# Paracord Bow Grips



## aikiwolf (Jul 3, 2011)

I was just playing with the idea of paracording my bow grips (it absorbs sweat, gives a good grip texture, and adds a bit of cushion) since my bow came with an high aftermarket grip and I am having a hard time finding the original. The bare metal riser was working better for me, so I decided to just wrap it with paracord. Here is what my first (quick and dirty) attempt looks like:






















There is a solid layer of black parachord wrap with the decorative top of gutted "parachord skin". I am thinking of doing it over with different wrap, someting that looks more like a katana handle wrapping (ito) with the parachord.

Anyone else done anything like this? 
I am curious how paracord holds up and performs as a bow grip.


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## Hoytman_Sax (Oct 8, 2007)

I like it, as long as it has a good feel for it go for it! Nice color combo btw


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## NY911 (Dec 12, 2004)

Cool as hell


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## bushmasterar15 (Oct 23, 2004)

Looks good.


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## Komi (Mar 1, 2007)

I love it and could do it about any color....


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## aikiwolf (Jul 3, 2011)

Thanks! 
And yes, there are a lot of cool outer sheath colors out there for paracord. I imagine the camo stuff would look good on a hunting bow as well. (Why I want to spell it "parachord" sometimes is beyond me)


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## Fletcher #1 (Mar 21, 2011)

I like it. Can you give me a little more insight as to how you wrapped the first layer of paracord? Just round and round? Do you remember how many feet it took? thanks for your help!


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## Krypt Keeper (Oct 10, 2007)

nice. I did my bow grip last year in paracord. 

My reason being the sideplates were ok but the narrow back portion put pressure on my hand were I had some damage done. So the paracord widened the grip just enough to allow me to shoot without pain.


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## Krypt Keeper (Oct 10, 2007)

picture of mine. Also did the bar for my string stopper.


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## aikiwolf (Jul 3, 2011)

Yep, just spiraled it the full length. 
I put a layer of "grip tape" between that and the bare riser (like electrical tape without adhesive, it only sticks to itself) keeps the cord from slipping everywhere. I think I want to redo this, so I will take pics at each stage.


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## aikiwolf (Jul 3, 2011)

Nice, Krypt Keeper

Looks like the cobra stitch... I thought about doing that one in a slightly different way.


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## Krypt Keeper (Oct 10, 2007)

Yep cobra, lots of people seem to like it. Certainly helps with my hand problem. Was playing with the wife a couple yrs ago and she accidently twisted my thumb till it popped and ripped something in hand. Took over a year before I could bend my thumb all the way in. When shooting without the paracord wrap it would send a sharp pain in my hand. Was going to get that tenticle wrap but thought I would try my own way first.


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## aikiwolf (Jul 3, 2011)

Here is the under-wrap:








This is the katana (ito) handle style wrap with gutted paracord. (I ran out of cord so it stops short from reaching the bottom)


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## treeMonster (Jan 12, 2010)

Man, that looks awesome. Do you think the wraps will separate with frequent shooting?


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## oldschoolcj5 (Jun 8, 2009)

nice work guys


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## aikiwolf (Jul 3, 2011)

Thanks treeMonster, That again was a quick and dirty (kind of a proof of concept) wrapping. The final wrap would have to be a bit tighter. Under all of the paracord there is a thin wrapping of rubberlike grip which I imagine will help keep the cord in place. With a tight wrap on top I think it should be pretty secure. (I have also read of people suggesting getting the cord wet before wrapping so it tightens up more as it dries) I like this ito style wrap, but I think I am going to get some real ito cord and do it in a more authentic way. Still playing with it all, but I will update this when I test it and see if it holds up as well as I think it will.


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## aikiwolf (Jul 3, 2011)

My friend has a Micro Midas 3 that needed a new grip, This was just one layer of full paracord(nothing gutted) 
It is a camo bow, and she is particularly girly so I came up with this: 














(shout out to Krypt Keeper for the inspiration on what to do when I overshot the amount of cord I would need) 
She really liked it, but after a field shoot she said the cord was a bit rough on her hand... (she did get a few compliments on it though)


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## thorwulfx (Sep 26, 2011)

Nice looking wrapped handles on this thread. I do cord-wrapped handles quite a bit. I tend to use 1/8" nylon string. I like how it feels in the hand, and it seems to wear well. I just use duct tape as an under-wrap. As all the cord I use can't be gutted, it wouldn't work well with multiple layers, but those katana-style wraps look sweet. Thanks for showing 'em off.


