Years ago, someone came up with the idea of a watchband that had an extra long strap that could be deployed in choking techniques. I had always been intrigued by this and the idea has stayed with me. Now that I am playing with these paracord projects, I started thinking about it again, especially in regards to this whole survival bracelet thing. I thought it would be nice if these bracelets could be more than just decorative and more than just as material to be canabalized when needed.
It suddenly occurred to me that the key fob my sister had given me was the perfect solution. The knot is commonly used for the bracelets you see being sold anyways. Clearly the fob version didn't require any hardware to construct it and the loop could be made any length at all. So, in making the loop long, then threading it through a part of the bracelet knot itself once the band was completed, you would get a solid anchor to your wrist and a free section that you could grip and use to apply a choke or strangle. Turns out this idea is how you make belt loops for flashlights, so it is clearly doable. My idea just requires a longer loop and a method of cord control that is secure but can be undone quickly and easily.
So the trick is how to manage and secure this extra loop. All I've come up with so far is to wrap the loop around the wrist and then tuck the end under itself for a bit of a friction hold. I realized after I had made this one that it would have been good to have a bead or something threaded on to the cord before starting. I improvised by making a bead out of some leftover cord using a square knot. It worked.
This structure is great because you can pull on the loop hard without strangling your wrist. It's quite comfortable. It is also quite secure if you hold the loop partially deployed. This would be handy in security work where you'd need to do a quick wrist bind for compliance.
Adding an overhand knot to the center of the long loop serves to create a stop for the loop so you don't have to ever rethread it. Interestingly enough, it also gives the loop the appearance of another bracelet once it is wrapped around the wrist. And of course, having the knot should help with indexing and retention.
The securing method with the paracord bead can get caught if you pull against it in the wrong way, but a quick change in direction and it comes out very easily. A smooth ovoid bead might work better overall. The paracord bead I made is tight enough that it has a good bit of friction agains the loop cord so I can actually use it to adjust the tension a bit, which happens as my left wrist is a bit smaller than my right.
The only thing about this device is that fundamentally it is dangerous for the user to wear around any machinery that can catch it and pull on you if it were to ever come loose. However, overall I do like the basic mechanism of securing the band without the need for hardware. Honestly, I take my watch on and off at work many times in a day and this long loop wrap is pretty quick to secure: Slide the hand in, pull to tighten, wrap once and tuck the end under. The more I play with it, the more I like it. I will likely make another as a watchband.
Reminder to self: this prototype used about 12'-13' of cord, used the regular 2 strand core, and I measured the starting length by wrapping the loop about 2.5 times around my wrist.
Update: I built a second this evening. I made it for someone to wear while he's bouncing. It's a bit tighter in circumference, but I made it extra wide by adding a second pass of knots. The knots are much tighter in this one so the band is stiffer. I also made the square knot bead a little shorter. This one used almost 20' of rope.
Hah, more crafty projects for the holidays. I am fascinated by paracord as a material on a variety of levels: it is strong, light, colourful, immensely versatile and highly practical. Over a decade ago I studied a little bit of the more practical hojojutsu a long while ago and paracord useage was a natural component. I started carrying a 15' bundle of cord regularly at that time, bundled and tied in the old Japanese style for quick deployment. A little later, I discoverd that people were making whips out of paracord. I had to have one. For me, this was a revelation, because it opened up a realm of possibilities for fun yet functional projects with a readlity available and inexpensive material that required little to no preparation.
I've had several occasions to purchase hanks of paracord over the years with the intention of making lanyyards for knives and such in order to learn the basic decorative knots/braids. Hadn't ever gotten around to doing so until now. My sister got me a simple key fob from a company online that sells paracord bracelets, lanyards, fobs and straps. It was simple but nice. Once I had a look at it, I realized that these things were well within my ability so I did a quick search and sure enough, there are plenty of instructions to make these sorts of things. A couple hours later, I made 3 items:
One of the first designs I saw online tonight was a fob that was weighted with nuts. Again, I found the knot instructions and I made my own. I don't think it turned out exactly like the one I discovered, probably due to the thickness of the cord I have, but it's pretty close. This was actually my first project and I overestimated the length needed for the loop so I added a bunch of simple overhand knots.
My second project was the watchband. Perfect example of simple material and functional project. I had been meaning to do this for some time. I canibalized the side release buckle from my old waist pack that I retired a couple years ago but hadn't tossed yet.
The black key fob on the right was the one my sister gave me. I looked online and found how to make those particular knots and I ended up making my own with my burgundy cord as my third project.
Next up is to make a paracord belt, a sling, a cord storage bracelet, and maybe a long bag strap.
Update: I just made a bracelet this morning.
I used this pattern but with a few changes: I used about 16' of cord, used 4 strands for the core, and repeated the knots a second time over top of the first set of knots going back in the other direction.
Here it is next to the watch band:
I likely won't ever wear the bracelet, but it's good to know I can make one. Perhaps I'll make something a little wider for kettlebell use.
Well, actually, it's a home made pivot bar attachment. I've always liked the idea of using an olympic bar one ended for rotational trunk exercise, but it can also be used for quite a variety of movements, making it a practical tool for those needing both strength and metabolic conditioning, especially if you are on a budget.
The Landmine is a commercial attachment designed to sit on the floor and provide a secure pivoting base for the end of any standard olympic bar. It's expensive for what it is however. Many people do perfectly well without one, usually finding a corner somewhere or constructing a base of some sort out of lumber to both protect their floor and keep the bar from sliding.
