View Full Version : Best cordage material
What is everyone’s preferred cordage material?
I end up trying to make cord with whatever is available but I think my favourite is sweet chestnut, probably because it was the first I ever handled, after making 20 feet odd it grew on me!
Nettles ... plenty of em where i am! learned that trick from my grandfather when I was a little un and it's stuck.
I've also used sinew a few times and found that impressive. How it contracts while drying is amazing.
Any chance of some pictures of homebrewed cordage?
Pictures are the bane of my life right now and I'm not the photographer of the family (the camera always seems to develop cateracts whej I try to use it!!!!). I'll add that to the list of things I need a photo of! :-D
Maybe this weekend!
Lime - its worth the effort.
Anyone know which roots work best? :?:
Roots of trees growing in loose loamy soil or on banks as these will be the straightest.
Makes sense ... thanks!
Is there a way of "harvesting" the roots to prevent damage to the tree?
Roots of trees growing in loose loamy soil or on banks as these will be the straightest.
I figure that as long as the tree you're harvesting from is a decent size and you don't take a lot of roots from one tree, it should be ok.
I always just leave a clean cut on the end and tuck it back in the soil.
Plainsman
15-01-2004, 04:07
decoy cord! :wink:
Dacron B-50 is great too! :-D
I thought I'd start things out by making myself into a smart aleck in the first post! :twisted:
Jaymondo
15-01-2004, 09:21
I'm with Gary on this one. Lime is brilliant. Fair amount of stinky preparation but gives a strong, flexible cordage and with long fibres it's
relatively quick to get a decent length together.
Jay
Might be a stupid question, but is this not why we normally carry paracord ????:roll:
But what if you have not got your para cord????
This is the sort of stuff that wilderness skills is about, anyone can cary para cord but few can just get on with it if they have not got it.
Powderburn
15-01-2004, 18:11
Any chance of some pictures of homebrewed cordage?
Some good cordage pics and info here. http://wmuma.com/tracker/skills/cordage/index.html
An excellent primer on making cordage here, but no info on processing the materials. http://www.primitiveways.com/cordage.html This whole site is awesome so don't stop at the just the cordage. :wink:
The only thing I've tried with so far is Nettles.
I think the ones I got were a bit past it though and although i managed to get two decent lengths out of them, only one was really useable.....more down to my prep than the materials I think.
Would it be better if I soaked it in something other than water? What about if I waxed it up or rubbed fat into it or something similar.
Here in Michigan, we have a lot of good cordage plants- both herbaceous and woody. I like dogbane and swamp milkweed for strength, but others such as evening primrose, woods nettles, stinging nettles, and velvet leaf are also stong and pliable.
How many varieties of nettles are there in the UK? I am aware of 4 or 5 here, and all are useful.
Just ones that sting, I think!!! :-D :-D
Actually, there is a variety called White dead nettles (also called dumb nettles) that look the same but don't sting - but i never seem to fall into them!!!! :shock:
How many varieties of nettles are there in the UK? I am aware of 4 or 5 here, and all are useful.
A blast from the past...... :welcome:
i have only made nettle cordage and pig intestine cordage but i think that they seem very strong
i would love to try some different cordage, what is a good one to start with apart from the ones i have already made
leon
I'm surprised no-one here has suggested grass cordage.
Not as strong as some things but it's plentiful and really easy to work with.
grass codage, how would one make this ?
leon
You need fairly long grass of course but then you twist a few stalks and then keep adding more stalks into the twist as you go.
Sounds complicated but it's really simple to do.
ok thanks i will have to try this sometime
leon
gregorach
04-12-2006, 17:22
It's a funny question really... Firstly because it depends what sort of cordage you want to make: for example, rosebay willowherb makes a very nice, fine, flexible cordage, but it's not that strong. Good for some things, not for others. Secondly, and I dunno about anybody else here, it's not like I plan on making cordage in advance so I can carefully select materials - I go with what I've got.
TBH, it's not often that I find I need it. Withies are usually a stronger, quicker alternative, unless you need something really flexible.
i just want to try out different types of cordage
leon
WhichDoctor
04-12-2006, 17:48
I've never had much luck with nettle cord I always end up with 1ft lengths of fairly strong cord with really week bits in-between. I did fined Rosebay Willowherb made very good cord but the basic material was so fragile before I twisted it that it kept braking :banghead: .
