All our paracord rosaries are handcrafted out of military grade 550 parachute cord.
Paracord, also known as parachute cord or 550 cord is a lightweight nylon rope first popularized during World War 2 as the material of choice for suspension lines of US parachutes. Soldiers finding themselves with limited resources soon realized the benefits of dissecting paracord and the infinite uses of the inner strands and outer sheath. The outer sheath construction is tightly interwoven allowing it to appear smooth in texture and comfortable to wear against the body. This unique attribute has been influential in the widespread acceptance of paracord for mainstream use, where it has been used for making survival wristbands, bottle holders and knife sleeves. This has led to the manufacturing of paracord as a general purpose utility cord for both military and civilian purposes.
Within bush craft and survival communities paracord has reached an almost iconic status where it is considered that its uses are only limited by a person's imagination to use it. For example, a resourceful astronaut on the second Space Shuttle mission in February 1997, repaired the Hubble Space Telescope with the outer sheath of a length of paracord.
Although used for a number of mainstream purposes, paracord has not lost its identity as a functional military cord. US soldiers in Afghanistan favor paracord for a number of lightweight uses include repairing and securing equipment, shelter making, binding and even first aid. The inner strands (of which there are seven) can be gutted and used as sewing thread and fishing line. Furthermore, it is possible to join or finish the ends of a single piece of paracord by melting it with a flame or heated knife.
