Forgive the new guy question please.

I see folks attaching paracord to their knives and sheaths. I can think of a few outdoor/survival uses for paracord, but not that many off the top of my head. Tourniquet if I accidentally lop off a finger with my Scrap Yard knife, spare shoe lace if I hack one of mine while macheteing through the woods…

So, what is paracord used for other than the obvious… parachutes. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Is it akin to WD-40 or duct tape, with 1000 uses at least?

Thank you,
Brad

Yep. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Lanyards, bracelets, line for holding tarp (improvised shelter), line for holding hammock, d-guards, whip (BFN made one, it was pretty cool), shoelaces, necklace, line for attaching various items to backpack, rappelling (highly unrecommended but the tensile strength of several will suffice, making rope ladders (CnD did one I believe), and probably a whole lot more things that I would never think of.

Just use it like duct tape, use your imagination. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Yah, THOUSANDS Of USES.
Just general attachment needs, Improvised anything, holding, tying, fire shelter first-aid shelter handle enlargement and/or cushioning making traps, dog-leash, take it a part and floss you teeth with the smaller strands sew up clothes, gear, skin with it. Brighter colored para-cord acts as a marker to mark trails, gear, etc. On knives it can help you find it if was thrown but didn't stick in to the intended target. sling for gear or weapons. Prisoner restraints, you name it.

550 cord is one of the most useful items to have in your kit. It can perform a myriad of tasks, and is one of the most versatile items to have. Good strong cordage is difficult to make in the wild. 550 cord has an outer sheath, and 7 inner strands. The outer sheath has a weight limit of 200 lbs, and the inner strands are each 50 lbs, which add up to 550, hence the name.

Speaking of shoe laces, one of the first things many outdoorsmen do is replace their shoe/boot laces with Paracord. It comes in many colors, including white, black, and brown which match most shoes. It is stronger than any shoelaces you can buy. In an emergency situation, you can remove the inner strands for emergency use, and leave the outer sheath to keep your shoes tied. They can be hard to get started through the lace holes, since they lack anglets like regular laces. I’ve had success using wire to pull them through. I recently thought of using small diameter shrink tubing on the ends to make my own anglets, but I haven’t tried it yet.

Some of the useful wilderness uses for Paracord are:

Shelter - Tying branches together for shelter, hanging a tarp

Fire – Use to make a bow drill

Food/weapon – Use for bow string, use the inner strands to make snares, weave fish nets with inner strands, make slings to hunt with or drive game, whittle a gorge hook and use the inner strands for fishing line.

Medical – Tourniquet, arm sling, splints, use to fashion a branch drag to evacuate an injured person.

Misc uses – Belt, “dummy cord” to keep you from losing important items, zipper pulls on clothing, hang food out of reach of bears, clothesline, rope ladder, dog leash, etc.

Project Paracord

550 Paracord

Great suggestions Andy!!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Nice site; Someone once posted a site where you can buy paracord in large quantities and colours, but I can't seem to locate the post. I've gotta get some more colors besides Olive Green! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I dont know if this is a good price but its cheaper than what I have been buying it at. 1000-1200' for $46-56 and they have pretty much every color.



ParaCord $

Not the original site I had seen, but still pretty cool. The previous site only offered about 8 colours, one of which was a neon orange, great for easily locating stuff in the dark.

Found it; for those of you wanting to get Paracord with glow tracer in it, here's the link.

Paracord with Glow tracer

A lot of it has already been covered, above (especially by Andy <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" /> ), but don't forget about:

Sling (like David used to kill Goliath) for hunting

Net for fishing

Net pack for carrying stuff

You can get it on eBay too.

the reasons people carry para cord is endless and can only be capped by your imagination.

the reason people have 20 feet of it hanging off their knife is another story and is really for looks if you ask me.they may say its on their knife in case they need it.i carry para cord into the woods every time but keep it in a pack with other essentials.

i'm all for a lanyard,especially with a chopper for the reasons of safety.
d-guards are understandable also.

its these giant,different colored,braided things with beads all over them that dangle 7 inches off the bottom of the knife i dont get.i do get the idea of having them for decoration if its a show piece but admit that its for looks instead of saying its there in case you need some cord or you could start slapping band-aids on your knife too in case you get a cut.

enough cord on the bottom of a sheath to wrap around the leg makes sense also.i just laugh when i see people with 50ft of cord attached to every single pices of gear they own when they could just roll up a 100ft hank and throw it in their pack somewhere