Cordage

T

Temper

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Oct 30, 2002
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One of the most vexing of all the bushcraft skills for me has been making cordage, it just wasnt as interesting as fire by friction or other knife/axe/saw related stuff, but it is undeniably as important.

So this afternoon we all went to a secluded spot on a local river bank for a BBQ and a bash at making cordage.

The thing I wanted to try first was a local vine that grows incredibly fast and if my wife is correct was used in days gone by as a material for fishing nets.

Here is a close up of the cross section. Its basically tube like with a pithy core.

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Its a real pleasure to split with just a thumb nail.

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This is the weird part. You can easily split it into quaters and then strip off the bark which comes off incredibly easily. However you can further strip off the outside of the bark and be left with a sort of cambium that is very strong and pliable.

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Here are some of the stages from unprocessed to finished cord.

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Here are two types. The thicker one was made from quarters of the vine with both strands twisted clockwise, then wraped aroud each other counter clockwise. The thinner of the two was made by the 'roll on the pants leg' method, this is the cambium stuff.

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Strength is very good as it pliability and wear resistance. Next on the project list is a way to modify a fire bow splidle (very fat in the middle, possibly with grooves) to allow it to be used without the friction destroying the cordage before an ember is made.

Good fun and surprisingly satisfying to do. :p
 
Good experiment and great Illustrations Temper! A lot of plant stem, root and bark fibers make good cordage. Some are stronger when dampened and become brittle when dried. Some are opposite, gaining strength when dried. You are correct that a larger diameter spindle is easier on the cordage. Try a spiral groove instead of a annular one. This will keep the cordage from self destructing by rubbing itself to death. You may have to hold the bow at a steeper angle to make it work, but that is not a bad thing, actually more natural.

Codger :thumbup:
 
Thanks Codger 64, I thought about the spindle issue a couple of times and tried this vine in its native state or 2 quaters roughly twisted together. It definately needs the spiral grooves and a long flexible bow to act as a shock absorber of sorts. With the 2 quaters on a thumb thick drill I got some smoke but nowhere near close to a coal. I will give it a try next week if I get the chance.
 
Thats interesting stuff . I guess the first would be called a Flemish twist ?
I am not familiar with the roll on the pants method .
I have not tried to make any cordage yet though I do make my own bowstrings with Irish linen , dacron and will soon be making one with silk . I usually use Flemish twist .

Do you plan on using your cordage for anything other than a fire drill ?
I hope to make a small camp this summer or fall and would like to make cordage for binding . For the moment I am mostly sticking to archery and arrow making . If I learn of a local source for cordage material maybe I,ll try out what you,ve done . Good stuff .
 
http://www.bio.brandeis.edu/fieldbio/Survival/Pages/lashingandcordage.html

At least a few of these should be available in your area.

Instructions for Plant Fibers or Bark Preparation:
Bull Thistle
twist together the tough fibers of the stalk
Cattail
cut and dry leaves; shred into long strips
Cedar
pull strips of bark off trunk
Cottonwood
shred inner bark
Elm
strip long pieces of the inner bark
Hickory
shred inner bark
Juniper
roots and inner bark
Linden
shred inner bark
Milkweed
soak stem and pound until the stem fibers separate
Mulberry
shred inner bark
Oak
shred inner bark of white oak
Willow
soak bark and pound until fibers separate
Yucca
harvest green plant, soak and pound until fibers separate
http://www.uwlax.edu/sociology/Archaeology/students/schultz/Cat-Cord.htm
Finger Twisting Method: First, knot two pieces of fiber together at one end and then hold the knot in your left hand. Next, grab the fiber strand that is furthest from you. Twist it up and away from you. Now bring the strand towards your body, over the top of the front strand. Keep the twisted strand in place with the fingers of your left hand. Now that the strands have been switched, again take the strand furthest from you and twist it up and away from your body. Then switch the back fiber to the front. The fibers will spiral over each other and make cordage. Repeat those simple steps to keep making cordage. As you progress, keep sliding your left fingers over to keep the twist tight. New fibers can be added by simply overlapping the ends and rolling them together during the process. Extra ends that stick out of the cord can be trimmed after the twisting is complete. This method creates tight and strong cord, but is a bit harder on the hands and takes longer compared to the second method I will discuss.

