Coiled para cord
 

I like it! I've made leashes with the weed whacker line but with paracord you get more strength and sewing the loops is easier than finding the right clamp. Doesn't look as cheesy too.


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Rather than stitch, clamp, heat-shrink, etc., why not simply tie a loop in an empty section of the hollow paracord? Use the weed-whacker plastic only in the coil area, from knot to knot.

A knotted loop without the plastic core is soft enough to attach any terminal clip or ring you like, as you would attach/remove a torpedo weight to/from the end of your line.

A simple paracord loop is nothing to scratch or snag, and nothing to corrode, rub, slip or break.

To secure the pole end, it's easy to wrap a strip of 1" wide strip of Velcro through the loop onto the pole for a soft and out-of-the-way connection.

For convenience and versatility, I would make both end loops the same size. With paracord, I think a loop made from a single overhand knot is good enough, smaller and neater than a double overhand surgeon's knot. For a single overhand loop, a 9" tag end will produce a neat 2" loop.

No fuss, no muss.

Use both
 

I slid the white center fabric out of the para cord and slid the weed eater line through it,then wrapped it on the dowel. Works great, if you want a tighter spring, reverse the loops when your finished boiling them.

You're comment made look up the sheath strentgh of the paracord. For 550, the strength is 305 lbs (http://blog.survival-pax.com/2010/11...y-cordage.html)

So there really is no reason to leave the weedwacker line all the way thru. I will make some of these when I get home after work and will post an update sometime later.

Astute. You and Kirk think like mechanical engineers. That's great.

That means we should also consider the strength of any hardware we use on the ends as possible weaker links.

I wanted to try all this myself so I went to Home Depot and bought 1.7mm thickness weed-whacker material. There was plenty of room to shove it through the sheath after I pulled the white core threads out. 1.7mm was the medium thickness at HD. They had another thickness higher ... 2.5mm, or around there. I'm wondering if that will help strengthen the coil memory? the 1.7mm coil strength is mild. Not sure if memory strength is brand dependent. The only medium material I found on the HD shelf yesterday is called Rhino-Tuff, and it has the slight "star" shaped cross-section refereed to in other posts. I think there is plenty of room inside the sheath to go up another size in whacker material if it might increase coil memory.

I wrapped it around a 1/2" tube for boiling and the coil expanded to larger than 1/2" when it came out of the ice bath. Looks about 3/4" and bigger than an old phone cord. It's OK, but I think the earlier suggestion of 3/8" dowel for wrapping would turn out a coil size we are more conditioned to expect based on all the other manufactured lanyards out there. The first pull stretched the coil out a bit, so I used the reverse twist trick that Nickworn suggested. It went back to a tight coil.

BTW, I boiled and cooled for 15 min each. I have seen tutorials recommend 10. I'm wondering if over-boiling can weaken the memory?

I'm on my way down to Squidco now to see what kinds of clips they might have. There is also a variety of plastic paracord clips and other rigging hardware available at the Army surplus store in El Cajon.

Thanks to all for the inspiration. I prefer this kind of fiddling to doing my real work :)


EDIT: I just tried jamming two plastics down the sheath. It works fine, so now I've got a double 1.7 mm to try. I'll report back on the coil strength.

I used the Rino-Tuff .095" line and the Everbilt reflective black paracord and they came out perfect. Just haven't added the clips.

I boiled mine for about 30 mins so I do not think you boiled it too long. I also did not put them in a ice bath. I saw a comment somewhere on a youtube vid to not cool it with an ice batch and to make sure you wrap it around the rod REALLY tight. When I did 4 of them I had to take a few breaks because my fingers were hurting lol. I used 4 wooden dowels and was too lazy to modify them so that I can use my drill to wrap them. I probably used a 5/8" dowel and it appears to be a perfect size.

On the kayak end I will use the #2 Nite Ize s-biner($2). On the rod end I will use the Everbilt plastic buckle from Home Depot($1). This brings each leash to about $5.

This is my first one that I was able to tie in between the breaks of the finals game. They are made with a 5/8" wood dowel. I am guessing its 10 feet of rope in this little 8" leash(I made 4 out of 50ft paracord of similar but not exact lengths).

I have to say I prefer these compared to my $20 Danuu leashes. These are lighter and have less bulk all while being longer and costing a quarter of the price. Now to finish the other 8...https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...303d7324a5.jpg
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Looks good GT. The shrink wrap over the knot makes a nice finishing touch.

I continued to experiment too. I doubled up the 1.7mm wacko-plastic for a more firm coil. I didn't know what length to make them, so I rounded off to 100" of paracord, allowing 9" on each end for the loop. That put the plastic at 82" ... which I made 83" to allow some final adjustment before tying the second end loop. I fastened both ends to a dowel with zip ties and reversed the twist when it came out of the ice bath for a tighter coil. Finished coil came out to 6".

I like it!

Its a fun project thats for sure.

With double of the plastic line how firm is it? One of the reasons I don't like leashes is because they feel unatural when holding the rod due to tension.

Anyway on mine I have them double shrink wrapped. First, I burn off each end of the plastic line to round off the sharp edges, then I add a small shrink wrap over both lines...all of this to protect the transition from the plastic line and sheath to sheath only.

Finally I add another shrink to cover the knot. Seems a bit excessive but its really easy and only takes a few seconds.

Pic shows the shrink wrap covering the transition https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...9d48912f92.jpg

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I guess I got try it out my self Bahaha .

Exactly, LOL. Manly fishermen don't want a limp coil, do they? Then again, mine are only six inches.

By the time we're done getting it perfect for all 8 leashes, we will have lots of extras to hand out to our friends.

Standby ....

For the clip, I received these today from Amazon:

"Swivel Eye Bolt Snap Hook"

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

24 clips for only $20. Nice quality. Good size for easy clipping.

They fit on my coiled leash as easily as sliding a torpedo weight onto a dropper loop.

Let us know how those hold up. I've had similarly priced "stainless steel" bolt snaps freeze up after only a few dips in saltwater, even with fw rinses. Usual one's I buy for diving usage run about $5+ but they hold up pretty well.

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