# stretching paracord



## harleymantampa (Jul 31, 2013)

Background. I make whips. One whip I made some while back has received alot of use, and while my plaiting has improved, I wonder about the stretch of 550 paracord. I've heard of washing paracord to refuce the stretch. If you do this, do you do it before or after decoring? Some parts of the whip use no core and others still have cores in.


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## J-Will (Jul 19, 2013)

I've never had paracord stretch. You can shrink it by tossing a finished piece in some boiling water for a few, but never had issues with it stretching regardless of what I used it for.


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## Vin (Apr 4, 2013)

J-Will said:


> I've never had paracord stretch. You can shrink it by tossing a finished piece in some boiling water for a few, but never had issues with it stretching regardless of what I used it for.


X2. Shrinking maybe, but I guess it depends on the cord used. Cordage made out of Nylon shouldn't even shrink that much.


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## MrParacord (Jun 27, 2013)

OP in the case of your whip you could soak the handle as mentioned above to help tighten it up some. I tried once to shrink paracord back when I was fairly new to working with paracord. I did this on a kubaton I made and it did make it a little tighter.


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## Sparky_D (Aug 7, 2013)

About how much does a cobra braid bracelet shrink in boiling water?
I have a couple I got from a buddy that are too long, and I don't necessarily want to undo and re-braid them. (They are about an inch too long)


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## Southern_cordist (May 8, 2013)

About 5% depending on the cord type/manufacturer. I have had cord shrink a little more than 5%, and some cord barely shrink at all... I'm not sure if that was the cord material or manufacturer...


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## MrParacord (Jun 27, 2013)

You would have to test one of the bracelets and see. All paracord may look the same but not all of it is made the same.


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## J-Will (Jul 19, 2013)

Sparky_D said:


> About how much does a cobra braid bracelet shrink in boiling water?
> I have a couple I got from a buddy that are too long, and I don't necessarily want to undo and re-braid them. (They are about an inch too long)


 Toss them in for a couple seconds each time, I don't think they will shrink a full inch, but it'll tighten them up for you. I feel like every cord manufacturer I've bought from is a little different, so no telling. Just do a little at a time to see how yours react.


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## HardcoreSlot (Jul 19, 2013)

When I make my custom shooting sticks I use regular 550 cord to lash the two sticks together. after some use the lashing does loosen up. 
Hot water will shrink up cord. I built a Kubaton and no matter how tight i pulled the ends it still had slop and was loose around the alum rod i had as a core. I ran it under hot water out of the tap and it tightened right up!


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## spleify (Sep 29, 2013)

It will shrink up to approximately 1/4" if soaked in water. I've found water temp doesnt really matter. Just soak the paracord item for an hour or so and let it completely dry and it will have shrunk for you.


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## MrParacord (Jun 27, 2013)

I never had paracord stretch before.


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