Have you always wondered how to achieve the technique that Strider uses to wrap their knife handles with paracord? On Today’s Knot of the Week we’ll show you exactly how to do it with a detailed video in HD!

We’ve previously demonstrated this method on a County Comm Breacher Bar, but if left a lot of you asking further questions and if we could demonstrate it on a Strider Knife. Using a Strider/Triple Aught Design DUK we’ll show you how you can utilize this wrapping on anything that has at least two holes drilled and optionally a lanyard hole as well.

You can apply this wrapping principle to just about anything you want to and we hope you find something of your own to wrap!

Strider Knives / TAD Gear DUK Paracord Wrapping » Decorative

(Strength: 3/Secure: 3/Stability: 3/Difficulty: 3)

We’d highly recommend you have a vise to hold your knife while you wrap the outer layer of the pattern. In fact, its almost mandatory, as without a tight wrap on this section it may loosen up with use.

This paracord wrapping will require two separate lengths of 550. A gutted section being around five feet and another right around 15 feet. Another benefit to this wrapping is that you’ll have around 15 feet of paracord at your disposal should you need it.

If you’re wrapping a knife with this method, do yourself a favor and tape the blade up so you don’t get cut. It will also prevent your knife from getting scratched up in the vise if you don’t have rubber jaws.

Uses:

• Increase the grip of an object
• Storing Paracord
• Decorating an object

Tying Instructions:

1. To follow along with these instructions, your object will need to have at least two holes for paracord.
2. *Have your two sections of paracord ready (5 foot gutted section and 15 foot section)*
3. Starting with the longer of the two sections, find the midpoint of the paracord and double.
4. Insert the doubled end in and through the top most hole.
5. Pull the doubled end out through the bottom most hole (not the smaller lanyard hole).
6. Insert the remaining paracord ends through the loop, creating a girth hitch.
7. Tighten up the girth hitch and pull the paracord ends up and out of the way.
8. Take the small five foot section of gutted paracord and wrap it tightly, starting above the created girth hitch.
9. *The wrapping of the gutted paracord should lock around itself holding tightly*
10. Wrap the remaining paracord all the way down and tuck it into itself to lock it down.
11. Trim the excess and burn the end, pressing it into the wrapped paracord to bind it.
12. *Now return to your new working ends on the longer paracord*
13. Where these ends now exit the wrapping, pull them behind to the backside.
14. To make the weave/hook pattern, remember right over left then left over right.
15. Create the pattern on this side of the handle, ensuring its tightness.
16. Bring the paracord to the opposite side and repeat the same pattern *right over left, left over right, tighten*
17. Continue this pattern, alternating from one side of the handle to the other, until you’ve reached the bottom.
18. Once at the bottom, tie a tight square knot to hold your wrapping in place.
19. Feed the ends through the remaining lanyard hole in the handle, flip the handle over and tie a second square knot.
20. This effectively locks the wrapping completely and allows you to know work with the remaining paracord.
21. You can tie any kind of lanyard knot with the remaining paracord, or if desired, trim the paracord and forgo the lanyard.
22. Enjoy!

The Paracord Deployment Lanyard has been a long time coming on our Knot of the Week and much like our last KOTW on the Paracord Storage Lanyard, this too is a request from a reader.

This lanyard enables you to not only carry paracord ready to use, but can quickly deploy various lengths of it in a way that’s easy to manage. As most know that have worked with stored paracord, it can easily become unwieldy and tangled.

Just as the storage lanyard keeps paracord ready to deploy, the deployment lanyard is a vast improvement that we think you’ll immediately integrate.

Paracord Deployment Lanyard » Misc.

(Strength: 2/Secure: 3/Stability: 2/Difficulty: 2)

This method for storing paracord can be used in nearly any length of Paracord, but for this demonstration we’ll be using 25 feet.

