I'm just starting to learn how to make cordage, & this video is by far the best that I've seen! Aside from loving to make things with natural materials, the desire to learn was actually born as a desire to not waste any plant material in my work as an herbalist! Raspberry & blackberry leaves are both used in medicinal teas, & leaving an empty vine after their harvest has always bothered me! I can't lie, I teared up a bit when I saw all of those gorgeous healthy leaves fall to the ground! 🥴😂
I sincerely appreciate your kind words and to hear you foud this video useful. All being well i hope to be filming more natural cordage making videos as well as foraging ~Peace~
So carefully explained that I went out this morning and quickly found brambles with super long green branches. I brought my small pruners and my BBQ leather gloves. Cut. Removed all soft thorns and leaves. Came back here again to take notes on the procedure. This afternoon i make cordage. This man IS an expert. And you sir, made a valuable video for all of us Thanks to both of you I'm subscribing !
Manse is a great guest to have on! He is quite knowledgeable and presents the information clearly and with good detail. Also he teaches good work habits and safe use of the knife.
I've been putting off working with my nettles ever since I sowed the seed. It's now a mature stand and with the pandemic, there is spare time for days...today I will dive in and process them. Thanks so much to both of you...an excellent video!
Brilliant. The camera, the fingers working, and the most accurate explanation all combine to make an excellent instructional video. I’m left handed by the way.
I just tried doing the cordage while watching. I got it. Awsom. Best I've ever made. Thank you very much. Your right it's so strong so thin. Too good thank you
Ah nice i'm happy to hear it worked for you! it's one of the most important skills out there and is fun to play around with different materials ~Peace~
Big thank you to Manse for allowing the recording. What an excellent video. I now have lots to work on and lots of brambles/picker bushes to practice with.
I have been looking at how to make cordage lately and of the many, I have viewed yours by far is the best. The detailed instructions and excellent video photography that is shown in great detail with close-ups made it easy to follow. I have since subscribed and will look at previous videos yet seen by me. Thank you.
Another awesome video Zed, thanks for unearthing these wonderful folks who inform and educate so well. Keep up the fine work! (Also, love the mini still-life interlude shots!)
Nice vid (AGAIN) Zed, nice to see people passing on their knowledge, I went to a forest called "Amazon" and got metres of cordage made from the "Para" plant it's a lovely green (it would be being natural) and is very strong and versatile and also took no time at all to make, I would send you some but now you're one with nature you don't need it, stay safe chap, waiting for the next one (Vid) Regards from, not far from you mate
Great video, brilliant to see practical uses for materials! Thanks for the information to be able to get outside and try/learn some new skills! Looking forward to learning lots more as you progress with the building of your camp!
Thanks for this video, it is great. Very clear instruction, the best that I have seen on this subject. Keep up the good work, and good luck with the camp. I am looking forward to the other videos in the series, should be fantastic. Thank you for taking the time to do this.
Awesome to see this plant has a use other than the brambles which appear later in the year so thanks for the upload Zed. I wage a constant war against brambles at my place as they are all over the wooded part of my garden. Slashing, hacking, digging them out, spraying, burning.....Aaaaaaarrrgghhhh...the damn things still come back. No wonder the house is called 'Briardene'.....
A centimetre a day?? I swear the stuff grows a foot a day. Good thing it has a number of uses. Will definitely try cordage. Thanks for the great instructions. I found a delicious and easy way to preserve the berries - a raw cordial. Works with other berries too. One part each in volume: crushed berries, apple cider vinegar and sugar (measured dry on its own). After a week or two or a month or four you can strain out the fruit and bottle the liquid. I still have some elder berries in February not yet strained and not mouldy. It is very concentrated. About 1 part cordial to 10+ parts water or added to rosehip tea with a bit of cinamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger and orange peel for a wintery hot punch like flavour and lots of goodness.
