Cordage Exercise

[Pict]

A number of years ago I was hanging out on the (New) Jersey shore and came across a tangled mess of seaweed, fishing line and a section of rope about 2 feet long.

I set about untangling this mess attempting to recover anything I could use if I happened to be washed up on a remote beach. That's the type of really odd stuff I do at the beach when I'm not body surfing. I ended up with an assortment of hooks, snap swivels, sinkers and mono-filament line, enough for a short hobo fishing rig. The line was on the short side and a two foot section of rope was not too helpful.

I took the rope apart and made about 30 feet of light 2 ply cordage out of it. That gave me enough to tie the fishing line to for some serious reach.

In September I'm planning to teach the cordage portion of our bushcraft class and may use the rope as an exercise. Anyway yesterday I figured I'd give it a run and time it and also measure the length of cord I could make from a 20 inch length of 1/2 inch hemp rope.

It took me under an hour and I got 18 feet of paracord sized 2-ply. It is good practice if you care to try it.

I didn't take any process photos but basically you unravel the rope to its smallest components, these individual bundles of fiber are then divided in half and retwisted into 2 ply, spicing them together as you go. You should wind up with loose fibers that can be added back in to keep the sides equal if one gets thin. I ended up with only a small tinder nest of wasted fiber.

Mac

 

[Perrari]

Nice work, I will have a go next time I go fishing, it will help pass the time.

 

[Toddy]

Nice one
I like making cordage, and I like seeing other folks work too

cheers,
M

 

[Pict]

IMO cordage making is an undervalued skill in the bushcraft community. For every thousand threads that include some novel method of transporting 550 cord there are only a handful regarding making cordage in the bush. Most wilderness areas will have some type of cordage capable plant that yields the raw material year round. Part of the problem is one of method. The standard reverse twist (twist - wrap - repeat) is very slow and I think it turns people off to the skill. I'm sure lots of people get a foot into it and then determine look up novel methods to transport paracord.

 

[Toddy]

I wholeheartedly agree and yet, it's simple, it's straightforward, there's no shortage of stuff to try.
The last basket I made was made from iris leaves that were heading to the compost bin and I twisted them into rope instead.
It's not rocket science, it cost nothing but the gathering and a bit of patience, and it's incredibly useful

I spin using a drop spindle, again it's an incrediby simple thing to do, but it'll take fibres and turn them into thread or yarn. Similarly the rope hook, a bent bit of metal, a hollow tube to use as a handle, or even more bushcrafty carve them from wood, bone or antler, and that will take grass and turn it quickly into a rope at the rate of several metres a minute.

Very fine plaiting works too, especially for fibres like horsehair or fishing line ends.

Yeah, I'd like to see more threads on making from natural stuff

cheers,
M

 

[awarner]

One skill I would love to learn especially from nettle etc.

 

[Stringmaker]

I wholeheartedly agree and yet, it's simple, it's straightforward, there's no shortage of stuff to try.
The last basket I made was made from iris leaves that were heading to the compost bin and I twisted them into rope instead.
It's not rocket science, it cost nothing but the gathering and a bit of patience, and it's incredibly useful

I spin using a drop spindle, again it's an incrediby simple thing to do, but it'll take fibres and turn them into thread or yarn. Similarly the rope hook, a bent bit of metal, a hollow tube to use as a handle, or even more bushcrafty carve them from wood, bone or antler, and that will take grass and turn it quickly into a rope at the rate of several metres a minute.

Very fine plaiting works too, especially for fibres like horsehair or fishing line ends.

Yeah, I'd like to see more threads on making from natural stuff

cheers,
M

One of the pieces of cord in my avatar is made from fur brushed off my cat.

How about that; a raw material that is endless and which transports itself!

Seriously though, to the OP; nice work. I should get back into cordage/rope again. Thanks to Toddy for the tip on a "Bushy" rope hook.

 

[Toddy]

I was once asked to spin the 'fleece' that came off my neighbour's toy poodle. Didn't appeal somehow. I'd just met a lady who was wearing a jumper she'd spun from dog hair. Very neat, but her dog had died years earlier and she was still wearing him.......it was just.....nah
Seemed to be a fad a few years ago.

If Pict doesn't mind, we might co-opt his thread and add some photos ?

