Retting bark.

[Grooveski]

Do you have to do it?

Cut a couple of wee lime branches today. With it being summer the bark peeled off no bother then the inner and outer separated happily enough too. Now I'm sat here tearing the inner into strips that I reckon are fine enough to twist up.
Was just thinking of leaving them a day or two to dry then start twisting. Plan on making enough for a hand line and was wondering if not retting might come back and bite me on the bum?

Is it all about easing the separation of the fibres and making them softer or does retting do more?

P.S. the line will be getting waxed/stretched/burnished.

 

[bushwacker bob]

It makes them smell awful.

 

[Toddy]

It opens up and allow us to seperate out the fibre bundles........think the difference between a sheet of lasagne and a handful of spaghetti. The finer stuff spins and lays better.
The retting also gets rid of lots of the sap stuff, which I'm told, can attract pests, mould and bacteria to the cordage when finished.
In this weather it shouldn't take long though, especially if you've done a lot of the stripping out beforehand.
No getting away from it, it stinks like foul manure and it clings to the hands something vile. Trust me on this, wear gloves when you're lifting it out and rinsing it off, otherwise you'll smell it for days.

Depends on what you're going to do with it I suppose and how quickly you need it, how much extra work seems reasonable.

Willowbark I find ferments like a kind of vinegary wine, but Lime really stinks.

cheers,
M

 

[Grooveski]

Nice one Mary. None of those sound like desirable qualities in a fishing line.
I'm in no hurry and am going to need more anyway. was only wee thin branches and they only gave about half of what I think I'll need(if that).

When you say 'shouldn't take long' how long are you talking? A couple of weeks? Until it smells really bad?
It's all torn up quite fine.

Is it ok to leave this stuff until the rest is prepped or should it go in as soon as possible?

By the way, when I pop out for more I'll swing by and get the 'chute out your road. Should have done it the other day when Stuart and I were out but forgot.

 

[Toddy]

Josh that looks beautiful
In this warm muggy weather it could be just a couple of days, more likely a week or so. It'll be kind of obvious.
That looks like beautiful fibre though just as it is. You can let it dry and then do it all at once without any problem. Thing is too, it's late on in the year, if it slipped off the tree cleanly, maybe there's not much of the sappy stuff anyway, are the cells not just still shifting water upwards at this time ? Later on they're pulling stuff down into the roots, but just now ?

I'd be tempted to try some just as it is, and if it's stripped out that fine, soak it for a few days as cordage.
I did that the first time I tried willow bast, and it really worked, and it was as rough as a badger's situpon too.

Sorry Josh, talked myself in circles

Peter brought the chute home and he's hopefully meeting me this weekend, so I'll get it back to you asap after that.
Come to think on it, he's nearer you than I am.

atb,
M

 

[Grooveski]

Sounds worth a go . It didn't really feel sappy at all. Wet but not sticky.

Got 6m out of that lot so yeah, need the same again at least. Will let you know how it turns out when I soak it.

 

[stuart f]

Hi Josh,nice work there mate.I spoke to Patrick about the very same thing,and he told me that you just need soak it until the bark stops feeling slimey whilst in the water,as that then tells you that the sap has leeched away.I also asked him would it make much difference by not soaking it,and he said that you would end up with a weaker cordage if you did,nt get rid of the sap,not a property you would want if your thinking of using the cord as a fishing line.

A big thanks to Patrick for the info.
Cheers Stuart.

 

[bushwacker bob]

Sounds worth a go . It didn't really feel sappy at all. Wet but not sticky.

Got 6m out of that lot so yeah, need the same again at least. Will let you know how it turns out when I soak it.

Very neat line Josh.

 

[Grooveski]

Cheers, and thanks for the info Stuart.
Added the second lot so that's it a useful length now.

Just stuck it in to soak where within seconds it'd turned golden brown. I'll let it be for a while, see what happens.
....and start thinking about hooks.

 

[Toddy]

Looking good

M

 

[Grooveski]

Handy stuff. Had hung onto a bunch of the strips and just used one to bind up my first shot at a wood and antler hook.

That's not the same string. It's some of the thin stuff I made a while ago.

 

[stuart f]

Hi Josh,that looks just the ticket mate,great stuff,also if you intend using it remember to seal it with pitch.

Cheers Stuart.

 

[Grooveski]

The whole kit and kaboodle? Everything that's bound?

Funnily enough I've seen pictures of that - a long dod of pitch with a barb jutting out at the bottom. Didn't occur to me at the time that that's what could have been inside.

Anyhow, cheers again for the tip. Willdo!

 

[stuart f]

The whole kit and kaboodle? Everything that's bound?

Funnily enough I've seen pictures of that - a long dod of pitch with a barb jutting out at the bottom. Didn't occur to me at the time that that's what could have been inside.

Anyhow, cheers again for the tip. Willdo!

Yup you've got it right.

It would be cool to see some fish in your ground oven which a had been caught with that hook

Cheers Stuart.

 

[Grooveski]

Day two of stringwatch. Been rinsing and changing the water at about 8 hour intervals.
First time it was brown goo. Second time was much less sappy.

Was wandering back from the shops last night, Detoured past a hawthorn down by the Kelvin. Have to say whittling hooks is quite addictive.

Need more fine stuff for leaders. Tried twisting up a bit of the bark but it wasn't quite as strong as I'm after. I'll crop some nettles at the weekend.
...and pitch the hooks. That's a campfire job.

 

[Stuart69]

:yikes: You're not meant to be using that knife, I spent ages sharpening that :yikes:

The cord and hooks look great mate, well done

 

[Grooveski]

:yikes: You're not meant to be using that knife, I spent ages sharpening that :yikes:

Just as well you didn't see me batoning antler with it. That'd have made your eyes bleed.

 

[Stuart69]

Oh you bad man

No more chocolate bubbly Aero drinks for you

 

[sandsnakes]

I do know that when you make hand made papers from bark or any fiber loaded material the longer the ret the 'cleaner' the fiber becomes and the stronger. The ret employs both an emzyme and bacterial action to remove the sap and break down the outer lignin containing sheath, so you get a better quality cellulose fiber from the core.

The motto was the smellier the pond the better the fibre!

 

[Grooveski]

Stringwatch day - oh, I don't know.

Was another night steeping, a couple of days in a muggy wee trickle(already full of decomposing matter) then another day soaking back here and I'd say that's it ready to roll.
One thing that I did wonder about was the effects of soaking then drying. It has gone loose after drying but as soon as it gets wet it swells back up so it's not a problem.

Thanks everyone for the tips and information.