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## caspian (Jan 13, 2009)

an excellent way of increasing riser torque.


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## Bassniper (Feb 7, 2010)

Make sure you spray those down with scent killer after a while.....nice work, but, it will hold a lot of stink. Just my two cents.


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## aikiwolf (Jul 3, 2011)

@Bassniper: For hunting or are you talking about fabreeze? (paper can't run or smell, so scent isn't an issue for us)

@Caspian: "riser torque" How so?


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## kevin39208 (Sep 22, 2006)

aikiwolf said:


> Thanks treeMonster, That again was a quick and dirty (kind of a proof of concept) wrapping. The final wrap would have to be a bit tighter. Under all of the paracord there is a thin wrapping of rubberlike grip which I imagine will help keep the cord in place. With a tight wrap on top I think it should be pretty secure. (I have also read of people suggesting getting the cord wet before wrapping so it tightens up more as it dries) I like this ito style wrap, but I think I am going to get some real ito cord and do it in a more authentic way. Still playing with it all, but I will update this when I test it and see if it holds up as well as I think it will.


What exactly is "ito cord"? Is it any different than paracord?


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## jrdrees (Jun 12, 2010)

caspian said:


> an excellent way of increasing riser torque.


I was thinking the same thing, though it does look awesome as heck!


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## MIbowhunter49 (Aug 5, 2010)

caspian said:


> an excellent way of increasing riser torque.


If you're wrapping the bare riser, it's probably thinner than the overmolded grip.


Great insight though.


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## pvt-church (Feb 4, 2009)

If it absorbs sweat it will defiantly start to stink after awhile. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## misslechunker (Oct 9, 2011)

Looks real good!


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## aikiwolf (Jul 3, 2011)

MIbowhunter49 is right. It's actually quite a bit thinner than the original grip. (since I removed it) 

@ kevin39208: Ito is the cloth wrapping used on samurai sword handles. It is usually cotton or silk and about as wide as shoelace (but longer) I plan to wrap it when it comes from overseas and post the pics when I get done.


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## Krypt Keeper (Oct 10, 2007)

the back of my riser was bare only had side plates which were thin and didn't touch too much anyways. So the paracord doesn't bother my shooting style one bit, actually helped it with being able to shoot without sharp pain shooting into my hand. 

Yes it can absorb sweat, so be sure to use an odor eliminating spray to kill all the funky smelly bacteria and fungus...


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## slbarr98 (Oct 30, 2008)

Thanks for the idea. And nicely done. :wink:


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## slbarr98 (Oct 30, 2008)

Forgot to ask. About how much material does it take to do a bow?


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## aikiwolf (Jul 3, 2011)

That will depend on the type of wrap you do, cord you use, and to some degree, if you gut it. 
I usually wrap it with cord for an inch and then, measure the distance it takes to cover that inch, times that distance by how many inches the grip length is. This gets a base, and I usually add a extra to cover the amount the knots will eat up. It took roughly 9ft of gutted paracord to cover my grip with the ito style wrap.


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## LockedNLoaded (Sep 3, 2011)

nice. I think the biggest issue is the finishing knot and how you keep the edges from being a big knot or bulky spot on the grip so it is just a clean end and install.


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## aikiwolf (Jul 3, 2011)

just make sure the knot is somewhere that you hand won't be. You can use more decorative knots to finish with as well. The first pic in this thread has a more decorative knot. Also, if you decide that you don't need multiple interlacing colors you won't need as many knots.


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## Made N USA (Nov 21, 2011)

Paracord is 100% nylon right? No bacteria or fungal growth. . . ? Hmm, anyone have any silver thread to put in there as an inhibitor?


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## steve600cc (Jan 5, 2011)

has anyone thought about a paracord grip that also incorporates the wrist sling?


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## aikiwolf (Jul 3, 2011)

I actually had an idea about how to incorporate a finger-sling into the wrap, unless you have the right knots in there over time it will eventually come undone (and I don't know the right knots yet)


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