Hi guys, I have a question when it comes to bracelets. Let's say the wrist size is like 9 inches or whatever it may be... How much extra length should I add to the bracelet itself to ensure that it won't be too tight, and it won't be too loose, and for what weaves, like the Cobra... King Cobra... etc. Also, as a general rule of thumb, how much paracord should you measure out per inch of the actual bracelet/lanyard length? A foot? Thanks!
I like my bracelets with a little room so when I'm measuring for fit I wrap the bracelet around my wrist and then stick my pointer finger in between the bracelet and my wrist. Then as I make the first few knots I recheck the measurement. That was my trusted old way. Now I get my customers measurement and ask them how much room would they like to have. All of this is using the Solomon Bar knot a.k.a Cobra Weave/King Cobra. Some people like to use 1.75 feet per inch size of wrist for the Cobra Weave. I have my own method for figuring it out how much paracord to use where I get very little waste.
Once you get used to making the bracelets you'll figure out how to size them and make them with as little waste as possible. Remember the extra paracord from a bracelet can still be used for something.
OK, thanks! Another thing... How do you recommend closing/ending the bracelet? I use a lighter to kind of melt off the end of the line, but it always slips through and kind of untangles itself.
When you melt the ends make sure you mash the melted in USING your lighter NOT your fingers. That way you will get a nice flat end that acts as a stopper to hold against the knot.
For the "King Cobra" I actually double the height of the person. So if they are 5'5", I use about 10 feet total. Usually leaves me about a foot left over on each end. They I use those extra lengths for the inner part of a new bracelet! Seems to work good so far. Try it and let me know.
This ^ lol, I wait till it is melted, take the heat off, wait 2 seconds then roll the side of the torch on it and it looks great. It took me a while to figure this out, and a bunch of burnt fingers lol. I'm a little slow. Also using the flat part of the lighter will spread out the melted cord making it harder to pull through.
I didnt measure enough cord on my first two dog leads, first one I had to splice twice, very messy. Second one was better but still needed a couple of extra feet added. I had wondered if using 1foot per 1inch was a good ratio, was just confused about if a different knot to cobra was used if that would change much. I suppose its better to have a couple of feet extra than not enough!
One foot to one inch is good for Cobra. Yes it will change for every style knot you do. I sat down and made one of each style for myself, and marked down on my jig how much cord was used for my wrist size, so for future I can refer to that and estimate for other sizes.
