Main Discussion Area > Primitive Skills

Yucca bowstrings/cordage

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Hillbilly:
Eddie, if it's the same Spanish bayonet I'm thinking of, it is a species of yucca. We have one that grows here, Yucca filimentosa or beargrass. It makes good general purpose cordage, but it's not as strong as dogbane, nettle, or milkweed.

Pat B:
Eddie, the Spanish bayonet has a sharp point on the tip. You can break it and pull it down the leaf to get a needle and thread for sewing.   Century plant is also related.     Pat

TRACY:
I just saw the needle/thread trick on survivorman. Pretty cool

Hillbilly, Do you think my time is better spent using other materials? Don't want to reinvent the wheel here.

Thanks Tracy

Hillbilly:
Tracy, dunno-I've never tried a yacca string. Jim Hamm shaows a couple yucca strings in one of his books. I made a dogbane bowstring once, it lasted a good while but finally broke. Seems that most of the NA's preferred sinew, gut, or rawhide for bowstrings-and they were very skilled in making cordage, fabric, and stuff from plant fibers.

Justin Snyder:
I have seen what appears to be snares for small game made from yucca fiber in several local museums. 

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