processing I pushed and glued the firesteel rod and tightened it very gently while waiting for glue to dry. Only after that I started with final work.

After "playing with it in the park"

 

Working on it a little bit on our local city lake "Bundek" (In Zagreb, Croatia) while daughters were playing in the shallow:

Final touches:






















And the end result -  I present you the.........................."RUSTIC"

Today I will give it to friend. I hope it will serve him well.

Lanyard SQUARE SINNET "play"

I always wanted to have scandy grind folder.

Recently I purchase EnZo PK70 CPM S30V Slip Joint Folder so i decided to add a lanyard to it.
I was looking for something decent for it and on the end I decided to go with "Square Sinnet". I choose black and gray "flat paracord" for it.
I like the combination very much and the folder itself is perfect for me. I is 3 5/8 closed 2 5/8 with Carbon Fiber Handle.



Today is hot and we are at our apartment waiting for our younger daughter to wake up from the afternoon sleep. My older daughter was bored and she wanted me to teach her some "tying".

I have some heap Chinese reflective paracord around with bright "summer" collors.
Perfect for that "Project".
So we started with some basic lanyard knot and finished with few "Square sinnets".
We followed instructions from Stormdrane's blog for lanyard knot, and we followed YouTube video tutorial for "Square knot lanyard". After we finished I took the picture of all of them together. We were both please with our work and time spended together (arround 2 hours to finish them all). We made one for her sister too.
Guess who made which one?

2. Paracord finally...

Finally I get some paracord to my hands. I bought it in my own town in local "army"  store.

The price is much higher then on Ebay or Amazon or some Chinese sites but I couldn't wait to get my hands on it.  So...

 It is Type III 550 Lbs type of paracord. I started to play around with it  and trying to figure out what do I want to do with it. What and how to tie :))

On the end as my first paracord project I started to practice few simple knots and it finished  as small lanyard for my butane torch lighter. 

I tied couple of two strands lanyard knots or "diamond knots" as they call them and then "finished" with two celtic button knots. It looks like heavy installation for that lighter but since my waist bag is full of staff it is easy to find it inside.

After that following great tutorials from internet i manage to tie two color "Round crown sinnet lanyard" .

I have to learn how to precisely melt the ends because it looks pretty bad if You do not pay attention to that details. But I am proud at myself because I manage to do it from first attempt following the video tutorial.

The internet is full of "paracord and rope projects" and I am amazed how many beautiful and practical things can be done with it.

The other thing about it is that it is something that occupies me and give me a peace in mind while playing with it. Sometimes it is frustrating and funny how my brain can not understand the tutorial together with my clumsy fingers. But when the "project" is finished...

My first...

For some time now I am hooked in tying various types of knots and trying to make something pretty and functional at the same time from various rope types.

For that new passion I "blame" my "brothers by interests" from my "home forum"

Survival forum Croatia , Croatian forum full of fantastic girls and guys who does not just talk about bushcraft, survival, knives and various gadgets and equipment, but try to practice that kind of life, enjoying the nature and its gifts to us, making beautiful items from wood, metal (fantastic knives) by their own hands, testing the various equipment, sharing their experience and knowledge, ...

Since I have two beautiful young daughters my nature exploration is now catted to long walks not too far from home , and short trips in to "wild" with my family. I just  hope that some of that love for nature and exploration of it, will still stay in them when they grow up.

So playing with knots and ropes  is kind of "staying connected" with "survival community", and I found great joy in it since the product (however unperfect) of my hands is tangible.

I am still in learning curve but it is much easier to learn something these days (thanks to global connection) especially with so many good people willing to share their knowledge.

That said I have to mention Stormdrane's blog and his great, great work and willing to share its knowledge and experience ,and of course J.D.Lenzen and his Fusionknots  site together with "Tying it all together"   You tube channel.

Those two are great inspiration and example how great things can be made from something so simple as,  plain rope...

Their projects are mainly made of paracord as material, so I will try to follow that path although it is hard to find it (in all colors and sizes).

If anyone knows good (cheap but not China) site from which I can buy them (shipping to Croatia) with reasonably shipping cost, please let me know.

Of course (I hope) that with more knowledge and experience I will try myself in other rope materials too.

So here it is. "My first"...

Of course it had to be "Survival" bracelet (Solomon bar stitch) , because everyone else is doing it and it is easy to follow instructions from internet, so it is very good practice project.

My first "survival" bracelet :)

After I made first one i had to make another one, because my younger daughter wanted one too...

My second one...

  

On the second one I tried the different knot for "button", so called Lanyard knot .

  

My daughters were happy and so do I. It took me some time and effort, just enough to stay "hooked"

 As You can see that is not paracord, just some plain soft peace of rope which my wife gave to me for "playing" :)

Of course, what is the master without proper tools. So for my first project I made myself a JIG.  This is the first one and it is still in use since the "proper one" is still in progress...

It is just peace of plain board with two nails driven in to it. But it works !

My JIG

That's it for now. Hope that You like it :)