The best and simplest cord I've ever made is plaited rush cored, it comes together so quickly and is surprisingly strong and flexible.
I also agree that grass cord and rope is very good if you wont something fairly thick, the only thing you need to look out for is using the rite kind of grass. I cant tell you which kind is which but I just know that some grass makes grate cord and some grass just doesn't make cord at all, so always try a bit out will your gathering it to make shore you've got the rite stuff.
As for different kinds of nettle in the uk I can find four in my wild flower book, it doesn't give much info on them but they are Annual, Common, Stinging and Stingless nettle. I don't know whether they are all as good as stinging nettle, but frankly if you can find somewhere in the uk where you cant find stinging nettles then I would be very surprised :lmao: .
Anyone know what will make the strongest cordage out of things found in the UK countryside.......?
As for different kinds of nettle in the uk I can find four in my wild flower book, it doesn't give much info on them but they are Annual, Common, Stinging and Stingless nettle. I don't know whether they are all as good as stinging nettle, but frankly if you can find somewhere in the uk where you cant find stinging nettles then I would be very surprised :lmao: .
There are only two members of the nettle family (urticaceae)
Urtica dioica.. Nettle, or The Common Nettle...This is the one that grows tall..
Urtica urens.. Annual Nettle. This is the shorter one, but has a more powerful sting than the other.
They are both called stinging nettles.
Stingless nettles, like Red dead nettle, common hemp nettle, white dead nettle etc, are all members of the Labiate family...
Lime bark is the best cordage material i have used in the UK to date.
if I had a choice of any tree in the world however, there is a tree in borneo whos bark required no preperation other than seperating the outer bark form the inner by hand and in my examination was as strong as paracord of identical diameter
ArkAngel
04-12-2006, 18:45
Apart from the small problem that i wouldn't know a lime tree if it fell on my head :lmao: .......are we talking about fallen trees to collect the bark?
I always thought that substantial removal of bark killed the tree?
Fenlander
04-12-2006, 18:55
Here's a list of what I have used in no particular order.....
Inner stem of Stinging Nettle (Ooooops.....that should read outer stem) :o
Blunt flowered Rush leaves
Grass stems and leaves
Bindweed
Inner bark of Lime
Inner bark of Willow
Reed Mace leaves
Outer stem of Rhubarb (you get a really nice red and white pattern, and it's strong)
Outer bark of Clematis and Honeysuckle
Inner bark of Elm and Wych Elm
outer stem of Willow herb
Western Red-wood Cedar
Pig intestines
Fire Starter
04-12-2006, 20:20
You need fairly long grass of course but then you twist a few stalks and then keep adding more stalks into the twist as you go.
Sounds complicated but it's really simple to do.
Hi Wayland, Thanks for resurrecting this topic, it's great to see some bushcraft being discussed! and this is something of interest to me.
It seems until today, no one has posted on it for nearly three years. So hats off to you for bringing back. :notworthy
Would you reccommend any varieties of grasses Wayland? Also in your experience what do you think would be the strongest? Do you think its possible to braid with grasses to add strength?
I am no expert by any means but I have tried long bracketed sedge, Timothy grass and meadow fox-tail. I have found these to have poor strength.
I have access to a nice patch of Marram grass which I hope to experiment with soon.
Personally, I think there are better alternatives to grass for cordage, unless you can reccommend a stronger variety?
Cheers
New Zealand flax does well for me - used it for bow drill, waxed.
I'm surprised no-one here has suggested grass cordage.
Not as strong as some things but it's plentiful and really easy to work with.
Are there any particular types of grass that are better than others?
Grass doesn't win much on strength but it's great for availability. It's everywhere.
I've used whatever was close to hand and it's ok for light bindings but any cordage can be twined or trebled for greater strength.
There are rope bridges in many parts of the World made with grass ropes you just have to have enough of the stuff.
This topic comes up, in many guises, fairly frequently, but it is good to see it revived.
The strongest natural rope/cordage from indigenous British plants is from the inner bark of small leaved lime.
