natural cordage question

[lannyman8]

might be some time before i get it down to a fine art, i got out today and grabed some nettles, theye are now all split and ready to be turned into cordge...

i think im going to take my time on this one and start of slow, i will make some cordage and try to get a coal with the flint and cordage to start with...then move onto the whole thing once happy with it....

i also need to get some more flint as the bits i have are rubbish weathered bits with loads of cracks, will do for now though...

thanks gents.

regards

chris.

 

[BoonDoc]

Another option is using Cedar rootlets. You can dig them up. They are no more than an inch or two under the ground. They are easily harvested. You can have ten strands in as many minutes.
Sure they will break, but it takes about ten to find one that will work.

 

[Thenihilist]

Look at my thread about my primitive bowdrill dude.

The biggest problem with natural cordage is it wearing out, i use a bone awl i made to punch a hole on both ends of the bow so you can put the cord through and use a figure of 8 or preferably an ashley stopper knot.

Form a clov hitch around the spindle too, the cord will last longer and you can do it with weak cordage.

 

[LetsRock]

I've been successful a few times with making on-the-spot natural cordage for the bow drill. With practice and experience, it's definitely do-able. And, in less time than you might think.

Here's a couple YouTube videos I've learned from (vids from the US. Hopefully they can be seen here). YouTube search 'Natural Friction Fire':
PRIMITIVE FIRE-BOW DRILL-ALL NATURAL
[video=youtube;vmipIIBpzMk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmipIIBpzMk[/video]

Bow drill friction fire with leaf string
[video=youtube;Uvkby864vy0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uvkby864vy0[/video]

I've done the typical twisting, braiding, and splicing the fibers into cordage and had the same problem mentioned earlier (2 hours of twisting for 10 seconds of bowing). But, what has worked best for me was to find strands that are long enough without braiding or splicing. Instead, I just twist all the strands together to form a basic rope and tie one end to the top of the bow and the other end I hold in my hand (as trigger tension). It's much quicker and if it fails, it doesn't take long to make and try another bowstring.

If I have to braid & splice then I will make it double ply and/ or use the Egyptian method as the weak links in the rope are usually at the splice points.

Here's a vid I did of one of my first successful attempts at making a crude use-once disposable bowstring. I live in Florida, USA and used a Palm tree branch for my fibers. Each of these videos shows different materials of quickly making a bow drill bowstring. So, there's gotta something that'd work just as well in the UK.

[video=youtube;2tgV8Eaz9-U]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tgV8Eaz9-U[/video]

 

[Siberianfury]

lime bark is the strongest, and no, it doesn't need soaking