Leg Twisting Method: The method I have read about the most in Native American records is the thigh or shin twisted method. The twist may not be as tight or uniform as finger rolling, but the process is much faster and makes strong cordage. To begin, knot two strands of fiber together at the ends. Hold the knot in the left hand and lay the strands over your thigh or shin (Figure 1). Separate the two strands so that they are not touching each other. While the left hand holds the knot, lay the right hand over the strands and push forward, rolling the individual strands forward. Keep your hands close together for a tighter twist.

After the strands are rolled forward, release the knot from the left hand (Figure 3). The two strands will then backtwist together on their own. To strengthen the backtwist the right hand can drag the cord downward or the left hand can roll the cord a bit (Figure 4). To twist the next section, slide the left hand over and grab the cord where the twisting stops and the strands separate. Then simply repeat the process.

When a strip of fiber is nearing its end, other pieces of fiber have to be spliced in. To do this, place the new strand of fiber onto the short one and roll them with the fingers a few times until they hold together (Figure 5). Then when you roll the strands as usual the new fiber is incorporated into the cordage. Now you can make cord as long as you want!

Don't get discouraged! It may take a while to get the fibers rolling. Sometimes dampening the rolling surface helps, or rolling strands individually until they are rounded and ready for making cord. Get the hang of the rhythm. It does take practice! My first cordage absolutely stunk! Eventually you'll get a pattern going and be able to twist quite a bit of cordage in an hour. My average rate is twisting about 10 feet of cordage in an hour. If you want, once you've made some single twist cordage, you can repeat the twisting process using your cord instead of fiber, and make double twist cordage which is even stronger.
 
Codger 64 the only tree that you mentioned that is abundant here is willow . The most common of them is what we call swamp willow . As opposed to a weeping the foliage is high in the tree and barely hangs down . There is a huge one that was downed by floodwater . It has been there about 14 months . Do you think it would still be good and can I use the part closest to the stunp as that is the most available to me .
 
Hard to say. Lower bark would be thicker, rougher, and less flexible, I think. We have river willow here, and I use young withes or thin branches. I've made baskets, shelters and skin boats using the newer bark for cordages. But the trunk bark here is too gnarley to use. Find sprouts coming out of stumps or blowdowns, or.....evergreen roots like cedar work well with less prep. Aboriginal birch bark canoes were lashed with it's splits.
 
Cedar is mostly on private land around here . I guess that means its planted .
I think your river willow might be our swamp willow . You are right in that it is very gnarly . Even when downed or stumped it doesn,t seem to grow sprouts . At best I might see one or two spring out from the main trunk . We do get bull rushes though the leaves are not that long . It would seem to me it would take a lot of skill if there are to be many splices . I ,m going to try and see if I can find a weeper I can harvest branches from . Would 1 1/2 inch diameter branches be too small ? I seem to remember where there is one with wind downed branches . I am sure I could scavenge them . THe owners might object if I start scarring up the main trunk . If I went a bit higher up the damage might not be evident . How much bark can I take off without permanently damaging the tree ?
 
The willow branches and withes I use for cordage are generally finger sized, thumb sized at the most, and their harvesting does not damage or deface the trees. Some lashings can be used without even having to twist cordage. With a bit of prep and practice, splicing the fibers is easier than it sounds. As for the cedar, smaller pencil sized roots are what you are after. Again, harvesting these does not harm teh trees. Look for the exposed roots in eroded areas, or even where a plot is being bulldozed for construction.
 
Codger could you just go over the method to turn finger sized branches of willow into cordage ? Is there a method to split this into fibers ?

Funny thing a whole row of eight foot high cedars was just cut down on a supermarkets landscaping . At least a dozen of them . Too bad the trees were taken away the multiple stumps and roots are still there . Would it disrupt the ground very much to get some roots out . I,m not trying to be a wimp but its all mulched and landscaped and I don,t want to find out how tolerant the owner is after I dig up his ground .

There is a second row of 1 1/4 inch diameter trees behind them could I harvest bark off the back of them without making it too evident ?
 
With the willow, it is the bark of the green young branches you use. Strip it off one side, and it should peel off the rest of the way. Then strip off the thin outer layer. You want the thin cambrium layer. It may tend to break if it gets dry, so you may want to keep the stuff damp as you work it. Good thing about willow bark, if you get a headache while making cordage, chew some. It is bitter, but it is natural asprin. I cut off the whole small branches, tie them with bark, and take the bundle home to strip and twist the cordage.

