Cordage?????

[stalker.]

What makes the best cordage?i was outside with chris when we ran into my sisters BF.As they were talking i was trying to make cordage out of anything i could find like tall grass. some little vines but they broke..Any suggestions on cordage..when i try it always breaks dont know why.

Matt

[OzaawaaMigiziNini]

Just work with the plants around you. If it doesn't work dried out, see if it works when it's green. I made a good little cord out of a fresh plantain stalk last summer, but I left it out in the sun and when I touched it later, it was dry as a bone and broke like a dry blade of grass.

Somehow or another most plants and trees can have a useful part for cordage;

-Either the outer or inner bark of most trees and cetain plants (dogbane, milkweed, nettle, etc) are very good.

-If the bark doesn't work, try the entire stalk! I've made withes, which are extremely flexible wands of willow and red osier dogwood, to tie my shelters together. They work good.

-The roots of certain trees (tamarack, spruce, etc) also work well, all the birchbark canoes and birchbark baskets were sewn up with conifer roots!

-Grasses can be braided or twisted to make strong rope, ever seen a sweetgrass braid? I have dozens and they are strong lil suckers!

Just practise with as much stuff as you can, and experiment with what you have. If it breaks on you, try using it when it's at a different stage (green, seeding, dead, dried, etc). try experimenting with different thicknesses. I first made a rope out of cedar bark a year ago, and it was extremely thick, and fuzzy, but now I can make thin, strong ones. Time, patience and practise always make things work more efficiently.

Have fun making rope buddy!

[mike]

i have the exact same problem. i have tried everything i can find, but few have worked well. i have only had success (lasts for more than a week and stays strong) with hickory slivers (the wood itself, best so far) and aspen bark (the inner bark). i have made others but in small quantities.

[asurvivor]

i have too had much trouble with cordage but i have heard that the inner bark of saplings can be turned into cordage without much trouble. i will recently try and do that once i get the chance.

[paul vallandigham]

We used common Dog Bane, a weed found almost everywhere, to provide the fibers to make cordage in The Tracking School basic class. I recommend it for the first attempts, because the dried stalks break down easily when crushed between your thigh and palm, to give you the strands of fiber needed to twist into cordage.

Inner bark of many trees will also make cordage, but I respect trees enough to not recommend people practicing on such material, unless they find a dead tree with the bark separating from the trunk. Then, using the bark to amass a pile of fiber is just making a different use of material that powder post beetles, and termites might other wise eat.

[dixieangler]

The saw palmetto has fronds as do other palms. The fronds can be stripped and used as cordage while green and is very strong. The stems can be split and stripped also. Braiding them using three strips at a time makes them even stronger. They can also be woven for baskets and other containers. The frond and stem material does weaken once it dries out or when it has turned brown but when woven or braided, it might last a bit longer.

[dixieangler]

BTW, I liked the cordage articles section here on the site. I will have to try some using willow bark sometime like Allan "Bow" Beauchamp shows.

Bows Bindings, Part I

Bows Bindings, Part II

[dixieangler]

I found out that the green willow cordage is not strong enough and breaks no matter if its double twisted or braided just pulling on the cord so I doubt it would be serviceable for a bow drill string. If I shave a little deeper under the bark (dead willow, not green willow or rotten willow) so that I get the long inner wood fiber under the cambium layer along with the bark as a complete strip, then peel away the bark and cambium, I'm left with the long inner wood fiber. The long inner wood fiber is very strong and has worked best for me so far for either the double twist or the braid. The hardest part is getting a whole strip and in getting the strip the right width.

[dixieangler]

I was using branch bark wood and that might be the difference. I think I'll try some willow root bark for cordage to see if that is any better.

[Curdog]

Willow is just not that good. Try Yucca in south Fla.

[dixieangler]

I'm not in south Florida. South central. No Yucca here that I've seen. If it is, it must be scarce.

[dixieangler]

I have found a reliable source of cordage that seems to be strong even when dry. I cut the stem of a palmetto frond and then strip the stem (after shaving off the stem barbs). The 1/4 inch green strips (green outer stem strips) I cut can then be worked to be flexible (bent and lightly crushed) and the ends frayed (about two inches on the ends) for splicing.

I do try to keep the width of the strips uniform (the same width about 1/4 inch) as I have found that if the strips get narrower, the cordage is weakened.

[dixieangler]

Well the Saw Palmetto stem cordage worked alright for a while but eventually snapped while using it for the fire bow. So far I've tried that, Carolina Willow bark, Oak bark, and Cattail Leaves. I think I am going to make a real effort to find some Indian Hemp (as suggested in the McPherson book). Since it is suppose to grow just about everywhere in the U.S. (even in Florida) according to the USDA, I should be able to find some.

http://plants.usda.gov/plantguide/pdf/cs_apca.pdf

http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=APCA

Velvet Leaf is another one but there doesn't seem to be any here where I live. Some counties to the west of me are suppose to have it and I have seen it before over in those counties but I'm going to try the Indian Hemp first, if I can find it.

Uh-oh. Not where I live.

http://plants.usda.gov/java/county?stat ... ymbol=APCA

Oh well, back to the drawing board. LOL I'm not going to other counties just for Velvet Leaf. LOL

[dixieangler]

I found a wild plant that I'm hopeful will do the job of cordage for the firebow. Its sort of like Indian Hemp in that it goes woody in the winter. It is a burr plant (I don't know the name yet) that has grown here in the woods ever since I can remember. We have just always called it a burr plant or burr bush. The seed burrs come from a alternate bundle of seed burrs that stick to those unfortunate enough to brush up against it for seed distribution. They don't hurt, they just stick to you. I take the woody stem and lightly crush it so I can remove the outer fiberous bark for making the cordage. Really strong stuff. I was surprised. I will give it a try on the firebow when I get a long enough cord made and give a report back on it. Hopefully by then I will be able to attach a name to the plant. LOL

[LDS]

What makes the best cordage?

human hair

super strong, will not dry out, needs no processing and is ready for immidiate use. Strong enough for fires bow or arrow shooting.

The australian abos considered it their first choice as cordage. They even braided carrying bags from it.

Another good reason to take a long haired hippy girl on your hikes.