&, as I've said before, there's a reason that the traditional cordage fibres are flax, hemp and nettle; they are very, very good :D
I try my hand at most things that look fibrous. I made good cord from the withered leaves of flag iris last month, rushes are always available and make a fine naturally waxed cord, mallow is very good, willow is excellent, honeysuckle and bramble are surprisingly strong, vetch can be good, and I'm reliably informed that dog rose is really something special :)
If you can't get to somewhere where you can gather easily, then grow some flax in a pot (Shadow57 did a tutorial on prep for flax) and try that. The garden supplies all sorts of usefuls, border mallows are really good, the little lobelia is actually a member of the flax family and makes a brilliant strong rope, ivy makes a kind of fragile cord but is excellent for basketry, blackcurrant bushes will give a few stems without suffering too much, and loganberry (if you can get it safely dethorned) makes a very strong fine cordage. If you have a hedge of leylandii or beech then the roots will be through the lawn and flowerbeds, have a try with a fork and see what you can get ;)
Has anyone tried hops? I want a go with that next year.
Easiest to get and well worth the effort? Nettles. Any variety will work, they're ubiquitous and even now, with the leaves down the fibres are good and strong.
Cheers,
Toddy
Fire Starter
04-12-2006, 23:51
Here's a list of what I have used in no particular order.....
Inner stem of Stinging Nettle
Blunt flowered Rush leaves
Grass stems and leaves
Bindweed
Inner bark of Lime
Inner bark of Willow
Reed Mace leaves
Outer stem of Rhubarb (you get a really nice red and white pattern, and it's strong)
Outer bark of Clematis and Honeysuckle
Inner bark of Elm and Wych Elm
outer stem of Willow herb
Western Red-wood Cedar
Pig intestines
Nice list there fenlander, I'm curious to how you make cordage from the inner stem of nettle. I thought it was just the outer layer that you used.
Fenlander
05-12-2006, 09:05
Nice list there fenlander, I'm curious to how you make cordage from the inner stem of nettle. I thought it was just the outer layer that you used.
:o Ooooops....correction added.
Nettle is my prefered as it's easy to come by, stores well and requires little prep and is stong.
I've tried willow which was good and various roots (can't remember the tree types :( )
Would like to try Lime and (great idea Fenlander) Rhubarb as it's always growing in the garden.
david
My present project is making a bow string with horse hair. It a very stong easy material esspecially if it waxed up early in the process.
Diffinatly going to try willow herb in the summer. I like lying about and eating the inner pith on a warm afternoons, so making cordage with whats left sounds perfect.
PatrickM
05-12-2006, 11:24
In my opinion the ability to make cordage in the wilds belongs within the core survival skills/bushcraft or whatever you want to call the subject. It is the key that opens many other doors. When you are out and about gather up what you think might work and experiment with it, you might be surprised with the results from something you may have dismissed because there is no reference to it. Many bark fibres, reeds, rushes, grasses, plants, shrubs etc need to be processed at a certain times of the year for maximum strength. So if you try one in the spring with no success revisit it again during the season. All the usual lists of fibres that we hear about are just the starting point in what is a fantastic journey of discovery.
Now, where did I put that roll of paracord :)
I suspect that stripping the outer layer off a sunflower stem may work quite well.
One to try next year.....
bent-stick
05-12-2006, 15:29
If you can pinch some dead leaves of agave out of someones garden it is very strong and fine.
I brought some fibre back from spain. They flower and die out there and it's just laying around all over the place. Dunno what customs would have thought.
It might be a relative of nz flax. the big difference is that the leaves can be easily 6ft long and you can get fibres that length out of it.
WhichDoctor
05-12-2006, 16:19
If you wont really good fibers you could always try growing hemp ing the garden :eek: ( Its for making string officer, honest :o :lmao: ) we get it growing from the bird seed sometimes but it always grows to late in the year and they are never big enough before they get killed by the frost :( .
I would be interested to know how you made cord out of bindweed Fenlander, I've tried a couple of times but it was never any good :confused: . I always thought it should work, how did you prepare it?
Is making lime bark cord the process that involves leaving the bark sitting in water for 6 months or something, if so is there a quick way of doing it? There are lots of lime trees round here and they are always dropping branches.
I also didn't know you could eat willowherb, will have to try that out next year.
Grass doesn't win much on strength but it's great for availability. It's everywhere.
