Rat Daddy D Guard

[Rat Finkenstein]

Hey, I posted these pics over on the Rat Chat, but I wanted to give people here a chance to see it as well.
I used this excellent D guard tutorial from the busse forum.
Third time was the charm- first time I ran out of cord, second time I made it way too big. Now it is just how I want it.
Fact is, even with a front talon hole, I would have had to attach to the handle hole in the front, or it wouldnt fit into my sheath.
I was chopping some stuff the other day and found I had to grip the handle really hard to keep it from flying away, as I was choked back on the blade. With this thing, I will have no worries- I recommend trying it, although it is hard on the fingers.(to weave it, not to use)

 

[SNAFU]

Nice pics, I plan on trying it on my HOG FSH. I may or may not keep it depending the sheath.

 

[Eric Isaacson]

Very Cool. That braiding isn't easy on the fingers though

 

[RokJok]

I was chopping some stuff the other day and found I had to grip the handle really hard to keep it from flying away...

I've got a couple knives with the braided D-guard like you've done (nicely IMHO ) on that big bad boy. They work well for keeping the knife in hand. The downside to them, as with other methods that secure the handle via a "pinky stop" at the pommel, is that the force is concentrated in a relatively small area, typically the middle knuckle area of the pinky finger.

Below is pictured the way to strap your knife to your hand that was recommended by Col Applegate IIRC. You hang the knife from your chopping hand thumb via the lanyard loop, which hangs across the back of your hand. Then you rotate your hand forward to grab the handle, thereby laying/wrapping the loop across the back of your hand and through the pommel hole of the knife. If a person were to make the loop of flat webbing the pressure would be spread out over even more area than covered by the paracord shown.

With the Applegate method you adjust the loop length so it will stop your hand (by snugging around the base of your thumb) before the hand slides forward onto the sharp edge. With the SAR Rat loop, I can still move the hand far enough forward to use the finger choil but not far enough (without conscious effort) to cut myself.

The usual way most folks seem to use lanyards is to stick their hand completely through the lanyard loop. Then they rotate the knife (twisting the loop closed) until the loop is semi-snug around the wrist. The problem with this usual method is that it can restrict wrist rotation or chew at the wrist.

 

[Rat Finkenstein]

Thanks. That is some good info.

 

[Troy H]

Great job with that D-Guard Rat!! Let us know how it holds up to abuse. And thanks for the lanyard tip RokJok...I hadn't seen that one before. :thumbup:

So much stuff to learn here...I love this place!

 

[Cutshaw]

Cool photo series RokJok! Thx