However, last week I discovered that the people at StrongerGrip.com have created their own attachment called the Gut Wrench. As soon as I saw it, I thought it was a great idea. Essentially it is a sphere that attaches to the end of a bar by a sleeve and some locking screws. The sphere is weighted which keeps the bar end down and yet the ball shape helps the end pivot while limiting floor damage. Since you aren't stuck in a specific corner, you can set up anywhere. Brilliant.
It's also fairly affordable, but it is described as a limited run. I plan on getting one, to be sure, but in the meantime, it occurs to me that this would be a simple yet worthy diy project. Essentially, one can be constructed in exactly the same way as the maces and clubs I made recently, except using a pipe to act as the bar sleeve, instead of a handle. The cement provides the weight for stability, the ball shape adds the pivoting freedom of movement, while the ball rubber gives some surface protection and a bit of friction against sliding. My only concern was that the easiest material to find and work with for the sleeve would be ABS or PVC piping which would also be very weak.
I went and bought a 7' olympic bar and a couple 5# plates, a mini basketball for under $5.00, a 3' length of 2" ABS pipe (which fit the end of the bar quite well and had a slightly thicker wall than the PVC pipe), and some more 5 minute concrete.
I cut the pipe in half and marked out about where the end of the bar would end up inside the pipe. I planned to have the end of the bar inside the concrete within the sleeve so the pipe itself wouldn't take all of the stresses. I needed a way to block the concrete from filling up the pipe once it was placed inside the ball. I had made some toy shields for my son out of some 1/4" puzzle mat flooring. I took the leftovers and cut three 2" discs and inserted them inside the pipe. These were to act as both a barrier to the concrete and a cushioning pad for the end of my bar. I had a 4" bolt lying around that I used for an anchor at the end of the pipe. I positioned it so that it also served as a stop point for the foam disks. Finally, I added a few additional nails for anchors, just in case.
For this project, unlike the clubs, I wanted the ball to not have a flat spot, so I arranged some sand in a shallow container and pressed the ball into it to create enough of a spherical impression to maintain the shape yet keep the ball supported during the construction and curing. It worked perfectly.
Then, I mixed the concrete according to instructions, inserted the end of the pipe, then topped up the concrete to fill what I missed and let the whole thing cure for about 24 hours.
The actual construction was pretty quick. It probably didn't take much longer than an hour, so it isn't like I killed my Christmas day with this project. :)
A few additional notes:
The longer sleeve provides a larger room for error if the bar gets pulled out a bit so this makes up for the lack of locking screws. For me this is preferable as I need the convenience of being able to switch from pivot based exercises to standard bar exercises quickly.
I expect the foam flooring material will compress significantly, but for now it provides a bit of dampening against the end of the bar so the inside collar of the bar does not contect the end of the sleeve, keeping the contact stresses low.
If it wasn't the holiday season, I'd have tried to hunt down some 2.5" metal piping to sheathe the ABS so I wouldn't ever have to worry about breakage at all.
As it is, this unit has the secondary benefit of being a short but thick handled weighted club.
And if you don't know what you can do with one of these, have a look at this:
My TKC site suddenly broke yesterday so I will post this here while I figure out the problem.
We've been anticipating this challenge for some time. 20 continuous minutes, the first 10 being snatch, the second being one arm long cycle (clean and jerk). The rules were that you could switch hands as often as you want and you could set the bell down as often and as long as you want, and total reps over the 20 minutes would be counted.
My conditioning was a bit lacking as I started to fade after the first 10 minutes. The long cycle just felt like pure hell and I thought I my heart was gonna explode. But I kept thinking to myself that I was not gonna wuss out and put the bell down. Somehow I survived.
My hands have been very good for the past few months and I haven't torn them at all in practice. I seriously wasn't expecting to have any problems at all during this event. My previous two attempts with the 20 and once with the 24 were no problem on my hands at all. However this pace was much harder for me than normal. I know the tearing happened during the long cycle portion because I felt fine during the snatch.
So here is my little family of concrete balls at the ends of long sticks.
It was a fun project that didn't really take up much time. It was so cheap and easy that I regret not making them sooner. Of course, I think I will get more out of these now that I have a better understanding of strength-endurance training through kettlebell lifting. Make your own and swing away. Just be careful not to cave your head in!
Okay, I figured that I would capitalize on my maker's momentum so I went out and picked up some more mace-making supplies after work tonight. I got a couple of mini-sized basket balls for $5 each, a 6lb vinyl "toning" ball (like a small spongy medicine ball) for $9, a couple more replacement broom handles at $5 each, and one shovel handle with a nice taper on it for $12. I also grabbed some 5 minute concrete meant for setting posts for $15. I figured it would save me some aggrivation.
Pretty much the same steps, put nails in the wooden handle, cut a hole in the ball, make the concrete and set the handle. Only this time it was a process of getting the ratio of water to concrete mix right since this quick setting stuff is prepared differently. Made a bit of a wet mess the first time out, but it wasn't too bad. Second go was much easier. It actually took about 20 minutes to set enough for the handles to stand on their own, maybe due to the cold outside. Pretty happy so far. The basket ball version comes in at 13lbs and the toning ball version is about 9lbs. It looks like this quick setting concrete is a bit less dense than the other stuff I used.
UPDATE: These things are awesome!
UPDATE 2: Made another two maces to bring to the school so I can keep the first two at home. The new ones were left to cure a LONG time. They are 15# and 8#. I intentionally tried to minimize the flattening at the base to maximize the weight but still be able to stand upright.
