Old machete project

[JAB]

I had a pretty sad and sorry machete that was given to me.  It was pretty rusty and one of the plastic handle 'scales' was busted.  I decided to clean it up a little and do a paracord wrap handle.  To begin, I busted the rest of the plastic handle off and cut the handle pins with my Dremel.  I ended up with this:

 

 

I wasn't concerned about ending up with a 'show piece' (wasn't going to happen, regardless) so I just went at it with a wire brush chucked into my cordless drill followed by scrubbing it with steel wool and 100 grit sandpaper by hand to get the loose rust off.  After wiping it down with rubbing alcohol,  It looked like this:

 

 

A couple of coats of Krylon matte green 'camouflage' rattle can paint and I had:

 

 

I knew I wanted an 'underwrap' to help stabilize and further cushion the top wrap.  I know some folks use gutted paracord for an underwrap but I kind of see that as a waste of paracord so I did an underwrap with some much cheaper, nylon cord I had (which is also thinner and softer than paracord and so easier to wrap tightly in such a manner.)  That gave me:

 

 

Not wanting the white of that cord to 'shine through' the overwrap, I decided to give it a quick shot of the Krylon, too.  It stuck well and dried quickly:

 

 

I started out trying to do a Stryder style wrap but can't seem to get that pattern to look smooth and tight so I ended up doing a modified version of the same wrap I came up with for the Paklite from my other thread.  In this case, I started by passing the cord through what had been the hole for the bottom pin.  I used the underwrap as stand-ins for the finger choil hole and on the second, bottom pass.  As I said, it was never going to be a show piece but I like how it turned out.

 

 

Except for the red at the end of the lanyard, this was also one strand of paracord - I fused the black and the green.  It took something like fifteen to twenty feet of cord, all told.  The way I did the weave, the black is more 'dominant' on one side and the green is more 'dominant' on the other:

 

 

Edited September 29, 2014 by JAB

[chitchater]

Didn't even know that these types of handle wraps (this and your post on the other knife) even existed.  Just had never thought about it.  Very interesting.  Thanks for the posts.

[JAB]

Didn't even know that these types of handle wraps (this and your post on the other knife) even existed.  Just had never thought about it.  Very interesting.  Thanks for the posts.

 

You're welcome - and let me say that there are a lot of folks who are a lot more experienced (and a lot better) at paracord wrapping, survival bracelet making and so on than I am.

[Grand Torino]

I wish I could figure out paracord wraps....for some reason they are beyond my comprehension. :rofl:  I find it easier to put on a set of scales. :P  You did a real nice refurbish on a tired old blade. It looks good....congratulations. :up:

[BigK]

I think you did a pretty darn good job on the handle wrap. Helluva lot better than I can do. I can't get the hang of paracord wraps at all.

[DWARREN123]

Another neat project, very nice.

[JAB]

I wish I could figure out paracord wraps....for some reason they are beyond my comprehension. :rofl:  I find it easier to put on a set of scales. :P  You did a real nice refurbish on a tired old blade. It looks good....congratulations. :up:

 

Man, if I had your skills in making blades and scales I wouldn't sweat the paracord thing very much.

 

I think you did a pretty darn good job on the handle wrap. Helluva lot better than I can do. I can't get the hang of paracord wraps at all.

 

Thanks, guys.  Honestly, the whole paracord thing was beyond me for a long time.  I have tried a couple of times over the past, five years to learn how to make even the simplest of paracord survival bracelets only to get frustrated at my apparent total lack of ability to grasp even the most basic concepts.  Then, this past weekend I watched a couple of really good instructional videos online and something just 'clicked'.  As I said, though, I still haven't gotten the Stryder (or is it Strider) wrap pattern right which is why I went with this pattern that I came up with on my own.  I still have a long way to go before I could be considered anything approaching 'good' at working with paracord.

