The more I learn, the more I realize how little I know.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Why you need a lanyard for your knife

A knife is a tool and like any tool - when you need it, you need it. A lanyard attached to the end of your knife allows you to grab it without digging into your pant’s pocket - pull the lanyard and out she comes.
When I first started making lanyards, they were all custom made for the person or how the knife was to be used. One of my first was made for a friend who wore bib overalls while he worked and he carried his knife in that pocket on his leg that’s made for a folding, wood ruler. So he just needed something to grab onto (more like a handle extension) - about 4" off the end of the knife - so he didn’t have to dig down into that pocket with his fat fingers – not easy for him. So I made a lanyard for him that was tied tight to the handle of his pocket knife. And he was happy.

After many custom lanyards I began to work out a design that would suit most every workman or outdoorsman who carries a pocket knife around and uses it here and there throughout the day. That design has a 4 inch loop because it’s all about the way the knife sits in your pocket and the way the lanyard hangs out of your pocket.

With a short loop, for the lanyard to hang down out of the pocket, the knife will have to stand straight up inside your pocket. If the knife moves lower in your pocket, the lanyard is drawn in and then sticks out straight up.

With a long loop the knife can sit down inside the pocket and there is enough loop so the body of the lanyard will hang loosely down out of the pocket. And after experimenting with different lengths, a 4 inch loop seemed to be about right.

When I worked in a warehouse and had to cut open boxes all day long, I used one like this - my hawkbill was always easy to grab. And if you gotta have sumthin hangin out yer pocket anyway - it's gotta look wicked-sharp! I got lotsa compliments on mine. And so will you.

Click over to my site devilchasnme and get yourself a lanyard.

2 comments:

Ken said...

Wow, nice work. I can't seem to figure out what the braid is though. What are you using? I'd like to have it in my repertoire along side the Portuguese sinnet.

devilchasnme said...

Hi Ken - Thanks for your comment. That's just a snake knot. Go to http://www.stellaceleste.com/htm/knots/snakeknot.htm for the instruction.

since 12/17/08