Paracord-Projects-How-to-make-a-Giant-Monkey-Fist-pool-ball — Paracord Projects: Make a Giant Paracord Monkey Fist with A Pool Ball

A paracord monkey fist is beneficial to carry on you for survival and self defense purposes. It’s super easy to conceal and carries enough power to slow down any attacker.

In this tutorial you’ll learn how to make a paracord monkey fist using a pool ball! This giant monkey fist weighs in at a hefty 6 ounces!

How to make a giant paracord monkey fist using a pool ball:

Supplies you need:

pool ball
18ft 550 paracord in a color that you want to be the main color
10ft 550 Paracord in a color that you want to be the compliment color
8ft 550 paracord in a color that you want for your lanyard and handle
Monkey Fist Jig
scissors
lighter or matches

Need supplies? Check out my recommendations at the end of this post

Monkey Fist Instructions

Step 1: How to Connect Paracord

To get started, we will need to connect both pieces of paracord at the ends so we have one single strand to make our monkey fist:

paracord-monkey-fist — Take the ends of both your major and minor paracord. In this case, we are using black 550 paracord as our major color and grey 550 paracord as our minor color.

Step 2: Melting Ends of Paracord

Take both ends, melt them using your lighter and press them together.

diy-projects-paracord-projects — Take both ends, melt them using your lighter and press them together.

Step 3: How to Make A Monkey Fist: Starting

Now, let’s get started weaving the monkey fist!

Grab your jig and line up your paracord so the the merged part is lined up in the center on the inside of the two pegs closest to you.

550-paracord-projects — You will want your major color on the right and your minor color on the left.

Step 4: How to Weave A Monkey Fist

Start the weave with your minor color. Holding the black strand in you right hand so it’s kept in place, use your left hand to wrap the grey strand out and around the four pegs in a counter-clockwise fashion. This counts as one loop.

You will repeat this 9 more times until you have completed 11 loops.

diy-survival — Wrap the grey strand out and around the four pegs in a counter-clockwise fashion.

how-to-make-a-monkey-fist — This is how it should look once you’ve completed wrapping 11 times.

make-monkey-fist — Make a single loop around the peg in order to keep the grey strand in it’s place.

Step 5: Wrapping Monkey Fist Loops

Keeping those loops in tact, place the pool ball in the center and hold it in place with your hand.

monkey-fist-instructions — Place the pool ball in the center. Start to wrap the black cord up and over the grey loops.

Step 6: Wrapping Alternate Monkey Fist Loops

Repeat Step 4 with the black strand (your major color). You will wrap it clockwise, making sure it goes on the outside of the grey(minor color) cord. Once you’ve wrapped it around 11 times, your ball should be able to sit in the middle without you holding it.

Helpful Hint: As you wrap your paracord to make your monkey fist knot, do your best to keep each loop next to each other and not overlapping any other loops. This will make it easier for you when you start to tighten your monkey fist.

How-to-make-a-giant-monkey-fist — Loop the black paracord counter-clockwise around the outside of the grey paracord.

monkey-fist-tutorial — Keep wrapping like this, going around the pool ball in the center.

dyi-projects — Wrap until you have gone around 11 times.

Step 7: Complete the Monkey Fist Loops

Now we are going to complete the last set of loops, continuing with the black strand. This time, we will weave the strand so it is on the inside of the grey loops but around the black loops we just made.

Be sure to use this series of loops to contain the pool ball. Just like the previous steps, you will wrap it around 11 times.

paracord-projects — Grab the end of your black paracord.

monkey-fist-step-by-step — Thread it up and inside the grey loops.

homemade-survival-weapons — Thread it over the black loops then back down on the inside of the grey. These loops will be hugging the pool ball.

diy-survival-weapons — Thread it back under the pool ball.

cool-survival-project — Bring it behind the pool ball and inside the grey loops.

hot-diy-projects — Repeat until you’ve made 11 loops.

Step 8: Remove the Monkey Fist from Jig and Tighten Loops

You have now formed your monkey fist knot! Now you are going to remove it carefully from the jig and start tightening. As you go through and start tightening, it is important that you do not make anything too tight for the first round.

This is a slow process that you will have to repeat a couple of times to gradually get your Monkey’s Fist as tight as you want it. If you tighten too much too early, you will end up causing the cords to over lap. This is especially important for the loops on each ‘edge’ – if you pull these too tight, you will begin to pinch the loops underneath together, making it very difficult to keep your monkey fist neat and even.

Take your time at this phase, and try to maintain symmetry all around your knot.

Remove your monkey's fist from the jig. — Remove your monkey’s fist from the jig.

Step 9:

Starting with the grey paracord at the corner where you made your first loop, pull the complimentary side up gently to tighten the corner.

Follow the strand around the fist, continuing to tighten.

How-to-make-a-giant-monkey-fist25 — Start tightening the loops. Be patient, this is a slow process.

How-to-make-a-giant-monkey-fist26 — Follow the cord around the ball and continue to pull and tighten.

How-to-make-a-giant-monkey-fist27 — Continue all around the ball, it should start to look like this.

How-to-make-a-giant-monkey-fist28 — Continue along the ball starting with the black cord. You will have to go around a couple of times to get the monkey fist nice and tight.

Step 10: Lanyard and Handle

Now let’s start to make your lanyard and handle. To do this, you will first make a diamond knot with the two pieces of cord hanging out of the monkey fist.