How to Make a Rope-Dart

Hey guys, today I'll be showing you how to make a lead rope-dart. For those who don't know, a rope-dart is essentially a metal weight, spike or knife on the end of a 8-12ft (2.5-4m) rope; which was traditionally a weapon in Chinese martial arts. In my previous tutorial I showed you how to make a simple version of a rope-dart to practice with - now, for those of you who are confident handling it, I'll be showing you how to make the real thing!*

WARNING: I take no responsibility for any damage to person or property which may occur through the building or use of this.

To make this you will need:

• 8-12ft of para-cord or cotton rope, no thicker than 3/8in
• 1x 4oz lead fishing weight
• 4x 1in steel O-rings (optional, since their only purpose is to make a jingling sound)
  
• A red handkerchief or piece of cloth ~ 8x8in (25x25cm)
• 2x steel key-rings

* Actually, a 'real' rope-dart would have a steel weight, not a lead one, but since you won't be using this for fighting, it doesn't matter...

First make a tiny hole in the center of the cloth and push the wire loop of the lead weight through it; then connect both key-rings to it as shown.

Now connect all four O-rings to the key-rings, and tie one end of the para-cord to the key-rings between the O-rings.

The knot in the picture is only to show the positioning of the cord on the ring, it should NOT be used under any circumstances, as it would quickly come undone and allow the dart to fly off the end of the rope. A better knot to use would be the Bowline knot.

The last step is to tie some kind of slip-knot at the other end of the cord for your other hand to go through.

So that's it, I hope you liked this tutorial; if you did, please comment, follow, and vote for me in the MacGyver challenge :-)