The Official Lanyard Thread

I've just tied my first lanyard using snake knots and have experienced an issue - the first four knots are perfect, all aligned and uniform but the next two have links in them that look a real mess and throw the whole thing off.

Is this common? Is it possible to fix?

I've taken a length of the paracord, made it wet and left it in the sun to dry, in the hope that it till remove any unwanted twists from it being packaged but am open to your suggestions .
 
Realysm42 said:
I've just tied my first lanyard using snake knots and have experienced an issue - the first four knots are perfect, all aligned and uniform but the next two have links in them that look a real mess and throw the whole thing off.

Is this common? Is it possible to fix?

I've taken a length of the paracord, made it wet and left it in the sun to dry, in the hope that it till remove any unwanted twists from it being packaged but am open to your suggestions .
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There could be a number of reasons for your issue. Good quality cord--to me that means nylon inner strands and jacket for starters--shouldn't kink up when packaged. I've also received cord that had too loose a jacket which was very hard to tie and cinch up consistently.

Another problem could be not getting your knots cinched up consistently. Usually snake knots are not an issue as they're a series of individual knots and aren't composed of many bends. However, once you've overtightened a knot, it's hard to loosen or re-tie it without the same kink/flat spot reappearing.

I don't know what method you're using to tie your snake knots and I've never tried the inter-locking method I've seen demonstrated, but I imagine that there may be more tendency to malform some bends by re-loosening your last knot to start your next. Check out my post some pages back for the method I use for my snakes.

If you're just starting out tying paracord, take a clean length, clamp it in something and practice your knots being careful not to over-tighten as you cinch up. Just use good quality cord, keep at it, and you'll be fine.
 
As Chazzy stated: sometimes the cord just sucks for the knot you are trying to tie. I bought a cheap hank at Walmart one time as I needed the color and I couldn't do anything with it.
 
Weird, I replied and thanked ChazzyP ChazzyP (said I'd try his technique as well). Deleted?

Either way, I went back and rewatched the video and the issue was me making a noob mistake, I assumed I'd learnt the knot and hadn't yet!

I presume the paracord I purchased is good quality, it's from a retailer that only sells it. Knots are looking good now, I'll share some pictures tomorrow.

Thanks gents.
 
Realysm42 said:
Weird, I replied and thanked ChazzyP ChazzyP (said I'd try his technique as well). Deleted?

Either way, I went back and rewatched the video and the issue was me making a noob mistake, I assumed I'd learnt the knot and hadn't yet!

I presume the paracord I purchased is good quality, it's from a retailer that only sells it. Knots are looking good now, I'll share some pictures tomorrow.

Thanks gents.
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I went back and tried the link I posted in my first reply--it worked and my post on Snake Knots is still there at Page 42, Post 825.

Regardless, I'm glad you figured it out and your knots and tail are looking good. With the handful of knots I know, I still find that if I haven't tied a certain one for a while I'll need to go back to the vid to refresh my memory. Here's hoping that YouTube cancel culture doesn't extend to paracord craft. 🙄

Anyway, I look forward to seeing pics of your work here.
 
Got a new hank of 550 yesterday from my favorite supplier--[rhymes with cored] Paracord. Their product is very consistent, always Nylon/Nylon, soft, and supple, unlike what I've gotten from the major supplier at the Big River Site--Paracord [celestial body]--which is far from consistent, sometimes with a poly jacket, often stiff, or with shell not well-sized for its core.

This one ties a little flat, which is not a bad thing unless one wants bigger, looser knots, and the combination of red mixed with white gold yields a nice dark orange overall tone. I'll have to find a knife that'll be a good match to switch out to this new cord, though there's always that chance to spend hundreds on a new blade to match an 8 dollar hank of string. 🙄

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Edit: BTW, this one's called Desert Heat.
 
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ChazzyP said:
This one ties a little flat, which is not a bad thing unless one wants bigger, looser knots, and the combination of red mixed with white gold yields a nice dark orange overall tone. I'll have to find a knife that'll be a good match to switch out to this new cord, though there's always that chance to spend hundreds on a new blade to match an 8 dollar hank of string. 🙄

BTW, [it's] called Desert Heat.
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Well I did kinda do that, although it was more a matter of just running into something that really caught my eye not long afterwards and semi-impulsively pulling the trigger. I added some color to this nicely muted/accented Olamic Swish in their striated and tumbled Kinetic Mist finish with bright satin hardware and accents, adding a placeholder glass bead while awaiting the new one I ordered from my favorite Slovenian bead maker.

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I really like the generous triangular lanyard hole on this one, its high and somewhat forward placement allowing a generous starter loop while keeping the tail from flopping into the blade path.

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Doubling back this evening to revisit the lanyard just above with it's new bead...

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...and one lanyard/bead combo re-purposed after leaving my ZT0640, which is headed for the Exchange, and being re-tied on this nicely modded RHK Firetac that arrived today.

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It's always a bit of a challenge re-tying a tail which has already been cut to length, but I do find there's generally less cinching up to do as one has tie the final knot in tighter quarters, so to speak, without the benefit of any extra cord length.
 
Centermass said:
Looks like you might not be cinching your knots tightly enough.
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You're definitely right on that, I also used some really old stiff cord I've had sitting around for years, it was a bracelet I took apart. Made it difficult to keep the cord straight, and didn't want to snug together, I'm also just not good at it lol
 
New cord can be finicky, some brands/patterns twist more than others, but none more than reused cord which has already taken a “set”. Keep it up though, you’ll get it!
 
Weasipoint Weasipoint , your thoughts and the replies above pretty much cover the issues affecting your knots.

As far as cinching goes, with snake knots it's best to attend to cinching each one as you go. Get the first one as good as you can--it's harder to get one right without another one next to it--then, with the second, get it pulled up as close as you can to the first, put the thumbnail of one hand against the high point of one bend and push that toward the first knot while pulling on the opposite side free end. Do the same with the other bend of that second knot while again pulling the opposite side free end. Go back and forth until you get it cinched and balanced then go back to the first knot and do the same from the knife end to cinch the first up against the second, then proceed to a third and repeat what you did for the second.

If you're tying snakes using the loosen-and-slip-through method, I would suggest going back to Post 825, Page 42 and trying that technique. It's much easier to get you knots cinched up and uniform that way. If you're going to intersperse a bead between two snakes, choose one with a hole big enough to take both cord thicknesses--going through with just one will never look good or allow especially the trailing knot to look right.

As far as thick cord goes, 750 is tougher to tie and cinch up properly than 550, but it can be done well once you've mastered your knots. As you'd mentioned the cord you used was stiff, I'd advise always using cord that has both a nylon core and nylon jacket. Poly jacketed cord is harder to tie and doesn't lay nicely IMO. Make sure of what you're getting if you buy online. If you buy in person, make sure the cord is soft and lays slackly.

It's harder to re-use cord that's already been tied up, but you can usually loosen and relax good cord by working it both longitudinally and at right angles between you fingers. If it's crap, it's crap and throw it out. Good nylon/nylon cord is cheap enough at around 5-6 bucks for 50' or 8-9 for 100, especially as there are sellers who will ship for free.

Good luck with your knots--keep at it and you'll start getting nice results.
 
ChazzyP ChazzyP thank you for taking the time to write that! I want to get better at tying them and that is all very helpful, going to keep practicing and see how it goes. Going to order some new cord as well, I untied the ones I already did and tried working them straight, but I think it's a lost cause with this one, it's just too old and doesn't want to stay straight
And thank you to all of you for your opinions on it, one reason I like these forums so much is because everyone is just helpful and not rude when someone is new or learning
 
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