- Oct 12, 2022
- 2,682
- 1,430
- Country
- United States
- Gender
- Male
- Faith
- Christian
- Marital Status
- Married
Lately I've become concerned about losing keys. Some years ago I did with vehicle keys found them retracing my steps in a yard, and my wife has done so once. A retractable key lanyard sort of works, but the keys are just dangling from it and it can slip off your belt. Attaching a short lanyard to a retractable key lanyard would solve the first problem but not the second.
So it was that I found some inexpensive good quality carabiners. Tied a paracord to it using a buntline hitch, fastened it to a belt loop, then clipped the other to the key ring, clipped the paracord to it, then extended the key ring to how far I usually hold it. Cut and singed the paracord and attached it to the carabiner using a buntline hitch.
This is about as simple as it gets.
Clipping it to a belt loop made it more visible than liked, and also held the paracord away from the pocket. Unclipped it from the paracord, ran the carabiner behind my belt from the top down with the paracord running down the front, then clipped the carabiner to the paracord, making a secure loop. That put the paracord almost flush with my body and didn't hold it out from my pocket.
Had the idea of a bowline, then a Figure 8 loop, the idea to make a loop to pass the paracord through around my belt. A loop to pass the belt through would work as well. But the knots proved bulkier than I liked, and after tying a loop with a Chinese lanyard knot (a loop made with a friendship knot) , decided I liked the option of unsnapping it from my belt, and went back to the carabiner.
Will point out that this can be dangerous. If the paracord catches on something, it could snag me as well if the keys don't come free. A safer option would be to make a snap leather band to go around the belt, with a swivel at the bottom for the paracord. Then it could pull the leather band off without grabbing me. That will likely be my next step.
So it was that I found some inexpensive good quality carabiners. Tied a paracord to it using a buntline hitch, fastened it to a belt loop, then clipped the other to the key ring, clipped the paracord to it, then extended the key ring to how far I usually hold it. Cut and singed the paracord and attached it to the carabiner using a buntline hitch.
This is about as simple as it gets.
Clipping it to a belt loop made it more visible than liked, and also held the paracord away from the pocket. Unclipped it from the paracord, ran the carabiner behind my belt from the top down with the paracord running down the front, then clipped the carabiner to the paracord, making a secure loop. That put the paracord almost flush with my body and didn't hold it out from my pocket.
Had the idea of a bowline, then a Figure 8 loop, the idea to make a loop to pass the paracord through around my belt. A loop to pass the belt through would work as well. But the knots proved bulkier than I liked, and after tying a loop with a Chinese lanyard knot (a loop made with a friendship knot) , decided I liked the option of unsnapping it from my belt, and went back to the carabiner.
Will point out that this can be dangerous. If the paracord catches on something, it could snag me as well if the keys don't come free. A safer option would be to make a snap leather band to go around the belt, with a swivel at the bottom for the paracord. Then it could pull the leather band off without grabbing me. That will likely be my next step.
