EmBARKing on something different.....

[Mistwalker]

Thanks mistwalker. Cordage is an all-important survival necessity as you know. It's surprising just how many different sources there are. The thread I did in the Becker sub-forum about the BK-3 (which I see you commented on) surprised me because none of the comments entered, with the exception of Pitdog's, mentioned the Milkweed bow string, which to me, was the most important part of the thread. ???????

Doc

It was that milkweed cordage that really caught my attention. I know how important cordage is, I am pretty anal about having a decent amount on me any time I hit the woods with spare boot laces in my pack, 10 feet of easily accessible para cord on my wrist, about 20 feet on the grip of my walking stick, and another 18 feet wrapped around my life cap for impact resistance mainly, but I haven't experimented with natural cordage here in this area in a long time. When I lived in Florida as a kid and went through some craft courses I used to make cordage and weave mats from palmetto leaves, but here any natural cordage would definitely be work...all the more reason I should work on it more I suppose...

 

[abo4ster]

Doc, very impressed with the natural cordage. This time of year it can be quite difficult to remove the bark as it is so tight. One trick I have used is quartering the sapling; peels much easier and you shouldn't have to beat it.

Also a little trick if you use dry dogbane for your bow string is to wet it slightly before use. Will make it more pliable thus increasing its longevity.

 

[DOC-CANADA]

Doc, very impressed with the natural cordage. This time of year it can be quite difficult to remove the bark as it is so tight. One trick I have used is quartering the sapling; peels much easier and you shouldn't have to beat it.

Also a little trick if you use dry dogbane for your bow string is to wet it slightly before use. Will make it more pliable thus increasing its longevity.

Hey QB,

We actually did quarter other pieces of sapling. Keegan discussed this as an alternate method for securing the bark strips (have you seen his article?). We found that some peeled easier than others, but for the most part, they had to be pounded at the ends to get the bark started. Others had to be beaten to a frazzle.

Have you ever used twisted tree/shrub bark for a bow string? And if so, what were the results?

Now that you mention it, I don't know if I've ever used Spreading Dogbane (Apocynum androsaemifolium) or Indian Hemp (A. cannibiinum) as a bow string. Funny, too, since I have a lot of it (A. cannibinum) in my back room. I distinguish between the two, because around here there doesn't seem to be a lot of Dogbane, it doesn't remain through the winter (what I mean by that is after it dies, it just kind of falls over and becomes difficult to locate) and what there is doesn't grow very tall, whereas the Indian Hemp grows fairly tall, and remains upright through the winter making it easy to find.

Doc