 

And now for a little confession - I hope this won't damage my 'man card'.  When I was a little kid, my mom had this square 'loom' sort of thing that was used to make pot holders.  I used to love using it and making pot holders, myself.  You hooked a series of strands running up and down and then wove another series of strands through it.  I thought of that loom this weekend when watching all those paracord videos and that was the inspiration for the method I used for the wrap on the machete and the Paklite in the other thread.  Who would have thought that I could apply something learned making pot holders thirty something years ago to a knife or machete?

 

One other thing that might actually help some folks who are having difficulty.  At my mom's house last night I noticed a sort of macrame flower pot hanger that she had.  When I saw it, I did a double take and was like, "Wait a minute.  That's a cobra stitch, just like you use to make a basic survival bracelet."  I then noticed a few, other interesting knots and so on.  So it has occurred to me that if you want to learn more about paracord wrapping, weaving and so on and you don't know anyone who does that you could probably learn a lot from a wife, aunt, grandmother or so on who does macrame.  There is a lady I work with who likes doing decorative braiding, knotting and so on.  Yesterday, she taught me to do a really cool round braid (as opposed to a flat braid.)  In and interesting example of synchronicity, yesterday evening I watched a video online where a guy had used that same technique as part of a paracord project.  That lady actually tried to teach me some of the same knot styles used in paracord work a couple of years ago but it just wouldn't stick.  Yep, I've realized that a whole lot of paracord braiding, knotting and wrapping is basically just macrame for guys.

 

Now if I can just figure out how to tie a %*^$! monkey's fist.

Edited September 30, 2014 by JAB

[Guest Broomhead]

Nice work on the machete! I have the exact same design that I picked up for 5 bucks somewhere.

As for a monkey's fist, they're easy if you have a third hand...or sixth finger. I'm on my mobile browser right now so I can't see your AO, but if you're near Nashville, I'd be happy to show/help you make one. I even have the ball bearings.

[JAB]

Nice work on the machete! I have the exact same design that I picked up for 5 bucks somewhere.

As for a monkey's fist, they're easy if you have a third hand...or sixth finger. I'm on my mobile browser right now so I can't see your AO, but if you're near Nashville, I'd be happy to show/help you make one. I even have the ball bearings.

 

Thanks for the offer, I really appreciate it but I'm just west of Knoxville.  I think part of my problem is that I probably need to make a jig for tying them.  My fingers are just too thick and although they aren't exactly short I guess they are relatively short which makes it hard to tie the fist by wrapping it around my fingers.  Right now, though, my biggest stumbling block is figuring out the sequence in which I should pull the strands tight once I have all three turns in place.

[peejman]

I've made similar observations in some of the stuff my Mom and Grandma knitted.  The only difference is the medium... paracord instead of yarn.  You can get all manner of cool looking patterns for that kind of stuff online or at a fabric store.  Most of the knitting patterns come with detailed instructions on how to do it.  Heck, some adaptation of knitting needles might make the paracord stuff a lot easier. 

[JAB]

peejman, I just got this image of a big, kind of burly guy with a full beard (kind of a Spots looking fellah) sitting in a wooden rocking chair with a pair of knitting needles and couple of balls of paracord.  Someone says to him, "Jimbo, what the heck are you doin'?"  Jimbo replies, "What the hell's it look like?  I'm makin' myself a bug out bag entirely out of paracord.  Gonna make some badass, tactical mittens, too!"

[Guest Broomhead]

Thanks for the offer, I really appreciate it but I'm just west of Knoxville.  I think part of my problem is that I probably need to make a jig for tying them.  My fingers are just too thick and although they aren't exactly short I guess they are relatively short which makes it hard to tie the fist by wrapping it around my fingers.  Right now, though, my biggest stumbling block is figuring out the sequence in which I should pull the strands tight once I have all three turns in place.

 

Start at one end of the cord, I usually start at the loose end rather than the end with the excess, tighten it relatively tight, and hold it in place. Then just start pulling it tight following where the cord goes, remember, it's all one cord. It basically just a sequence of follow the leader. It's much easier to show than to put into words.

 

The hardest part for me is trying to tuck the very end of it in when it is tightened as much as humanly possible. There's just nowhere for it to go.

Edited October 1, 2014 by Broomhead