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Limitations of paracord

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Baytree

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Sorry if this isn't really the right section , it's about paracord but not in a camping situation .

I've got a couple of hanks of 550 paracord and have found it useful. My bootlaces have been replaced with it and show no problems , much better than the laces boots come with. Recently the pull cord on my mower snapped so i reached for the paracord. Put it in and pulled and it snapped like a carrot. Took the mower apart again and i noticed that the little metal liner that the cord runs through had worn where the original cord had rubbed against it and had formed a little groove. Seems the edge of that groove had caught on the paracord and caused it to snap on the first pull. I've now turned the liner around so the cord doesn't rub against it and the cord hasn't since snapped but i was a little surprised at just how easily it had snapped in the first place.
 
That's interesting. Even if the metal liner had cut through the outer casing and two or three of the seven individual strands inside the Paracord casing, I would have thought you would have had 100 lbs plus breaking strain left with the other strands. Had the metal cut practically right through the casing and internal strands, and left the cord almost completely severed perhaps, before you tugged on it?
 
Being a newbie at using paracord a few years back I was buying different types....found the cheaper ones really bad and never lasted long...but managed to source some strong stuff from my local surplus shop....think it's all down to price and sellers being honest about quality and load limits.....coming from a man who is a bungee cord freak:thumbsup:
 
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saxonaxe said:
That's interesting. Even if the metal liner had cut through the outer casing and two or three of the seven individual strands inside the Paracord casing, I would have thought you would have had 100 lbs plus breaking strain left with the other strands. Had the metal cut practically right through the casing and internal strands, and left the cord almost completely severed perhaps, before you tugged on it?
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To be honest i couldn't say for sure , the damaged /grooved part of the liner was inside the plastic casing of the mower but didn't seem that aggresive an edge to cut through the cord that quickly. The cord was perfectly intact when i put it into the mower and reassembled it. I would have thought it may have snagged and jolted my arm more than anything else and have shown as the outer casing broken. Incidentally , not that i really think it matters , but the paracord had only been purchased around six months earlier.
 
I’ve carried and used it about thirty years and it is useful stuff. The one thing I don’t think it’s that good at is as a bootlace as I find actual bootlaces better!

38
 
I don't know why but my bootlaces tend to have a habit of coming apart with the outer sheath parting company leaving me with the core. While i will admit paracord isn't ideal as a bootlace i haven't as yet had the outer sheathcome off yet.
 
Who can afford bootlaces??? Or boots.............:crying: In my day.............................................................
 
That's true...you can't kick the cobble stones and make sparks with boots, not like you could with Clogs with irons on....:lol:
 
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I know i'm going off paracord and onto boots and working boots at that but why do most working boots have the steel toecap under the leather which just means the leather wears away ( especially if one spends time kneeling ) whereas if the steel is on the outside the toe will outlast the restvof the boot.
 
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Because if the steel was showing when you walked across nylon carpet there would be a build up of static electricity, a short circuit, big flash and yer feets would be welded together....:rofl:

Well, perhaps not then.....:lol:...:lol:
 
I'm not allowed on the carpet in my boots😠
Many a thing said in jest but i have heard stories of pissed off welders welding boots together...
 
Baytree said:
I know i'm going off paracord and onto boots and working boots at that but why do most working boots have the steel toecap under the leather which just means the leather wears away ( especially if one spends time kneeling ) whereas if the steel is on the outside the toe will outlast the restvof the boot.
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Its a bold look walking round in a pair of 'Herman Munsters', its one I'll avoid if I can.
 
I think you've hit on why they are less common . They just don't look as cool even if they are more practical. We had the same thing a few years ago when the firm i was with was looking at making eye protection wear compulsory for many more jobs. There were the cheap but effective googles that screamed 1970's comprehensive school science lab and then there were the ones that wouldn't have looked out of place in a Tarentio movie. Thinking was get the latter and people would be more willing to wear them.
 
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