Para-who, -what, -when ?

[gris91]

I know about the extraordinary quality of paracord, but now I got two questions...first of all, do you (knifemakers and knifeusers alike) use paracord for your handles, and two, what name does those handles with paracord hold?

Since the handle on my backup knife, project name "Liberty Enforcer" will be hollow to reduce weight, I will need to paracord it. I would also need tips on how this is most effectively done !!!?

A friend has applied paracord to most of his knives with stunning results, yet, he applies them wrong (not as seen in knifemagazines or photos on the net)

Thanks!!

 

[Crayola]

I don't think there is a set name for the style, though I think most refer to it simply as a wrapped handle.

As far as your friend doing it wrong, what does that mean? If you are wrapping a handle to make it serve as a good grip, then as long as your hand doesn't slip and the paracord stays on, then it is great! The Japanese have a huge amount of ways to wrap handles (tsuka maki). I know I have seen 3 or 4 different wrap styles with paracord myself that all looked good. I think that my favorite style is what is known as the Strider Wrap style (though they didn't invent it). I made one knife that had a textured g-10 handle which was then wrapped with shoelaces in a Japanese style which I liked.

I hope this helps,

Karl Rejman

 

[T. Erdelyi]

I also like the Strder style of wrapping, I like that half reverse twist look, also with skelotonized handles you can do some neat wrapping by feeding the paracord through the center.

A couple of things I've noticed with cord wrapped handles, it works better on smaller blades,(bigger blades tend to allow the cord to compress because of the inertia of the handle and blade moves through the cord as your hand grips the cord, if that makes sense).

Also you have to wrap very tightly to avoid bunching on any size handle.

I had a paracord EK Combat Bowie, and I took off the cord and made my own oak scales, because of the above bunching problem, yet I have my Stiff KISS wrapped cause it gives me more/thicker handle to grab onto.

 

[AlphalphaPB]

Originally posted by T. Erdelyi
A couple of things I've noticed with cord wrapped handles, it works better on smaller blades,(bigger blades tend to allow the cord to compress because of the inertia of the handle and blade moves through the cord as your hand grips the cord, if that makes sense).

Also you have to wrap very tightly to avoid bunching on any size handle.

I'd explain it not in terms of inertia of the blade/handle, but like this:

For a smaller blade, the amount of area between the top and bottom edge of the handle is smaller. The top and bottom edges are where the wrap grabs onto, and the area between these and the middle "knot" is where the cord is just held in place by the pressure on the cord at the edges. In the smaller knife, there's less cord in between the load-bearing edges and the middle knot, which means that it won't budge as easily. Imagine how sloppy a foot-wide handle would feel. This explains why it's harder to wrap a large blade such that the cord doesn't move.

You're right about having to wrap very tightly. It usually takes me half an hour of wrestling with a knife to get the wrapping nice and tight, and many times I've come close to stabbing myself in the stomach with the blade. Might want to try sheathing the knife first, if the sheath is small, or try clamping the blade in a vise.

 

[gris91]

So what is best in a wrapped handle - a solid, conventional handle or a hollow handle with just the outlines like so: () ?

 

[Crayola]

The best is a handle that fits your hand with a cord wrap job that is tight.

Keep in mind that there is a big difference in a wrap job done quickly with inexpensive materials, and a wrap job done my a real good wrapper! The Strider Wrap overcomes problems a couple of ways. First off, there are a few grooves in the handle that help hold the cord in a few key areas. But most importantly (addressing th elooseness in th emiddle), the Strider Wrap is kien of like 2 loops pulling in opposite directions. You can tighten this down very well and make a solid handle.

In Japanese styles, you don't get that pulling so much. But the cord is pulled over a knobby handle material (ray skin) and the cord used is flat silk. The silk is folded over hishigame (spelling?), which are paper triangles. The triangles keep the wrap neat and allows you to keep things very tight too.

So, a good wrap job takes the little things into account and uses a variety of things (hishigame, grooves in the steel, etc.) that aren't obvious just by looking at the handle. And all wrap jobs have to be TIGHT! Handle wrapping is neater than playing with micarta and epoxy, but it is harder on your hands. Wrapping a knife handle will make you sore.