Barrel connecters on 550 paracord

C

cutterman

Joined
Jul 12, 2004
Messages
122
Knotted paracord for neck knife carry is frowned open for safety reasons but I've just discovered barrel connectors with the 10-15 lb break away specs.

You have to remove the cores from each end of the paracourd to be able to tie the end knots to fit in the connecters anyway so I've just removed the 7 strand core from the full length of cord. It lays flatter, drapes better is more comfortable, and ties into the connecters with ease.

Still "seems" plenty strong enough for this use, particularly with lightweight neckers, but opinions on the actual strength/durability of using the shell of the cord only for this purpose would be appreciated.

Thanks all,
cutterman
 
You'll find that it will be MORE than durable enough for your purpose.
 
Gutted cord is plenty strong, but you can also buy breakaway buckles too. They are less work to put in than the barrels because you just knot them in, but the knot does add a bit of bulk. The neat thing is that you can bend them a bit to fine tune the strength of the clasp, and make them hold just a bit stronger. It's not so much that you are going to choke out if gets snagged, but it allows a more solid pull if the knife is sticking a bit.
 
As others have said, no problem with strength of just cord shell. But if using the full cord with barrel connectors, here's what I do.

Melt the end of the cord just enough to be able to use pliers and make the end thin and a little pointy. This should allow you to push the cord through the small connector opening. Then, instead of tying a knot in the end, I cut it clean, again add a bit of flame to the end until a small mushroom appears.

This will give more than the strength of the barrel breakaway feature, but also gives one more breakaway point in case the barrel had a problem for any strange reason. Done the same to both sides.

Ultimately you end up with three breakaway points. The lightest weight pull of the barrel connector center point. And two more on each side by way of the small cord mushroom inside the barrel. These require substantially more force to pull through the barrel piece.

The force required on these secondary break points can be varied by how you melt/mushroom the cord. Leaving a large solid bubble on the cord end will be much less "breakable" than if you melt less, and maybe flatten the end a little. A lightly melted and flattened paracord end may collapse and pull out of the barrel if enough force is applied.
 
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