Zed messing with the big thorns on some wild brambles? Reminds me of the saying from that Christmas movie, "You'll put your eye out kid"!!! LOL. Hope you can find loads of other kinds of cordage, Zed, and can't wait to see what you go with for the building materials and style!
One suggestion I might add. After you get a couple of inches twisted up hold the loop in your left hand (for right handers) and roll the fibers between you hand and leg. It will twist up much faster than the twist and wrap. You will need to do the twist and wrap when you splice in more fiber though. Good information about processing the fibers from brambles or as we call them in my area blackberry vines.
Cheers Zed & Manse really, really good demonstration on how to make cordage from Bramble ( Rubus fruticosus agg. - there are hundreds of sub-species across Britain ). I've always thought it would make good cord/rope as I often trip on the the b_____ stuff!
Nice video! Thank you very much. I think in North America, we refer to the bramble plant as a raspberry cane. I could be wrong; however your bramble looks very much like the raspberry cane in my garden. Mans sure does a nice tidy bit of cordage. The finer length on which he was working was absolutely uniform. It was a pleasure and soothing in the extreme to watch him work. I hope to give it a try come Spring. I had no intention whatsoever to seek these skills tonight; nonetheless I find myself wondering what else you have on your channel. How serendipitous do you have come across your channel. Nicely done, and downright compelling. I hope that in your neck of the woods you’re done with the pandemic and are back to doing your beloved Bushcrafting again.
Hi Daphne, I sincerely appreciate your kind words and for watching. Yes the pandemic has made filming for me extremely difficult, that being said I hope to get back into the swing of things as of next month. Stay blessed and many thanks once again ~Peace~
get video and great demonstration. interested if the intial twisting can be quickier by rolling the fiber away from you on you leg to create the inital twist then use the oppostie firbe strand to roll in the opposite action to twist both sides together?
A sincere thank you for your kind words and indeed there are a lot of variations to the techniques shown in this video. As with everything you tweak it so it works for you ~Peace~
you guys are great! so much information and so well explained. Thanks so much. So are we going to do nettle cordage? and what about wet retting to get the fibers out?
Fantastic video guys. Great to see those nasty brambles have a use. Could you tell me please if this cordage will stand up to use in a bow drill? If not what would. Thankyou!
Thank you kindly David, I haven't tried it myself yet but Manse has used Bramble cordage for bow drill and said it worked perfectly although you do have to tweak your movement a little ~Peace~
Zed Outdoors thanks for your response? It occurs to me that often things work in summer when they are needed perhaps with less urgency than in winter when they work less well. This is especially so with fire when it's harder to make when needed the most.
I've never worked with Blackberry vines so couldn't say Charlie, no harm in trying though as the principles of cordage making are generally the same across the board from what i've seen ~Peace~
A good demonstration thanks... and it is nice to have a positive aspect of blackberry vines to contemplate as I fight my way through them on the hillsides. I presume that cord made from brambles will be strong while still green.... but is it like other natural cordage that can become more brittle as it dries out? Best wishes from New Zealand....
Thank you kindly Stephen, cord made from bramble which is still green will be inherently weak due to the shrinkage as it dries out so it is very important to dry them out first before resoaking and weaving ~Peace~
@@Zedoutdoors Thanks for the tip. After watching this video I cut a two-foot length of the new season's blackberry vine and made a cord. I was impressed with its strength. We are a bit spoiled down here in NZ having Phormium tenax (NZ flax, Harakeke) as a strong fibre source.
This is like a secular revelation. I've tried to do this before, but it turns out too late in the summer. I thought later in the summer would result in more mature and stronger fibers, like nettle and milkweed, and it didn't work out. Now I'm greedy for June to try again. Thanks, Guys!
@@Zedoutdoors You might be interested that cattail stalk has a "sweet spot" for harvesting around June (at an elevation of 300'). The fibers produced then are very strong, much more so than the leaves. Later in the summer this quality is lost, and the fibers become weak and separate easily, like the bramble.
Thanks for all the great videos! Just went out into the garden and made some myself. One thing I was wondering is there any special way to tie it off at the end of the cordage?
