Carbide for lanyard bead?

H

HolyRoller

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Jul 18, 2007
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I've come to notice the paracord lanyard trend for pocketknives, and have noticed how many are fitted with a bead of some sort (often a skull bead costing more than the knife it's dangling from... :barf:).

The paracord itself, however, can certainly be made use of in emergency/survival situations. So I've been thinking, what about that oh-so-stylish bead?

Wandering through a machine shop at work, I noticed carbide cutter-inserts would made a perfect bead. They're the right size, have a hole, come in a variety of shapes (square, diamond, triangle, etc), and are bound to have a use outside of machining.
http://www.stark-tools.de/photos/news/23.jpg

What, in the field, could one use a small, hard, scraper blade for?
Has anyone ever tried to spark a firesteel with a carbide cutter or something equivalent? Might save one's blade from shaving the Magnesium bar with, and possibly even be used to get better shaves by using a corner to gouge long, thin strips.

Thoughts?
 
Those look interesting. I would take useful over aesthetics any day. Although, they do look like they might catch on stuff. I would try it and report back here.
 
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Isnt that what going gears strikers are, carbide? I bet it would strike a ferro rod nicely. :thumbup:
 
Wouldn't be bad, especially if you could round off one end and create a sort of divot in the middle so it's easier to hold onto.
 
Carbide used in machining is extremely hard but also extremely brittle. It would not last long as a striker, as they are designed to cut steel moving at high speed and from specific force directions, and the edges are not even squared, really. (I have a test on this stuff on Friday. :D)
However, you can get carbides used to sharpen blades at your local hardware store.
I have this one, it could be cut down and perform double duty as a sharpener and a striker.
It has an edge like a hockey skate, slightly concave, and throws a mean shower of sparks.
speedy%20card.gif
 
THE PUNISHER said:
i'll keep my skulls,you keep the carbide.
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Ditto, never mind that they add aesthetics and personalization to a blade that im going to be spending years of my life with. As that tiny bead can add a boost to morale You must believe the psychological aspect of survival to be negligible :barf:
 
carbide skulls :D

I might have to look at the speedy sharp- at $10 you'd want to be able to get several "beads" out of it- I wonder what you'd cut it w/?????
 
razorsdescent said:
Ditto, never mind that they add aesthetics and personalization to a blade that im going to be spending years of my life with. As that tiny bead can add a boost to morale You must believe the psychological aspect of survival to be negligible :barf:
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Aesthetics is fine, I'm not saying you SHOULDN'T put whatever you want on your knife.

But do NOT tell me that people shell out ridiculous sums of money for a coveted Starlingear bead (or any other shiny bauble, for that matter) for a psychological edge in a crisis situation...

It's "bling". Jewelry, plain and simple. There's nothing wrong with that. I just find it entertaining when people treat these things as if their knife won't cut without it.
 
Agreed. I can't imagine paying money like that for a bead. But hey to each his own.

I would be interested in putting something that would act as a striker on there tho.

HolyRoller said:
Aesthetics is fine, I'm not saying you SHOULDN'T put whatever you want on your knife.

But do NOT tell me that people shell out ridiculous sums of money for a coveted Starlingear bead (or any other shiny bauble, for that matter) for a psychological edge in a crisis situation...

It's "bling". Jewelry, plain and simple. There's nothing wrong with that. I just find it entertaining when people treat these things as if their knife won't cut without it.
Click to expand...
 
razorsdescent said:
As that tiny bead can add a boost to morale You must believe the psychological aspect of survival to be negligible :barf:
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Did you really just try to argue that a shiny silver bauble has a purpose relevant to survival?




AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

(deep breath)

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA


Maybe if you need something to trade with the natives.
 
mtwarden said:
carbide skulls :D

I might have to look at the speedy sharp- at $10 you'd want to be able to get several "beads" out of it- I wonder what you'd cut it w/?????
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The carbide is just a little square at the end, about 3/4'' long and maybe 1/8'' by 1/8'', cemented into a mild steel handle.
 
^ well that's not going to work then for me- too costly for a "bead"

I'm confident someone will come up w/ a reasonable piece that will work :)
 
ooo you are right on some high dollar skulls mine are 2 or 3 bux,doesn't make sense to spend $125 for a skull................
 
Maybe for a wolf or lion skull, not one the size of a marble. :D
I was not even aware this sort of thing was popular to that extent, people pay that much for little skulls?
 
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