The Paracord Cut Plan

Measure the wrist and add the comfort inch, count whole cuts per hank, give every tail a job, and cut camp lines and whipping twine that reach

KnotWorks' free Paracord Needed Calculator, Rope Length Calculator and Whipping Length Calculator each answer in feet of cord. Cord is bought in hanks and used in whole pieces, and that is where a batch goes wrong: the last bracelet has no cord, a camp line comes up short at the stake, or a drawer fills with tails too short for anything. The Paracord Cut Plan joins the three tools. It types the finished length (a snug wrist plus about an inch) instead of the wrist, prices each weave in cord, and counts whole cuts per hank: fifteen fishtail bracelets at 8 in are 195 ft, and two 100 ft hanks hold the feet but give 7 whole 13 ft cuts each, 14 bracelets. The plan buys 250 ft for 17 cuts and turns the tails into 4 keychains and 2 zipper pulls. It puts the margin on each camp line, works whipping twine at the twine's own centerline (558.36 mm on 10 mm rope with 1 mm twine, not 511.24), and cuts the longest piece first, fitting a weekend's cord into two 50 ft hanks instead of three. It is for crafts and camp chores only: it selects no knot, prints no load, and says plainly never to use craft cord or these instructions for climbing, rescue, lifting people or overhead loads. The worked figures are examples and every one is computed by the site's own calculators. Included: 7 steps, 4 printable working pages, a reference table, a quickstart, and a personalised sheet worked out from the numbers you enter.

Look inside

Two full pages from the plan, exactly as printed. Click either to read it at full size before you decide.

What is in it

• The Wrist Plus One Rule: type the finished length, a snug wrist plus about an inch, never the wrist itself
• The Weave Costs Cord Rule: cobra, fishtail and king cobra priced in feet of cord before you count hanks
• The Whole Cuts Rule: whole cuts per hank, rounded down, and why the feet and a 10% margin both miscount
• The Every Tail Rule: a redo cut kept back, and every tail given a job as a keychain or zipper pull
• The Margin Per Piece Rule: camp lines cut with their own margin, not a spare few feet at the end of the hank
• The Twine On Top Rule: whipping twine worked from rope plus twine diameter, with a length to grip at each end
• The Longest First Rule: the cut list sorted longest first, so a weekend's cord fits fewer hanks
• Four printable working pages: wrist and cut sheet, hank plan, camp line and ends worksheet, cut list log
• A reference table of cord per bracelet by weave and the whole cuts from 50 ft and 100 ft hanks
• A one-page quickstart, the safety lines for craft cord, and a personalised sheet worked from your numbers

The plan picks up where the free Paracord Needed Calculator, Rope Length Calculator and Whipping Length Calculator leave off. Each answers in feet of cord; the plan turns that into pieces cut from the hanks you buy. It types the finished length (a snug wrist plus about an inch), not the wrist; prices each weave in cord; counts whole cuts per hank, so fifteen bracelets are not planned into two hanks that make fourteen; gives every tail a job; puts the margin on each camp line; works whipping twine that reaches; and cuts the longest piece first. It is for crafts and camp chores only: never use craft cord or these instructions for climbing, rescue, lifting people or overhead loads. The worked figures are examples; your wrists and lines are yours to fill in.