Making Natural Cordage

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Wrapping for Strength

Once you have a supply of raw material, you'll have to decide how thick and long your finished cordage will have to be. If all you need is a piece of wilderness dental floss or a trap trigger, you might get by with only a few fibers. In most cases, though, you'll want something stronger — and strength is primarily the result of wrapping fibers together. This will likely require that you break down the original material a little more than you have to this point.

If you're working with a ribbon of bark or leaf material, roll it between your palms (for better friction, dampen your skin) or against the leg of your pants to separate the fibers. Work along the entire length of the strip until you've gotten rid of any nonfibrous matter and have a long, thin bundle of "threads."

The Simple Wrap

To do a fast wrapping job (which will serve in many situations where strength isn't of primary concern), hold onto the ends of the fibers and roll the whole bundle against your pants leg in one direction. By making repeated strokes along the entire length, you should be able to twist the fibers into a strand of makeshift cordage that's many times the strength of the original strands of material. Then, to secure the twist, take the middle of the strand in your teeth (make sure, of course, that it's from a nonpoisonous plant!) and bring the two ends together. When you let go with your teeth, the doubled cord will twist around itself naturally.

The Reverse Wrap

For a much tighter and stronger wrap, start by twisting the fiber bundle in the middle until it kinks; then hold the kink between the thumb and index finger of one hand. With the fingers of the second hand, twist the bottom strand toward you and wrap it once around the other. Now, hold this wrap with the first hand, twist the new bottom strand toward you and wrap it around the other. Continue the process along the entire length of your cord. If you need only a short section, tie a knot at the end of the double-wrapped piece and use it as is.

How to Splice

In order to make a long rope or string, you can simply splice together as many shorter pieces as necessary in the following way: First, twist and kink the bundle so that one end is twice as long as the other. (This will eliminate the chance of producing parallel splices that would seriously weaken the cordage.) Then, using the reverse technique, wrap to within an inch or two of the short end. Next, separate the fibers of the short end with your fingers (so they spread out like a broom). Now, attach a second bundle of equal thickness by spreading and fitting its fiber ends into those of the first bundle. (To keep a uniform thickness in the cord, cut out half of the fibers in each bunch before pushing them together.)

Continue twisting and wrapping as before, taking care not to pull the strands apart. When you come to the end of the original long strand, add a third piece — and so on. (Do make sure that you never have two splices in the same place — a splice must always be wrapped with a solid strand.)

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