Paracord handle untied

F

furk

Joined
Feb 3, 2022
Messages
8
My wooden handle broke couple of days ago so I ordered some paracord to replace it and I followed this tutorial;
But after the burnt part hit to tree it just untied. Now I did it again and I wonder what can I do to prevent this from happening again?
 
I would Soak it in marine epoxy, or equivalent.

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Maybe find an alternative at Home Depot or similar store. Varies in price, ounces.

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Here’s a knife by James Helm. The paracord is soaked in epoxy, feels as durable as micarta, not going anywhere.

Read up on the application of resins to materials / textiles like paracord. There is definitely a learning curve.

Someone will come along shortly with another solution.

Good luck.

And Welcome to blade Forums F furk
 
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Throwing a knife ruins the handle.
You either smash it up on bad throws or hit it with other knives. The few I have made had exposed tang and rivited aluminium, but even those get dinged on bad hits.
Blank no slabs is usually what the pro's use...basically knives are not meant to be thrown...think of it like doing jumps in a car, I mean you can, and its fun ....but you're gunna wreck a lot of stuff.
 
For just a thrower handle, if you need the cord on there, just soak the knot in thin superglue and let it set, that will stiffen it without worrying about doing a full epoxy job. That being said, a cord wrap may make the handle more grippy than you want for a thrower, your milage may vary.
 
My trick with cord handles is to wrap them with a layer of sport/hockey tape. Its super cheap and you can get the inch and a half rolls in a bunch of different colors. It won’t stop the inevitable cuts from your other knives, but the whole thing won’t unravel in one go and you can just add another layer to keep it all together as needed. It even helps with solid handles too, like a bunch of the cold steel throwers have. The handle hardware always breaks eventually from throwing, but a tape layer will seriously keep it all together for a lot longer
 
A good dot of Krazy glue on the last knot works for me but I don't throw my knives. You may need more.
 
If the wrap is tight all you need to do is melt the last knot with a lighter to keep it from untying. You’ll need to replace it every so often so I’d actually suggest against doing a full resin soak (because you’ll have a very difficult time removing the wrap if it’s full of resin/epoxy).

If that’s what you did last time, you need to spend more time with the lighter and get the knot good and melty before you stop…

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bemymonkey said:
How does this feel in hand? Comfortable enough for actual use? I really like the idea!
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Feels great 👍. I like it as much as micarta, I love micarta. If the handle wrap is done well - it’s excellent. Ive never thrown that knife, don’t intend too. I have used many knives with a cord wrap though with no issues.
 
scdub said:
If the wrap is tight all you need to do is melt the last knot with a lighter to keep it from untying. You’ll need to replace it every so often so I’d actually suggest against doing a full resin soak (because you’ll have a very difficult time removing the wrap if it’s full of resin/epoxy).

If that’s what you did last time, you need to spend more time with the lighter and get the knot good and melty before you stop…

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That knife looks like a great user 👍. Mind if I ask who made it ?
 
luethge said:
That knife looks like a great user 👍. Mind if I ask who made it ?
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Thanks!

That’s actually the first knife I ever made. I forged it in an 1850s coal forge using 5160 and tempered it to around 56-57 RC.

I’ve carried it at work every day since I finished it (over a decade ago) but I only recently started throwing it.

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scdub said:
Thanks!

That’s actually the first knife I ever made. I forged it in an 1850s coal forge using 5160 and tempered it to around 56-57 RC.

I’ve carried it at work every day since I finished it (over a decade ago) but I only recently started throwing it.

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Nice 👍! Looks like an excellent blade. If you ever make another … I’d be interested in one for sure.
 
kvaughn said:
Are you left handed?
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No - I’m a right hander.

I tend to wear knives oriented towards the left side/left draw however if that’s what you’re referring to. (b/c primary sidearm is on the right).
 
scdub said:
No - I’m a right hander.

I tend to wear knives oriented towards the left side/left draw however if that’s what you’re referring to. (b/c primary sidearm is on the right).
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I get it. Thanx.
 
If you want a way to keep the knot together that doesn't change the way the paracord feels in the hand, then whipping the knot together will work. Take some heavy duty nylon thread and sew through the knot, wrap it a few times, and finish with a few more stitches. It's a mechanical connection that you can remove with a seam ripper, a lot easier to remove than the epoxy soaked cord if the epoxy gets between the cord and the handle. If you don't have heavy thread on hand, you can gut out a length of paracord and use one of the small cords inside to whip the ends of the knot.
 
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