Ya, don't dig up their landscaping. The cedar roots are just under the soil, but go elsewhere to find them. Like along a stream or riverbank. With the cedar, it's the smaller roots, not the bark.
 
Some great info here Codger64, makes a nice change from arguing about blade grinds ;)

Kevin, yeah I wanted to learn this to be able to bind shelters well. I am on the look out now for nettles and cattails.
 
Be careful with the nettles. Worse than working with chopped fiberglass. Lots of odd vines work well too, as you've seen. Hemp is #1 and grows wild in parts of the U.S. and Canada. Also, find out what your local aboriginal (Indian) tribes used. Cultural museums, and anthropologists should know if you can't ask tribal members.

http://www.primitiveways.com/cordage.html
 
Kevin the grey said:
Thats interesting stuff . I guess the first would be called a Flemish twist ?
I am not familiar with the roll on the pants method .
I have not tried to make any cordage yet though I do make my own bowstrings with Irish linen , dacron and will soon be making one with silk . I usually use Flemish twist .

Do you plan on using your cordage for anything other than a fire drill ?
I hope to make a small camp this summer or fall and would like to make cordage for binding . For the moment I am mostly sticking to archery and arrow making . If I learn of a local source for cordage material maybe I,ll try out what you,ve done . Good stuff .
Click to expand...

What part of Canada are you in? I live in Southern Ontario and we have quite a few good sources of cordage fibre. Probably 2 of the most important are Indian Hemp (Apocynum cannibinum) and Basswood (Tilia americana). There is also Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica), Wood Nettle (Laportea canadensis), Hairy Willow Herb (can't remember the binomial), evergreen roots, such as Spruce (Picea spp.), Cattail (Typha spp.)[although this isn't the strongest cordage], Evening Primrose (Oenothera biennis) and of course, the aforementioned Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca). Milkweed also serves as expedient cordage. In the late summer and fall, you can strip off the outer layer and use it as is, for lashing, etc. We have used it 3-braided as a cord for bow drill fire making. It's not terribly long lasting, but we managed 1 fire with it.

DOC-CANADA
 
I am from Southern Quebec . There is some milk weed here . I do seem to see less of it the last few years . Spruce root is interesting as there is a place I camp in late summer that has an abundance of them . It,ll give me a good camp fire activity . I have never seen bass wood . Not surprising as I don,t know what it looks like .

When I do things like this It is usually as a secondary skill to learn while I learn more about archery . It helps to stop my life from having too single minded a goal . I don,t camp that much . I hope to be able to set up a semi primitive camp eventually . I think learning about cordage , lashing and the different knots or fastening must be an important part .
 
Kevin the grey said:
lashing and the different knots or fastening must be an important part .
Click to expand...


Dude, this is a whole new can of worms, once you get into knots as well, then its terminal :) I love knots, I usually forget most of them or I know so many ways to tie something up I cant decide which one to use!:p

Flavour of the month : Perfection loop :D
 
Thanks for this thread, guys. It inspired me to actually try making some cordage while I stepped out to smoke my pipe. I was surprised at how easy it actually was.

First I just stripped the bark off a mulberry branch, and made some very rough cordage (without even peeling off the outer bark) just to test the general idea. This was not a rope to be proud of, but for only about 3 minutes of work, it would have been suitable to lash a couple poles together for a quick shelter or something.

Then I tried some elm bark, and this time prepared it better into thin strands, and removed the outer layer of bark. Within a half hour or so, I had a nice looking cord about 7 feet long that was reasonably strong and flexible. I would twine a couple of them together to prevent unraveling if I wanted a "stand alone" string, but as is it would have held together fine for immediate use tying things together.
 
:thumbup: Fun isnt it? I carry around a length of 2mm cordette that I twine while watching tv and what not to get into the groove of it.
 
I used willow cordage to haft a knapped knife blade into a handle, coated it with pine resin to bind and fix it in place, then used it to dress a deer. It held fine. You learn to use natural cordage differently than you use paracord. It doesn't have the stretch to absorb impact the way synthetics do, and if allowed to completely dry, it can get brittle. I wetted my cordage used to haft the knife, and let it dry and shrink in place before adding the resin. Wet, it took the tight bends without breaking the fibers. The resin kept it from loosening from wetting with blood and washing it off.

Ain't experimental anthropology fun?:D

Codger
 
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