Nettle cordage question

[Tony]

Jacks question got me thinking....I know, i know, it's not very often that happens

Which of all the species of Nettle are the best ones for cordage?

Umm, I've thought of another question for the food forum :yikes:

 

[Adi007]

From experience, the most stingy ones usually ...

Stinging nettles seems to have the most fibrous stems while White dead nettles are smaller and weaker. I wonder if that varies from place to place ... ? Are there more varieties in the UK?

More questions ... !

 

[tomtom]

i was told also that the ones with the most potant stings are strongest.. yet i dont like to test that much

 

[den]

I would say it was the good old common nettle Urtica dioica. I must admit it is the one I have done the most experiments with.
The Only other nettle of the genus Urtica in my area is the not as common small nettle Urtica urens. A smaller flimsy plant which I found fibres harder to obtain in any great lengths. The Roman nettle Urtica pilulifera was last spotted in the Bristol region in 1856 so I can’t really comment on that.

I have read a lot on collecting nettles which suggests the best time to collect is at the end of the year. I have got to disagree with this. It might be better for the plant completing it cycle, but for me the best time to collect the fibres is at the end of its Vegetative growth, when the plant has reached most of its height and just starting to flower.
This is normally around June. This is the only time I can strip all the fibres off the plant like peeling a banana .As the year progresses the fibre becomes more brittle and stick to the inner pith making removing whole fibres much harder, which is why I collect all my fibre I will need for the year in June.

To remove the pectin from the fibres I prefer dew retting. I lay the fibres out flat on grass in the shade. Depending on the weather etc it takes about a week to a fortnight for the pectin to break down. Making sure to check regularly as too much retting will rot the fibres .Once this is complete I wash and dry and hang until needed.

In a field not too far from me last year we had an experimental crop of hemp grown for its fibre. I noticed it was harvested at the same stage as I mentioned for the nettle.

 

[match]

The best time to use nettle fibres for cordage is when the stems are middle-aged, i.e in the middle of summer. In spring the stems are quite fresh and young, and tend to be full of moisture which requires a lot of drying out and care to make sure your cord won't break after its made.

I find that the best way to get fibres for nettle cordage is to cut stems near the base, and lay them out flat somewhere dry for at least 24 hours. When the leaves have wilted (careful, as they may still sting!) you shoudl find that the soft fibrous parts of the coating of the stem will peel back easily, and it is these that can be used for making very fine thread/string - good for weaving etc. However, if you want to use the main stems for a stronger rope, then more preparation is required - usually involving bashing the stems with a rock/flat object to cvause the solid pithy core to become fibrous. I don't have much experience of this aspect of cordage though, as I've only ever made smaller pieces of cord for fun projects - nothing for secure lashing etc yet!

 

[Snufkin]

I've never used anything other than stingers for cordage in this country but in the French Alps I did make a fishing line from the local stinging nettles and the fibres seemed a lot coarser and stronger than the British ones. And no I didn't catch anything

 

[den]

Removing fibres by hand and drying is fine if you want a small amount of cordage. But saying that I’ve never removed a fibre the whole length of the plant this way and waste quite a bit.
Whichever method you are using you must remove the pectin from around the fibre or your cordage will be brittle and not much use for anything.

This can be done by physically removing the fibres by hand and scraping it clean with a finger nail which ok for small amounts.

For larger amounts of cordage or rope you would be there forever removing by hand it is much better to let nature do the hard work and clean the fibres for you.

Maybe in June removing individual fibres by hand is not as good as mid summer but when I mentioned the outer layer can just be peeled whole with no effort like a banana. Then the fibres removed from that by retting.

Maximum cordage for minimum effort.

 

[Tantalus]

not an expert on this

but hey that never stopped me asking questions yet ):

to make linen from flax, the plants are tied in bundles in water and left for a couple of weeks

what comes out of the water stinks but after washing , mostly what is left are the fibres

ray mears also suggests leaving tree bark in water for a couple of weeks for similar reasons

the fibre that remains is softened by soaking and fairly easy to turn into cordage

anyone tried this with nettles?

Tant

 

[tomtom]

nettle fibers are soft enough to work straight off the plant for most of the year..

 

[Snufkin]

not an expert on this

but hey that never stopped me asking questions yet ):

to make linen from flax, the plants are tied in bundles in water and left for a couple of weeks

what comes out of the water stinks but after washing , mostly what is left are the fibres

ray mears also suggests leaving tree bark in water for a couple of weeks for similar reasons

the fibre that remains is softened by soaking and fairly easy to turn into cordage

anyone tried this with nettles?

Tant

Not tried it but nettle rots pretty quickly so I would monitor it quite closely if you try.

 

[Tantalus]

yup but steeping them in water would save you all the work of hand stripping them out .

Bacteria would do a lot of the work for you

leaving you to go back later and pick out bundles of fibres ready to be rinsed and used

Tant

 

[den]

Things like lime bark need a good couple of weeks in water to make decent cordage. Nettles are a little trickier than that. A day too much and it's for the bin.
I find it's better to let the dew break them down. It's not as harsh as putting them in water plus easier to check daily. Laid out flat on the grass will also help to stop getting a tangle bundle of fibres at the end.

 

[tomtom]

iv never head this "putting them in cold waterfor weeks method" just putting them in boling water with a few ingredients for an hour or so.. does it have the same results?

 

[den]

iv never head this "putting them in cold waterfor weeks method" just putting them in boling water with a few ingredients for an hour or so.. does it have the same results?

Sorry are we on about nettle or lime?
I find boiling the nettle fibres not great. It tends to break where the leaf stem was very easily. Once dried it's not too bad. I’ve got some hanging up I done a couple of years ago it still appears to be ok. But again it's the effort in boiling them. I'd always go for the other methods as its less effort and higher quality cordage.

 

[Tantalus]

OT sorta but a nice page on flax farming which goes through the retting processes
http://www.swicofil.com/products/003flax.html

how different are nettles from flax as far as fibres go

apart from the obvious stingy bits :shock:

Tant

 

[tomtom]

Sorry are we on about nettle or lime?

sorry i ment lime/willow

i dont treat nettle fibers in anyway except to let the day a little!

 

[den]

OT sorta but a nice page on flax farming which goes through the retting processes
http://www.swicofil.com/products/003flax.html

how different are nettles from flax as far as fibres go

apart from the obvious stingy bits :shock:

Tant

I'm not too sure.
Don't you have to comb the fibres out of Flax?
I think nettle would break to easily if combed .Also once you have retted the nettle fibres down there is no need to comb them out as they are all that is left apart from the odd bit of gunk which is removed when washed. I'd look at the way Hemp is done as it's so simular, but again hemp fibres are a lot stronger than nettle.

 

[DOC-CANADA]

Which of all the species of Nettle are the best ones for cordage?

Don't know if it grows in the UK, but here in Ontario, Canada, my vote would go for Wood Nettle (Laportea canadensis). Easier to process, with better fibres. I read somewhere, that it's believed that a lot of the early accounts (in North America) of the use of Nettle, referred to Wood Nettle, not Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica)

Doc

 

[Jeff Wagner]

Doc - was there a little "frost on the pumpkin" up there last night. Pretty chilly on this side of the lake. We'll see -21 C tonight

 

[arctic hobo]

Speaking of nettles, this is I'm afraid: I have a nettle sting stuck hard in me, I only brushed against it and it still hurts a week afterwards. Is this an odd nettle variety or just an unusual case? :?: