If you read our “12 Tools for Survival” article, you'll remember how we extolled the importance of a good axe. Specifically, we chose the CRKT Woods Chogan tomahawk, with its hot-forged 1055 carbon steel head and Tennessee hickory handle. However, we also noticed that the smooth hickory handle has a possibility of slipping in your hands, especially when they're wet or sweaty.

Fortunately, there's an easy fix: a paracord handle wrap. Not only does this give the axe more grip, but it also provides compact storage for over 40 feet of 550 paracord, a material that's extremely useful for survival. Here's the technique we used, known as a chain sinnet:

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After completing our wrap, we had used about 40 feet of paracord, with the cord circling the handle over 80 times. It's important to cinch each knot down tightly as you go, otherwise the paracord handle wrap may slip off over time. Once we were satisfied with our chain sinnet knots, instead of cutting and burning the end to seal the knot, we added an additional step: a sliding wrist lanyard.

This lanyard was accomplished using about two feet of loose cord at the end of the chain sinnets. The loose end was then tied into a multiple overhand scaffold knot, using the method below. The scaffold knot slides to tighten a loop around your wrist, ensuring the axe won't leave your hand while you're wearing the lanyard.

So, there you have it, an easy paracord axe handle wrap and lanyard. If you use either of these techniques on any of your tools, we'd like to see the results! Post in the comments below, check out our Facebook page, or tag a photo @recoiloffgridmagazine on Instagram.

Written by Patrick McCarthy