How to wrap a rope around the handle of a knife

Wrapping a rope around the handle of a knife or some similar tool offers more traction, making it easier to hold. There are several ways to wrap a rope. Most are quite simple and just as practical, so the right choice is a mere aesthetic choice.

Easy wrap

Glue a string to the handle. Lay the string along one side of the handle. Glue it to the handle, just below the blade of the knife.

There should be enough string to extend the length of the handle, plus a bit more. For most knives, the overall length should be around 1 foot (30.5 cm). Let the excess string hang past the bottom of the handle.
Don’t cut the rope yet.
Wrap the tape around the handle two or three times. Make sure that it firmly holds the string in place.

Wrap the rope around the handle. Wrap the string around the width of the handle in one full turn.

Work with the string still attached to the set. Do not wrap excess string that is hanging at the bottom of the handle.
The rope should form a tight wrap around the handle to fit its width. This wrapping should end when it crosses over the starting point of the tape.

Work along the entire length of the handle. ^[2]Continue winding the string around the width of the handle until you’ve reached the opposite end.

Each consecutive turn must be directly preceded by the previous turn on the handle. Keep the wrap very tight as you go.
Wrap the glued side of the rope over the cut, loose end, covering it and securing it to the handle.

Tie the string to the empty end. Slide both ends of the rope through the hole located at the bottom of the handle. Tie them in a tight knot to secure the wrap.

If the hole isn’t big enough, you can wrap both ends of the string around the notch in the back of the knife. Tie the knot behind this notch.
The knot should be very tight so that the rope wrap cannot come undone.

Tie the ends together. Cut the glued side of the rope so that the tail is about the same length as the loose end that is still hanging from the bottom of the handle. Tie both ends together in a tight knot.

The resulting wrap should serve as a wrist loop, so be sure to cut enough to form a loop that will fit your wrist.
The process ends once you have completed this step.

Basic interleaving

Center the handle over the string. Cut a long piece of string and place it on your work surface. Place the top of the handle over the center of the cut string.

You need a piece of string that is at least four to five times as long as the length of the handle. Any excess string can be trimmed off at the end of the process, so it’s better to start with too much rather than too little.

Cross the far left. Take the left end of the string and cross it over the top of the handle. Slide it under the right end of the string, pulling it from the bottom to the top.

The two ends should form a loop about the width of the handle. The intersection of this loop should be on the right side of the handle.

Weave the right end back into the row. Take the other end (the one you haven’t worked with yet) and slide it into the loop starting from the back. Pull it back through the left side of the handle.

From the back of the turn (which is under the handle), you’ll need to slide this end into the bottom of the turn and out the top. This step will tie the cuff in place.
Pull the string at both ends to snap the loop into place around the handle.
At the end of this step, the left and right ends of the rope will have switched places. The end that was previously the left end is now the right and vice versa.

Cross the far right. Take the right end of the rope and cross it over the top of the handle, under the previously formed loop. Slide the right end under the left, pulling it from the bottom to the top.

As before, this should create a loose turn. The intersection point should be on the left side of the handle this time.

Cross the left end behind the handle. Take the left end of the rope and thread it under the handle of the knife.

Since both ends are to the left at the beginning of this step, the “left end” refers to the end that was previously positioned on the left side, before you created the current turn.

Weave the end into the loop. Take the end you worked with in the previous step and loop it around the handle starting from the right side.

You will need to insert the end into the loop starting from the bottom up.
Pull on the string to secure the lap in place.
At the end of this step, the two ends will once again have opposite sides.

Repeat the steps with the opposite side. Repeat the steps followed to create the last loop, working the rope to the left instead of the right.

Cross the left end over the front of the sleeve. Pass it under the far right to create a loop.
Bring the right end behind the handle to the left side, then tuck it into the loop on the left side, working from back to front.
Pull on both ends to secure the new loop in place.

Repeat the operation as much as necessary to cover the handle. Continue making crisscross turns on the knife, keeping them as snug and close together as possible, until you reach the bottom of the handle.

Follow the same steps to create the two previous loops. Alternate between the left and right extremes.

Thread the ends through the hole. Slide both ends through the hole in the bottom of the knife.

You can feed the ends through the hole from the same side, or you can feed them through the hole from opposite sides. If you do the latter, tie the ends around one side of the hole to help secure the string.

Tie the last knot. Tie the ends on both sides in a tight knot. The resulting bow can be used as a wrist bow.

Completion of this step completes the process.