How many of you out there paid $25 for a pistol lanyard only to purchase a piece of twisted cord
that had an extension
specifically put on there that read, "Blackhawk!"? I know I was one of those guys once.
Or has anyone here tried to make a lanyard only to have it look like a polished turd and/or be generally lacking quality?
Here's how you can make you're own lanyard for 1/5th of the cost and have it still be just as effective as the expensive ones.
I used one of these lanyards through two tours in Iraq and it held up perfectly. To test the lanyard I threw my pistol as hard as
I could and experienced no failures whatsoever.
Gather the following materials:
-Short length of 550 cord
-Heavy guage wire
-Cellphone car charger (thicker the better, the thin stuff won't return to form)
-Lighter
-Cable shrink wrap (I bought a value pack of several different sizes at Harbor Freight)
-Multi-tool
-Epoxy (or shoe goo in a pinch--epoxy is a much much better choice)
-Black hair beads (You can find them in the "Ethnic" hair section at Walmart)
-Carabiner (I got several for $1 a pop at a local sporting goods store)
First off, cut off a length of 550 cord, You want a loop ~3" long, start with about 8 inches.
Gut the 550 cord.
Toss the innards.
Feed two of the hair beads through both ends of the 550 cord.
Set the cord aside for now.
Take your multi-tool and snip off the ends of the car charger
Loop the ends of the car charger so you have one fat loop (~1/2in inner diameter... the carabiner needs to be able to fit through this loop.)
and one very small loop.
Fasten the loops together with the wire.
With a square knot, attach the 550 cord to the skinny loop of the car charger
Ensure the knot is in the center of the small loop.
Fully coat both wire wraps with epoxy and let them set until hard.
Fit some cord shrink wrap over the 550 cord, but not over the small loop
Using the lighter, shrink up the tubing until it's tight.
With a larger piece of tubing, cover up the wire fasteners on both ends of the lanyard.
Here's what you have:
Loop the 550 cord through your pistol's lanyard loop hole and tighten the hair beads to prevent the lanyard from being undone or becoming loose.
Attach the carabiner through the large loop, then attach the carabiner to your belt or other gear. Viola'! Pistol lanyard.
