Survival Java Jacket

The Survival Java Jacket is a much better looking solution than that crappy, tree wasting, cardboard band which keeps your fingers from getting burned by your paper coffee cup. You know what I'm talking about. The Survival Java Jacket is made from a single 19½ foot piece of gutted paracord (which has a working strength of 300 lbs.). [You can also special order them with ungutted 450 or 550 paracord if you want more insulation (or load strength) but the look and feel is slightly less nice.] When slid onto a small or large Smegabucks or Dinky Donuts paper coffee cup, it is about 2" tall and 11" circumference and snugly embraces the cup.

Between uses, it is completely flexible and takes up virtually no room in your pocket, briefcase, backpack, or purse; so you can always have it with you when you start jonesing for some hot, black, caffeine. You could even wear it on your wrist between fixes. (I hear the chicks dig that.) And before I forget to mention it, you'll love the way it feels in your hand. If you think you know what paracord feels like - fuggetaboudit. Bracelets made from paracord tend to feel a bit coarse because the knots are tightly tied and rather bumpy. Because this knot is looser, this feels much smoother and softer - but still provides a good grip. It feels even better off the cup.

Technically speaking the Survival Java Jacket is a 21 part, 20 bight Turks Head knot with a Gaucho weave (over two, under two). Math geeks will appreciate that the paracord crosses over or under itself 20 times (n+1 = # of parts) from the bottom to the top and makes the trip from the bottom to the top 20 times (# of bights = # of times cord changes direction). The two ends are heat sealed together for a permanent connection.



I can provide Survival Java Jackets in the following paracord colors:

White	Black	Olive Drab	Red	Yellow	Purple	Turquoise
Silver Grey	Charcoal Grey	Tan	Chocolate Brown	Royal Blue	Kelly Green	Gold
Neon Pink	Neon Turquoise	Neon Yellow	Dark Green	Colonial Blue	Navy Blue	Camo
Burgundy	Orange	Neon Orange	Rose Pink	Rust	Neon Teal	Imperial Red
Neon Electric Blue	Emerald Green	Neon Green	Walnut	Foliage Green	Coyote Brown	Desert Digital (Camo)
ACU Army Digital (Camo)	Multicam (Camo)	Woodland (Camo)	Red White & Blue	Dark OD	Dark Brown	Goldenrod

I can also custom make Survival Java Jackets in any two of the above colors to show your support your favorite sports team, college, corporation, fraternity, etc. (see the above photos for examples of the black/orange, blue/white, or black/white custom Survival Java Jackets.)

I have a feeling you'll really like the Survival Java Jacket.

Price: Single color - $20 each. Custom 2 color - $22. Quantity discount for 12 or more. Contact me privately

Shipping: Priority mail is preferred, but (domestic) first class is available too.

USA: Priority Mail: $5.50 (Preferred) [up to Qty 12]; $12 for Qty 13-80
USA: First Class Shipping available by request, rates vary. (Usually $2-$4 for up to Qty 4)
International: $14 for Priority International Flat Rate.

Ordering
Once you've decided what you'd like, send me a PM with:

• The quantity and the color you want

or, if it's a custom 2 color model:

• The quantity and the two colors you want

I have Survival Java Jackets in many of the above colors in stock but I am low or temporarily out of a few of the above colors - especially the camo colors - but I can get a new shipment of paracord delivered quickly. Double check with me about color availability and delivery times. Custom orders usually only take a few days. I do this in my spare time, so expect at least a few days before your order ships. If I don't have the parts or the time, expect at least a week.

21p8b Gaucho Knot Multi-tool holder

After Stormdrane threw down the gauntlet making his Paracord sheath, well, I knew that I had pick that gauntlet right back up. Truth is, I have been thinking I would like a woven sheath for my multi-tool for a long time. I was thinking that I would make it using a Turks Head knot. After making a few long Turks Head knots I decided to try making a Gaucho knot to make it look more visually interesting.

This 21 part, 8 bight, 2 pass knot is what I came up with.

Okay, so mine isn't made with paracord, it's not OD Green, and it doesn't have a cover flap. Well, I think I can live with that. The tool is easy enough to get in and out of the sheath but it's not gonna fall out on its own. I'm pretty satisfied.

For the How-To crowd who know about making Turks Head knots, here's the battle plan.

Coding/\\/



Run list

HC 1	bottom pin 1		top pin 3
HC 2	top pin 3	U2	bottom pin 6
HC 3	bottom pin 6	O2	top pin 8
HC 4	top pin 8	O1 U1 O1 U1 O1	bottom pin 3
HC 5	bottom pin 3	U1 O1 U1 O1 U1	top pin 5
HC 6	top pin 5	O2 U1 O2 U1 O1	bottom pin 8
HC 7	bottom pin 8	U2 O1 U2 O1 U1	top pin 2
HC 8	top pin 2	U1 O2 U2 O2 U2 O1	bottom pin 5
HC 9	bottom pin 5	O1 U2 O2 U2 O2 U1	top pin 7
HC 10	top pin 7	U1 O1 U1 O1 U2 O1 U1 O1 U2 O1 U1	bottom pin 2
HC 11	bottom pin 2	O1 U1 O1 U1 O2 U1 O1 U1 O2 U1 O1	top pin 4
HC 12	top pin 4	U1 O1 U1 O2 U2 O1 U1 O2 U2 O1 U1	bottom pin 7
HC 13	bottom pin 7	O1 U1 O1 U2 O2 U1 O1 U2 O2 U1 O1	top pin 1
HC 14	top pin 1	U1 O2 U1 O2 U2 O2 U1 O2 U2 O2 U1	bottom pin 4
HC 15	bottom pin 4	O1 U2 O1 U2 O2 U2 O1 U2 O2 U2 O1	top pin 6
HC 16	top pin 6	U1 O2 U2 O2 U2 O2 U2 O2 U2 O2 U1	bottom pin 1

Trying something more complex

I was recently looking at the Knot Heads World Wide website and I saw a video about making a 5 lead, 3 bight turks head knot into 11 lead, 7 bight turks head knot. If you don't know what that means, suffice it to say it's bigger and more complicated looking.


I learned to make much simpler turks head knots (3 lead, 4 bight; 3 lead 5 bight) more than 35 years ago. In the last month, I stepped it up and have made some long 2 bight, 3 bight, and 4 bight turks head knots - mostly on carabiners. So this was quite a big step for me.


So I tried it out on my Pilot Dr. Grip Gel pen using beige 1.4mm braided nylon cord. This cord is a just bit smaller than 1/16" diameter and for a pen is a little bit thicker than I would like. Still, it does not make the pen uncomfortable to hold and it was a good exercise. Besides, now nobody is going to mistake my pen for theirs.

I tried it again using some 1/8" twisted cotton cord and it didn't turn out too bad.

Getting back in the habit

Hi folks,

Back when I was very young (and dinosaurs were becoming scarce) my dad introduced me to knots I had never seen and a wonderful book called The Ashley Book of Knots.

I learned a lot from that book and I made some things that nobody had ever seen before. But then I put it down for a long time. Another blogger, Stormdrane, inspired me to picked it back up again

Here's a picture of some coasters I made recently. They're in pink in honor of my step-mom's valient, if unsuccessful, eight year battle with cancer. In the Ashley book, it's knot #4355.