If you know how to use a lanyard properly it works very well in keeping your knife in hand.

Take the knife. hold it tip up lanyard hanging down. Take your thumb and put it in the hole. take your hand and twist it to the left while wrapping the string around the back of your hand until your hand grips the handle. Thus creating a very secure easy to remove grip. if the lanyard is too short/long retie it for your needs. You can have it a little too long so you can hold the knife further back thus extending blade length and getting more weight so you can chop better with a short knife. Heres a bad pic but I am using this method in the picture.