Uses:

• Keeping paracord handy and ready to use at a moment’s notice
• Decorative way to store paracord
• Storing paracord in a “fob” design that can be quickly deployed

Tying Instructions:

1. Start by creating a bight in one end of the paracord, using a closed fist as a height guide.
2. *Ensure that the amount of bight exposed above your closed fist is the size that you’d like your “loop” to be.
3. Take the working end of this bight and melt it to the standing part of the paracord.
4. *You may need to heat up the standing part of the paracord as well to get it to bind.*
5. After the bight is secured and a loop has been made, start either wrapping the paracord around your hand like the pictures below, or in loops like in the video.
6. *Leave yourself a length of around six feet at the end to start making the overwrapping for the deployment lanyard.*
7. Starting near the top of the wrapped paracord, wrap a lock into the paracord (see video) and continue to tightly wrap downward.
8. At the end of the wrapping, simply tuck the working end into itself and melt it down for added security.
9. The loop can now be used to hook onto a keychain or carabiner for fast deployment of your paracord.

Video and Photos

A special thanks to Thunder Chicken for suggesting this Knot of the Week!

This knot of the week started off as a request from a reader who wanted to know how to create a lanyard he saw at the end of a knife sheath.

On analyzing the knot, typically tied to shorten up loose ends, we’ve come up with a few more uses for it and another way to tie it.

When tied in this manner it creates a way to keep a few feet of paracord ready to deploy quickly. While not a quick-release per se, there’s just one knot to untie at the end to unwrap it.

Paracord Storage Lanyard » Misc.

(Strength: 2/Secure: 2/Stability: 2/Difficulty: 2)

As mentioned you typically see this kind of wrapping hanging down from longer fixed-blade knife sheaths, as it allows you to store a length of cordage to untie and tie around your leg to further secure the sheath from flapping around.

Another useful method for tying this knot is to follow the instructions below, but use more paracord and double up the wrapping to make a fatter lanyard.

Uses:

• Keeping paracord handy and ready to use
• Decorative way to store paracord
• Shorten loose ends of a lanyard

Tying Instructions:

1. Start by finding the mid-point of your paracord, for this we used a four foot section.
2. Create a bight in the midpoint and gather it your hand.
3. Using your hand as a guide, create another bight in the working ends.
4. Bring working end up to the original bight and wrap a lock just under the original bight loop (see photo)
5. Continue to tightly wrap the working ends around until you reach the lower double bight.
6. Thread the working ends through the double bight to secure the wrapping.
7. Grab the loop that’s now created and push/twist the wrapping down toward the point you secured it.
8. This will not only tighten up the wrapping and further secure it, but create a larger loop on the top.
9. This larger loop can now be used to girth hitch the Paracord Storage Lanyard onto an object or hook it on a keychain or carabiner.

Video and Photos

A special thanks to Foreman for suggesting this Knot of the Week!

In our previous two knots in our Knot of the Week series, we showed you how to tie a Diamond Hitch and Artilleryman’s Loop. Today we’re going to show you how to combine these two knots for use as a tie down in a truck bed.

There were some comments in our Diamond Hitch article asking for a method to be able to use it with only four lashing points rather than the six our article required. Utilizing the Artilleryman’s Loop and some extra paracord, we’ll show you how to make this happen!

Diamond Hitch » Hitches

(Strength: 3/Secure: 4/Stability: 4/Difficulty: 3)

The first thing you’ll need to do to utilize a Diamond Hitch as a tie down in a truck bed, is to create the two missing mid-point lashing loops required to make it work. This can be done one of two ways.

One way is to take a line all the way through each of the four existing tie down points, making a box. After creating the box, tie in one mid-point Artilleryman’s Loop on the bight within each of the long sides.

Another option would be to simply have two sections of paracord, or other rope, strung between each long side of the truck bed tie downs with an Artilleryman’s Loop at the mid-point. It’s important to note that while we used paracord in the video and photos, stronger and thicker rope might need to be used depending on the load that’s being tied down.