I've used whatever was close to hand and it's ok for light bindings but any cordage can be twined or trebled for greater strength.
There are rope bridges in many parts of the World made with grass ropes you just have to have enough of the stuff.
I remember seeing a programme on this a very long time ago - in the southern america's somewhere they built a complete bridge out of grass - took them several days and it only lasts a couple of month's I think - but it looked fantastic.
Can't for the life of me remember the programme though...
gregorach
05-12-2006, 17:14
Yeah, I think I remember the same programme... If I recall, they rebuild the bridge every year.
Fire Starter
05-12-2006, 23:11
:o Ooooops....correction added.
Cheers Fenlander, I thought you may have been on to something there :lmao:
pierre girard
08-12-2006, 14:52
Anyone know which roots work best? :?:
For making watape, black spruce works best over here. This isn't really a cordage though, and is rather used for lashing things permantly in place or sewing birchbark together.
Inner bark of basswood (wiigob) is my favorite and makes cordage stronger than hemp.
madrussian
08-12-2006, 15:01
Thanks for the info. We have American Basswood down here. How do you prepare the inner bark to make cordage?
Diederik Pomstra
08-12-2006, 15:15
Spruce is good. Long, straight roots can be found in boggy areas and also where an old tree is rotting away. All the trees around it are quickly making roots to the dead one to suck up the juices. I think tamarac (? the one with the bundles of needles that fall off in wintertime) always makes long straight roots. Not as strong as spruce or birch though.
The time it takes to soak bark depends on temperature. In summertime four weeks can be too long. But boiling (with or without ashes added) works well too. Does anyone know why we have to do this? What is being broken down in the bark exactly and why do the fibres that remain get so incredibly soft?
Pipistrelle
15-12-2006, 17:10
I ve made very successful cord out of willow, I find nettle a bit too temporary. I found leaving the outer bark of the willow in boiling water and allowing it to cool before disguarding1/2 the water and adding new boiling water makes the inner bark strips lovely and pliable for weaving. once woven I add charcoal to the water and re-heat it and chuck in my cord. It seems to last better that way, even when used as a fishing line.
Is there a way to decrease the temporary nature of nettle? Has anyone used willowherb?
Willow herb is great! really strong fibers, but its hard to get really long fibers. Not sure how long it lasts though. :)
Is there a way to decrease the temporary nature of nettle? Has anyone used willowherb?
My nettle bootlaces lasted three years............how temporary do you mean? :confused:
Can anyone find the old thread on horsehair fishing lines that gave the translated ancient Greek instructions?
I don't like willowherb much, it's okay for binding but I don't find it lasts very well. I know other folks like it a lot, but I'm not a fan. I do like lime and willow though, but best of all I like hemp and flax for everything from rope to thread.
Cheers,
Toddy
Neanderthal
15-12-2006, 19:51
Haven't made a grass rope since I was a kid. I used the long grass growing round the football field and made a swing tied to the cross bar on the goals. Also made a loop to put my feet through so that I could climb up to the top of the rugby posts. Actually that probably wasn't very bright of me. :o
Thanks for the trip down memory lane Wayland. :)
Stu
Pipistrelle
16-12-2006, 12:12
My nettle bootlaces lasted three years............how temporary do you mean? :confused:
Cheers,
Toddy
3 years ..... :headbang: !I must be doing something Wrong, my nettle cord lasts 6-8 months at most but under pressure more like 2-3, it goes all dusty and degrades, eventually snapping.... What time of year do you harvest, as I have had some very conflicting info and how do you treat?
I collect nettles as late in the year as possible, to give the butterflies a chance. I strip, soak then dry my nettles and store as looped ribbons, then soak (in warm water) when needed, is this correct? Do you use charcoal like with bark or not?
cheers Pip
Hmmm. Okay, I process nettle differently depending on the time of year I need it.
Spring stuff is easy stripped by hand (better for eating though :D ) and makes a very fine, tight thin string. It needs to be plied up to make a cord or laces, but it works well as a *sewing* thread for holding grass bunches to a frame for a shelter or for binding tools to handles. It'll work for bow drill but it wears kind of quickly.
