Paracord Belt Clip

A handy little clip on the belt for keys, tools or whatever you need to be handy and easy to reach.

Paracord:



2.5m (8.202 ft) of Paracord. I ended up with very little left, so a bit extra would be helpful. 3m (9.8424 ft) should be more than sufficient.

I tie my knots very tight and if you tend not to, I would strongly advise you use a bit longer than the 2.5m



Carribeaner:



The carribeaner can be made of Steel or Aluminium and the size can also vary depending on personal preference or availability. Measurements must be adjusted based on the size of the belt and the size of the carribeaner.



Tools:



You do not need All of the tools. I prefer to cut the paracord with the Soldering iron. It gives a neat cut and the ends are melted all in one action. You can use a knife or scissors and whatever you choose for melting the ends after the cut.

The Clip(Carribeaner) is 6cm long and the Belt 3cm wide. I worked on 6cm and after all knots were tied the opening for the belt was 4cm. So in my case everything worked out fine.



6cm = 2.362 in

3cm = 1.181 in

4cm = 1.575 in

Fold the paracord in half. We will start from the halfway bend.



I worked on 6cm. Double that and add an additional 1cm to create a gap wgere the belt can go through.



Take this 13cm piece and fold that in half, back to the hand that is holding the 13cm mark.(second photo)



Change your grip to hold the new fold together and to show the original bend. (Third photo)



Note that the bend is in front and the two working ends is at the back.



I will explain the knotting part with the assumption that you do not know how to tie a Solomon Bar. If you do know how to tie this knot you must just note that the first half knot goes around all four strands.



Now for the first knot. This knot will hold the basic structure together. This first Half knot of the Solomon Bar will be tied around all four strands.  The fourth photo shows the left hand strand comes forward and goes over the the two strands which forms the original bend.

The fifth photo shows the right hand strand goes from the top over the left hand strand and then back and around the two strands at the back.



Now thread the right hand strand from the back through the loop formed by the left hand strand. (sixth photo)



Pull both tight. One at a time until it is tight enough to hold itself together. Then pull both working ends together to tighten the knot.

Last photo shows how it looks after it was tightened.

Insert the Clip into the loop formed by the original bend and the knot made in the previous step. If the loop is closest to you the Clip should be inserted from behind towards you. (1st photo)



Feed the Clip through to the top bend on the Clip. (2nd Photo)



Hold the Clip and the two strands on either side of the clip. Now take the strand on the left hand side and thread it through the two bottom loops so that it is right at the back of the clip and the two strands which now runs next to the clip. (3rd Photo)



Take the right hand strand and run from the top backwards behind the left hand strand, and then bring it to the front, past the back leg of the clip. At the left hand side it should go through the loop formed by the left hand strand. (4th Photo) Tighten it.



Carry on with this until you reach the bottom bend of the clip.



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For those who is not familiar with the Solomon Bar:

It is important to keep the right strand in front and in the back. You will notice that the same strand stays in front and the other at the back of the Solomon Bar. So to continue with this, you will take the right hand strand and run it at the back of the clip and the left hand strand will then go in front. Next the left hand one will go to the back and right hand one to the front. Carry on like this until you reach the the bottom bend of the clip.

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photos 5 and 6 just show what it should look like once you are done with this step.

We will now go back up on the two paracord strands. This will form the "strap" that will sit behind the belt. Keep the strand that was at the back, at the back. On the first photo the strand coming out on the right hand side, comes from the back and it goes behind the two paracord strands. The one on the left goes to the front.



When you tighten this it should be right next to the clip and it is really just continuing with the Solomon Bar, but know without the clip in between the two strands.



Carry on until you reach the top.

Next we will continue with the Solomon Bar, but this time on to the top of the Clip. It will be tied only on the clip. It should go all around the bend, but make sure the it does not constrict the movement of the spring loaded leg of the clip.



So, continue making the first half knot on the clip, just passed the original loop where we first insert the clip. Carry on to cover the whole bend. (Photos 1-4)



Next we will go back over the Solomon Bar, with another Solomon Bar. Continue over the whole bend. (photos 5 and 6)

Once again, we will continue with this Solomon Bar to Cover the Back Strap. This will give the strap behind the belt a bit more width and therefore a bit of stability.



Just carry on with it until you reach the bottom.

Fold the two strands over the bottom of the strap, cut and meld the ends together. This is easily accomplish by cutting the ends so that they overlap by about a millimetre, melt the ends and push them together. Let it cool down.



Well done your Belt Clip is ready for use.

Just slip it on the belt and clip your keys in.



Thank you for following this instructable.  As this is my first I would appreciate any feedback on the instructable as well as the usefulness of this product.



Regards from South Africa

Lourens Oosthuizen.