“The Samurai” DIY Paracord Camera Wrist Strap + Video Instructions

In a recent article titled “A Tiny Every Day m4/3 Camera – Part II,” I discussed “Practical Additions,” and one of them was an upgraded camera wrist strap with an improved design. Today, I’ll walk you through how to create it.

The precursor to this “Samurai” design was created many years ago. It represented an enhanced version of the “Mad Max” movie paracord bracelet. During numerous bushcraft weekends, this design has been used to conduct workshops, benefiting hundreds of bushcrafters of all ages. Many other instructors have adopted this design, turning it into a widely utilized bushcraft tool. Its distinctive features include a freely sliding cobra section in the middle and a fixed loop. This allows you to secure various objects between the loop, hang them, attach them to your belt, use them as keychains, lanyards for knives, … camera wrist strap ! The bracelet can also be easily disassembled to repurpose the rope, and later, reassembled for reuse. This sets it apart from other bracelet designs that typically serve only a single purpose.

The samurai wrist strap, bracelet, and bushcraft tool have essentially stayed the same as my original bushcraft design. The only change is the addition of a “bead” to increase tension and secure it more tightly. With reduced friction on parts of the cord, the wrist strap also experiences less wear. The copper samurai serves no practical purpose; it’s purely added for aesthetics. The design improvement involves not fully finishing the central loop at the beginning (using a Monkey Fist knot on the central loop) but simply tying a knot at the end. This allows you to use it immediately after tying the “Cobra” knot and adjust the loop length if needed, which wasn’t possible in the initial design. Essentially, you can use the wrist strap as is, and there’s no need to create the “Monkey Fist” knot.

What you need:

• Paracord 550 – color: black & red (or other colors as desired)
• Scissors
• Candle or Lighter
• Knife
• Tape measure
• 20 minutes of time

For the central loop – the part that will be attached to your camera – you need 1m.

The “Cobra” woven part is a total of 2.5m – if using two colors, each half should be 1.25m.

A “Bead” – the silver cylindrical hollow tube, can also be a wooden or plastic bead.

The “Samurai” – can be found in specialized DIY and Paracord stores, sewing supplies, etc. It can be something completely different, as long as the paracord can pass through it.

Making the Samurai Camera Wrist Strap:

Cut three pieces of paracord -> in this case, black for the central loop : 1m -> again, a black piece, but 1.25m long -> and also a red piece of 1.25m long for the woven part (Cobra stitch)

Carefully melt all ends in a candle flame -> melt little by little and tap the ends on a knife to flatten, twist the sides around the knife blade -> finish nicely like a small barrel at each end, to achieve a professional result.

Take the two pieces of 1.25m and heat the ends over a candle flame until the tip just melts -> push together until they form one rope.

Then start with the central loop, a piece of paracord 1m long -> fold in half -> tie a regular knot at the end – knot both ends at the same time.

The “Bead” must now be slid onto the central loop and pushed toward the knot.

The “Samurai” can also be slid onto it, on the side of the loop.

The next step is to knot the sliding section ( Cobra sitch ) between the Samurai and the Bead. For knotting, you can follow the photos below. To make it easier, I have also used three colors here – black for the central loop, green and red for the Cobra stitch.

When you’ve used up the entire rope, leave approximately 1 cm for the ends and cut off the excess. Use a candle flame to melt the ends, gradually flattening them on a knife blade.

You can now secure the Samurai Wrist Strap to your camera. You have the option to leave the end of the central loop as is or tie a “Monkey Fist” knot. I demonstrate how to do this in the following picture series :

Cut the ends to 1 cm and carefully flatten them with flame and knife.

To prevent the Samurai from sliding, after you have verified that your bracelet fits properly, tie a regular knot under the Samurai on the central loop with a piece of paracord, cut the ends and weld them shut.

Have fun with your new Samurai Wrist Strap!

La Gallerie

The photo gallery of Open Source Photography, Olympus micro 4/3 system, Vintage Lens Photograpy, Film Simulation, PictureFX, HDR – Photographer : Marc R.