I'll put up one of the traditional type of grass rope hook when I get onto the other computer.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[Toddy]

Quick grass rope hook (took me five minutes to make, and three of them were spent looking for wire cutters ) Wee bit of fence wire and a length cut off a willow rod; could use bamboo I suppose. Elder's good too though

Couple of handfuls of grass pulled from around one of the ponds.

Hook end into the grass and twist and start to walk away.
It really needs two people, one to twist, one to feed the rope, but the idea's clear enough I hope.

Rather messy bit of grass rope, but it's sound enough to be caught in the middle and plied up

Grass rope, crude, but strong enough to hold down a hayrick, or a thatched roof, or a pile of loose stuff on a shelter
In total, including the photos, the whole thing took me about ten minutes; didn't even take my slippers off

cheers,
M

 

[Pict]

Cordage making really does lend itself to simple machines, probably the main reason nobody knows how to make it by hand anymore.

OK, if we're going to muck this up with photos and such...

My main beef with cordage making is the reverse twist as it is taught by most, one twist, one wrap. With each repetition of the process you get exactly half of a full twist of cordage. Repeat it a second time and the result is one full twist of cordage. This is easy to teach and learn but it is a painfully slow process.

Thigh rolling generally results in five to six full twists of cordage with each repetition. It is very fast but much harder to master. It works fantastic with jungle vines which are usually much more secure as 2 ply vines, especially if they are thin.

My preferred cordage method could be called finger rolling. I wasn't taught this and don't really know if anyone else does it this way, I just worked it out on my own years ago and have used it ever since. It just seemed like the natural way to do it. I generally get from 3 to 5 complete twists of cordage with each repetition. i haven't timed myself recently but it only takes a few minutes to make a meter of cord.

[video=youtube;1DJ4eIYYb84]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DJ4eIYYb84[/video]

[video=youtube;kXW95Ux-4GE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXW95Ux-4GE[/video]

 

[Toddy]

Neat video Thank you for sharing it

It's a very good way to make cordage, and you have given a very clear demo of the method

I admit I don't always get my cordage as tight using the multi twist/roll, (it needs a name Pict ), but then it depends what I need it for and what I'm using. If the fibres are at all brittle I don't use it, but that might just be me being picky.

Is the leaf you show some kind of succulent ?

cheers,
M

 

[Pict]

Piteira is also called the Century Plant in English IIRC. It is a succulent and our local version burns on contact but doesn't result in blisters, at least not for me. It is supremely irritating to work with though.

 

[Man of Tanith]

i'm in the process of relearning/teaching myself cordage, started by two strand twisting paracord, then went onto raffia
currently got a load of nettle drying to start on that next
if i can find other materials i'll work with them
i find it very relaxing as its an activity i can do without having to engage my brain

 

[Hushwing]

Many thanks for that video - nice method also.

sisel string (hairy string as we knew it at school!) when split apart looks similar and behaves similar to dried nettle strands - useful if you've forgotten to prepare some dried nettle before a demo!!

 

[Toddy]

The poundstores have packs of garden raffia in just now. It's very like our own bast fibres to work with, costs very little and it's good stuff to practice or demo with

cheers,
Toddy

 

[John Fenna]

I am a thigh roller when it comes to making cordage - at present only capable of the "hold with one hand, roll with the other" style - though I am working on my "two hand roll" technique ... the trouble being I have no left hand/righthand co ordination (I type one handed and cannot play a musical instrument - both big frustrations!)
I get about 4" per roll if the fibres are long enough.
I used to do a 3 strand hand twist grass rope as I went on training walks around the lanes (getting used to exped rucksack weights) but now I dont go on training walks I have let that skill deteriorate badly...
Raffia is a great demo material and have used it to teach kids basic cordage making but nothing beats wild clematis for impressing punters at a show

 

[xylaria]

I haven't cut the grass the year because I am learning to ID grasses. I pretty much cracked it now I was looking for excuses not to cut the now knee high lawn. I have an excuse to cut now.

 

[Stringmaker]

I have always struggled with the thigh rolling technique; I don't seem to get any "bite" between my hand and the cord. I did hear somewhere that rolling on your bare leg is much better but that it involves much hair loss!

Any thigh rolling tips from you more experienced corders? Do you wear/use a leather pad or something against which you roll?

P.S. I know it's not native but I have a stack of old Yukka leaves in my garage. They are fantastic as they are now so dry that a quick crank along their length and you have a handful of strong long fibres to work with.

 

[the interceptor boy]

I use a big tomato can.or a small coke bottle and a piece of bamboo,