Instead of a steel fishing leader you could sheath the initial few inches of the Kevlar with heat shrink tubing that is typically used for insulating thin electrical wire. It makes the first bit of the shock cord harness a bit stiff but it is still sort of flexible and protects it from abrasion and heat damage. Of course Teflonrocketry1 uses a tight fitting Teflon spaghetti tubing (FEP) or Teflon heat shrink for this and doesn’t have to worry about the plastic cover or sheathed Kevlar melting from the heat of the ejection charge.

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Bruce S. Levison, NAR #69055