Uses:

• Securing a load
• Tie down for a roof rack, truck bed or pack animal

Tying Instructions:

1. Once you create your additional midpoints using the Artilleryman’s loop, attach the standing end of your line to one of the fixed midpoints.
2. Use the working end to span across the load and to the opposite midpoint.
3. Route the working end through the second midpoint and back to the original midpoint.
4. Wrap or pass the working end through this original midpoint.
5. Grasp the double line created over your load and twist the two lines six times or so, creating a diamond pattern in the center.
6. Ensuring to keep the diamond pattern, run your working end to the closest corner of your tie-down points.
7. Wrap or pass the working end through this corner point and through the backside of the center diamond before passing it down to the opposite corner.
8. Wrap or pass the working end through the opposite corner and down through the top of the center diamond and out to the bottom-most corner.
9. Wrap or pass the working end through this corner point and back through the backside of the center diamond before passing it to the last corner.
10. At this point take a few seconds to adjust the lines and tighten them up.
11. Pull tension at the last corner and secure the working end to the midpoint you started at, which completes the Diamond Hitch.
12. Optionally we’ve used the Taut-Line Hitch to secure the working end so if the load shifts you can adjust the tension.

Video and Photos

Our newest Knot of the Week features an intermediary step in what we’ll be showing you next week, which is a method requested in the comments of our last KOTW to use four points to secure a load

While the intent is to show this knot used in that, The Artilleryman’s Loop is a quick method for tying a loop on a bight. Tying this loop on a bight requires your line to be free of tension, as tension would make it difficult to pull the slack needed for tying this.

The Artilleryman’s Loop can be used for creating a tie-in point on a line or dragline, securing a third climber on a line or simply making a quick drop loop for attachments or adding tension to a lashing.

Artilleryman’s Loop » Loops

(Strength: 3/Secure: 5/Stability: 4/Difficulty: 2)

Uses:

• Quick tie-in point on a line or dragline
• Secure a third climber in a string
• Trunk line or tether line attachment point
• Adding tension to a lashing

Tying Instructions:

1. Create an overhand loop in a bight in your line.
2. Flip the overhand loop on top on top of the standing part of the line.
3. Take the lower section of the overhand loop around the back and through the original overhand loop.
4. Pull on the created loop and the standing parts to tighten.

Video and Photos

In our latest installment of the Knot of the Week, we’ll teach you how to tie the Diamond Hitch and explain what benefits it offers over traditional methods of securing a load.

What’s truly versatile about the Diamond Hitch is that once tied, it creates a diamond pattern in the center which not only is where its namesake comes from, but is what gives it the ability to compensate for the load shifting.

Whether being used to secure a load to a roof rack, truck bed or even a pack animal, the Diamond Hitch is definitely one to put into your knot tying toolbox.

Diamond Hitch » Hitches

(Strength: 3/Secure: 4/Stability: 4/Difficulty: 3)

Uses:

• Securing a load
• Tie down for a roof rack, truck bed or pack animal

Tying Instructions:

1. Attach the standing end of your line to a fixed midpoint in an array of 6 tie-down points.
2. Use the working end to span across the load and to the opposite midpoint.
3. Route the working end through the second midpoint and back to the original midpoint.
4. Wrap or pass the working end through this original midpoint.
5. Grasp the double line created over your load and twist the two lines six times or so, creating a diamond pattern in the center.
6. Ensuring to keep the diamond pattern, run your working end to the closest corner of your tie-down points.
7. Wrap or pass the working end through this corner point and through the backside of the center diamond before passing it down to the opposite corner.
8. Wrap or pass the working end through the opposite corner and down through the top of the center diamond and out to the bottom-most corner.
9. Wrap or pass the working end through this corner point and back through the backside of the center diamond before passing it to the last corner.
10. At this point take a few seconds to adjust the lines and tighten them up.
11. Pull tension at the last corner and secure the working end to the midpoint you started at, which completes the Diamond Hitch.

Video and Photos