String

Regenerative & Transitional Technology Misc.
#21

Chase that would be a freakin awsome idea

#22

Well so far we’ve got:
Trailing blackberry (insert binomial here)
Feral hemp (Cannabis sativa) [note: the word “cannabis” is the ancestor word of “canvas”]
Yucca (Yucca sp.)
Stinging nettle (Urtica sp.)
Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica)
Banana (Musa sp.)
Hops (Humulus lupulus, -japonicus)
Agave or Century plant (Agave sp.)
Milkweed (Asclepias sp.)
Flax (Linum sp.) [note: “line”, meaning cordage, originally refered to the flax plant]
Basket rush (Juncus textilis)

Feel free to add preparation info, new plants, any interesting things about each plant and how good a fiber or cordage source you think it is. Did ai mention new plants?

#23

this is good, once we have some more info in here this would be a great addition to the wiki

#24

western red cedar inner bark

#25

Want me to add preparation details? :wink:

#26

Well, my “braided rope” of Trailing Blackberry has become a bit brittle over the past couple of weeks as it has dried out, and I think it will continue to get more brittle as it ages. There probably are ways to process it so it lasts longer, but for now, I will just say that Trailing Blackberry, without any processing, can make a quick instant emergency string for short-term use, but don’t depend on it for long-term jobs.

#27

Cabbage Tree (Cordyline australis) known as TÄ« rākau or TÄ« kōuka in Maori language… “Ti tree” anyone ?

I’ve made alot of cordage out of this recently, its effin’ strong stuff.
Fibers are a good 30cm (centimeters. oh yea metrics for the win lol)

#28

I used to make cordage out of himalayaan blackberry stalks. Sometimes I would peel green fibers off of living stalks but it was easier to pull off sections of ‘field-retted’ fiber from dead stalks. The reason I stopped using them was the short fiber length. The entire cord was usually a constant splice. It worked alright but was just too labour intensive

#29

For a more “transition tech” way to get string: you can unravel your old sweaters or sweaters from a thrift store. Acrylic and other artificial fibers are pretty strong. I learned to unravel sweaters using this tutorial. It’s pretty comprehensive:

http://dawnprickett.blogspot.com/2008/01/recycling-sweaters-for-yarn.html

#30

cool info on reclaiming yarn starfish–thx for posting it.

reminds me of a book i read once–The Endless Steppe–in which a Polish girl and her capitalist family get shipped off in a cattle car to a Siberian labor camp during WWII. Kinda rewildy, they learn some excellent scrounging as well as ways to keep warm. She ends up unraveling sweaters and reknitting them on commission to feed herself and her family.

#31

[quote=“yarrow dreamer, post:30, topic:1131”]cool info on reclaiming yarn starfish–thx for posting it.

reminds me of a book i read once–The Endless Steppe–in which a Polish girl and her capitalist family get shipped off in a cattle car to a Siberian labor camp during WWII. Kinda rewildy, they learn some excellent scrounging as well as ways to keep warm. She ends up unraveling sweaters and reknitting them on commission to feed herself and her family.[/quote]

Off topic, but… I’m reminded of The Boxcar Children and their creative scrounging. Also, Homecoming by Cynthia Voigt.

#32

If your in the south eastern US then there is kudzu… it grows 3 feet a day, and the vines are really flexible fresh but dry hard and tough.

PS- you can eat the leaf buds… and during the peak of summer you can actually sit and watch them grow.

I grew up eating them… they taste like cabbage with pepper.