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Plant String Build Along
swamp monkey:
Dividing the stalk in half: once the stalk is properly crushed, next I place my “stalk separating knife” in an opening. This amounts to a dull blade of hardwood. I use dogwood because it gets smoother with wear but that is a personal preference. Any old thin slice of wood will do. Why use this? I have made hundreds of feet of cordage like this and got tired of using my fingers to separate stalks only to get a section of plant pith jammed in my finger. Pith is the portion of the stalk that provides rigidity to the stalk and is worthless for string making. I used my pocket knife some but it cut fibers occasionally. This wooden knife blade does not cut a thing. It is just a simple wedge.
swamp monkey:
Separating the pith from the fiber: The pith needs to be totally removed. This can be tedious at first but you will find your stride. First I snap the stalk gently so the pith breaks but the fibers stay intact. I place the stalk between my thumb and forefinger or between my index and middle finger, on one side of the pith break. I continue to gently pull the fiber so it drags over my finger. The fiber goes down with my pull and the pith spits straight up and out like it is coming from a PEZ dispenser. Get the next piece and do it all over again. Keep stray fibers that are not in the bundle or are in odd lengths. Those will come in handy later.
swamp monkey:
Separating fibers continued: The idea is to keep the longest fibers you can. Fiber can be stored in a box or container of your choice so long as it is dry and it will keep indefinitely. I loop mine for easy storage and bind it in the middle with a scrap of twine sometimes and hang that hank of fiber on the back porch.
This is the process that works for dogbane and milkweed. This is a time consuming process but there is nothing hard about it. If you are fixed indoors due to in-climate weather consider laying a tarp down and watching a movie while you process fiber. I do this on the porch in spring and enjoy a nice day outside. The time passes quickly either way.
Pith can be discarded. The picture below was from an all-day cordage processing bender I went on. It can be real satisfying to see a bone pile like that! Fiber bundles or boxes of fiber take up less space to store and there is less mess as you move them around.
swamp monkey:
Nettle fibers: I did not find any nettle stalks so I can't provide pix of my process but the variations are simple. I do not crush nettle stalks with a mallet. The pith is not so brittle. So instead I use a pocket knife and slice the stalk lengthwise in half. Then I snap and pull the pith much like I do with the dogbane and milkweed stalks.
I tried the retting process and was not happy with my results. But admittedly I may not have done something right.
swamp monkey:
Prepping the fibers:
One last task is needed to get your fiber ready. Rolling. This removes bark and preps the fibers for what is to come. The prep is not so much for the fiber as it is for your process. Fiber halves are placed in your palm and vigorously rubbed between both palms. Think of rubbing your palms together for warmth. If you can do that you can prep the fibers. Same process. Just move the fibers up and down your palm so the whole bundle gets rolled. The only twist is always have the right hand end farther forward than the left hand. This not only removes bark but preps the fibers in the correct direction of the twist you will apply when making cordage. Bark needs to be removed to improve strength of the cord. Don’t worry about getting ALL of it off. Just get most. The remainder will come off as you reverse twist your cordage.
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