Finishing paracord projects in a classy way

This article shares a small tip I found to be very useful when working with paracord.

Most of us melt ends of the cord then we are done. Naturally you can tuck the ends back in sometimes, but the process of melting cord is widely used and accepted.

The problem

Sometimes we do not like the way paracord melts. Specifically, because the inner strands are commonly white, white the outer sheathing is colored, we get odd results when melting. When melted the inner strands melt over the  sheathing and create a glassy covering. This is okay, but can we do better?

Yes, we can!

I recently stumbled into a really nice way of finishing the cord ends that still uses melting, but in a more professional way. The process involves removing the inner strands (I pull out and remove a small section of inner strands), then melting the outer sheathing alone. You may choose to ignore removing the inner strands and just melt them until they are black though.

When the sheathing is properly melted I finish the project by pressing down the melted cord with a thimble or something that leaves a nice texture. This gives it a nice, textured look that looks a ton better in my opinion.

Is it worth it?

For me the process is worth it. It is a nice little addition that makes my project feel more “mine”, as well as provides a look I find to be more appealing than the standard, glassy look of melted cord ends. I highly recommend at least trying it!

I experimented with the following:

• a thimble
• a cross screw, which imprints a cross sign into the melted cord

As a final word, I encountered this technique when it was used by a fellow paracord enthusiast and adapted it so it suits my needs. I do not want to take away credit from that person at all.