Handy holiday gift idea: Make a bracelet - Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times

Handy holiday gift idea: Make a bracelet

All hail the mighty 550 cord. For as long as troops have been falling from the sky, they’ve used it to lash in, wrap around, strap on, hitch over, string up and tie down through countless campaigns, deployments and field exercises.

Small wonder the paracord bracelet, first fashioned to keep a small reserve of the ever-useful cord close at hand, long has been a favorite — if unofficial — accessory to many a uniform.

Now with more weaves and ties than ever, the bracelets have become a symbol of GI creativity. And like duct tape before it, paracord is weaving its way into civilian hands, prompting an explosion of new colors and styles.

“We used to only carry military colors — black, tan and olive drab mostly,” says Dale Letourneau, a former Marine who owns the Full Metal Jacket military surplus store a few miles from the Pentagon. “But within the past year or so, we’ve started getting more and more calls for different colors.” These days, he has 23 colors in stock.

Gladding Braided Products, one of the major U.S.-based manufacturers for both the military and civilian markets, now sells paracord in 48 colors, including everything from Rose Pink and Purple Camo to Tar Heel Blue and Neon Green.

“The increase in bracelets, belts, etc., made from this cord certainly has contributed to the growth in sales,” says Gladding’s chief of 550 cord production, Mike Radziwon.

The veterans who run Off Duty Gamers — an online bunker for military gaming enthusiasts — have tapped into the growing popularity of 550-cord bracelets to help fund their efforts. “Little did I realize as a former parachute rigger that these bracelets would prove as interesting to nonmilitary as they are to vets,” says site founder Mark Christianson, who sells cobra-weave bracelets for $15.

From war zone to home front

Letourneau’s theory of what’s behind it all: With so many GIs deployed in recent years, there’s been a renaissance of 550 cord among troops looking for ways to pass the slow hours away from home. “And as they’ve returned from downrange, civilians are seeing what they’ve created and are now figuring out how to make their own.”

Paracord bracelets have become a cottage industry with everyone from high school students to charity groups selling them, and it’s a growing hobby for a new army of budding knot nuts.

“I saw one online and was intrigued,” says Greg Huffines, who works for an aviation software company in Tulsa, Okla. Instead of buying a bracelet, he picked up some cord and buckles and gave it a try. “I thought it would be fun for me and my three boys to tie some together,” he says. And it was.

“Soon, my sons’ friends and teachers wanted me to tie some for them. School colors, mostly. Before long I was buying more and more cord, more and more colors and starting to sell them locally.”

Now he runs The550CordShop.com as a Gladding distributor. He’s made everything from paracord dog collars and leashes to custom grips for his son’s Halloween costume ninja sword. But “I’m most proud of the Autism Awareness bracelets I tie,” he says. Proceeds from his eBay sales go to autism research.

No doubt one of the biggest evangelists for artful paracord creations has been J.D. Lenzen, author of “Decorative Fusion Knots,” published last year.

“He takes paracord tying to an artistic level,” Huffines says.

A military contractor in California and the son of a Marine, Lenzen’s “Tying It All Together” YouTube channel has drawn more than 37,000 subscribers since he launched it three years ago. Posting an average of one tutorial a week, he’s had no shortage of material with more than 200 how-to videos now available. “How to Make a Paracord River Bar” has garnered more than 1.3 million hits.

Room for creativity

Lenzen says he considers knot-tying a creative practice rather than an unchanging discipline.

“People are beginning to recognize paracord ties are no longer limited to Solomon Bars and a handful of other historical pieces,” he says. “Knots are like paintings, only twists, coils and weaves replace the pigments, and a length of cord is the canvas.”

Coming full circle, Lenzen’s work has drawn a new generation of fans who help push the craft in new directions, he says.

“Some are merely seeking to pass time and create something interesting. Others tell me heartfelt stories of how paracord ‘fusion’ ties have helped them manage depression, injury and their adjustment to life back home.

“Through the creation of the various pieces I teach, soldiers have found a way to strengthen their contacts with friends and family, gifting them with the paracord bracelets, pouches, knots and other ties they’ve made.”