Summer stuff is long and fibre filled but juicy. This juicieness makes it pliable and easily stripped but makes loose ply when it dries out. This is the stuff that gets stripped and hung to dry before use. Makes brilliant cordage, good for almost anything needed.
Autumn and Winter the fibres are *dry*, need time and labour to break free or to be just brought to the boil in gentle lye water. These fibres are true nettle fibre, soft, fine white and very strong. However, they're only truly about 10cms long. Nettle isn't really a long fibre, but the structure of the skin it lies in allows us to use it as though it were. By breaking out the fibres properly the true length is revealed. This fibre is superb :cool: , as good as flax, spins a fine, fine thread, soft and white and weaves up into a magnificent, hard wearing but comfortable to the skin, cloth.
Fishing line made from this fibre is strong, thin, enduring and doesn't weaken when wet.
Commercially (European) nettle is at least ten times as expensive to produce as linen. Flax stems will yield about 12% fibre, nettle it's about 1% of the weight.
To use nettle now, in mid December, gather and stook somewhere airy to dry. Try not to get it mildewed or foosty. Roll the bundle up in a cloth and beat with a short wooden batton. This will seperate the fibres from the chaff. Gather and comb with a wide toothed comb. Spin or make cordage from damp fibres.
The boot laces were made from Summer nettles, 3 ply hand twisted cord. They had to be undone, given extra twist and re-plied a couple of day after they were made but that was it.
Let us know how you get on?
Cheers,
Toddy
Pig intestine works well. Don't know if you would say this qualifies? Gathered by the bag from the butcher - what you don't use to make sausages can be made into cordage.
1. Soak in water for a couple of hours.
2. Tie one end to a tree / stationary object, other end to a small stick.
3. Walk the line out till it's no longer slack, but not taught. Start winding. This can take 1/2 to 3/4 hour depending on how long a piece of intestine you have selected!. Every so often flick the line to shake the moisture you are wringing out of it away and give it a little pull to stretch it.
4. Keep winding!
5. When it starts to feel taughtish, secure your winding end - so it doesn't unwind and check to see how things are going. If your static tied off end has no twists at it - you have more winding to do. :rolleyes:
6. Once you are happy that you have wound enough, secure both end and leave to dry.
The result will be a flexible thinnish cord that can be braided to form a rope. The cord on its own has a small amount of elasticity, makes a great lashing and if you braid it is pretty strong.
P.S. Word to the wise: If your Mrs is a veggie - DON'T tell here what your lovely cordage is made from :naughty:
cheers
"so what are your shoe laces made from?"
"Pig intestine"
:lmao:
Not sure im gonna try that one! Sounds good though :)
How did you actually think that one up? :rolleyes:
chrisanson
16-12-2006, 20:13
Pig intestine works well. Don't know if you would say this qualifies? Gathered by the bag from the butcher - what you don't use to make sausages can be made into cordage.
1. Soak in water for a couple of hours.
2. Tie one end to a tree / stationary object, other end to a small stick.
3. Walk the line out till it's no longer slack, but not taught. Start winding. This can take 1/2 to 3/4 hour depending on how long a piece of intestine you have selected!. Every so often flick the line to shake the moisture you are wringing out of it away and give it a little pull to stretch it.
4. Keep winding!
5. When it starts to feel taughtish, secure your winding end - so it doesn't unwind and check to see how things are going. If your static tied off end has no twists at it - you have more winding to do. :rolleyes:
6. Once you are happy that you have wound enough, secure both end and leave to dry.
The result will be a flexible thinnish cord that can be braided to form a rope. The cord on its own has a small amount of elasticity, makes a great lashing and if you braid it is pretty strong.
P.S. Word to the wise: If your Mrs is a veggie - DON'T tell here what your lovely cordage is made from :naughty:
cheers
For doing similar things I use an ordinary hand drill (not electric) although I think a battery one might be ok. Just put a small cup hook in the chuck and away ya go
Chris
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gear-Twist-Twirl-Braider-Centre/dp/B0001RFC6E
Has anyone used one of these to make cordage? :lmao: It works, I nicked my daughter's some while ago, when I was being dense about making cordage! At least it shows me exactly how to it. It has limitations but I even made B50 bowstrings with it :)
I should have mentioned at the time "Thanks to Fenlander" for showing me how to do this. :o Apologies mate