Appreciate your kind words and great to hear you gave this a try, yes you do a simple over hand knot to ties the ends of ...my apologise for not covering that in the video as it's something that I only realised I should have touched upon afterwards ~Peace~
Grasp the nettle. It actually works! It breaks the tiny needles on the nettle that stings you. I made some last year. I started off picking a dozen nettles without being stung by thinking carefully before each picking and going for it, but then got impatient and started getting stung! After a while I didn't care about getting stung! you can cover your hands in mud, acts like a barrier and the needles of the nettles can't get through. of course you could always just wear gloves! Tip: If you do get stung, screw a nettle leaf into a ball and run it on the sting - works much better than a dock leaf, and guaranteed to have some available if you get stung!
Manse said it would be ok to use yes although you would need to deploy a different technique for the bow drill, when logistics and timing permit i'd luv to do a tutorial with Manse on exactly that as i'm eager to try it myself ~Peace~
Once the fibres are dried they last for a very long time before you're ready to resoak them and weave them, so yes they will easily last a year ~Peace~
Hi Naoko, yes you should collect them in the Spring and early Summer when they are green and wet, they dry up too much in the Autumn and Winter ~Peace~
i got a question lets say i made a few of these for bow drill and i want to keep them for all year around, and lets say i made some in June and kept them stored and dry and i want to use them in late fall or winter would i just re-wet them and they would be essentially "ready to go" or would they just be brittle and break? if storing them in a dry spot isn't the best thing to do maybe tell me how should i store them. thanks for showing me this how to video Zed Outdoors and im subbing for sure.
Process them down into the individual fibres prior to weaving and yes indeed yes they are perfectly fine to store for as long as you want, and like you said you simply rewet them to weave them as required. Thats what the first nations in North America did, harvest during spring / summer and then weave during winter ~Peace~
The best in-depth and thorough explanation of cord making I've ever seen. I need to make cordage.
Thats very kind of you to say so Kenneth and happy cordage making my friend ~Peace~
I'm just starting to learn how to make cordage, & this video is by far the best that I've seen! Aside from loving to make things with natural materials, the desire to learn was actually born as a desire to not waste any plant material in my work as an herbalist! Raspberry & blackberry leaves are both used in medicinal teas, & leaving an empty vine after their harvest has always bothered me! I can't lie, I teared up a bit when I saw all of those gorgeous healthy leaves fall to the ground! 🥴😂
I sincerely appreciate your kind words and to hear you foud this video useful. All being well i hope to be filming more natural cordage making videos as well as foraging ~Peace~
So carefully explained that I went out this morning and quickly found brambles with super long green branches. I brought my small pruners and my BBQ leather gloves.
Cut. Removed all soft thorns and leaves.
Came back here again to take notes on the procedure. This afternoon i make cordage.
This man IS an expert.
And you sir, made a valuable video for all of us
Thanks to both of you
I'm subscribing !
Peter you have made my day by reading that, super well done and many thanks for your kind words ~Peace~
Manse is a great guest to have on! He is quite knowledgeable and presents the information clearly and with good detail. Also he teaches good work habits and safe use of the knife.
He is indeed Lloyd and I sincerely appreciater you stopping by ~Peace~
I've been putting off working with my nettles ever since I sowed the seed. It's now a mature stand and with the pandemic, there is spare time for days...today I will dive in and process them. Thanks so much to both of you...an excellent video!
Thats awesome to hear Lucy and do let me know how you get on ~Peace~
@@Creepdiets Yes I did and I used it to repair a basket. Then I made more 4-ply out of flax fibers that were at least a decade old.
Finally an easy to follow demonstration that clearly shows the the twist and wrap move. Thank you!
Appreciate your kind words Kirk thank you ~Peace~
Brilliant. The camera, the fingers working, and the most accurate explanation all combine to make an excellent instructional video. I’m left handed by the way.
Sincerely appreciate your kind words and for watching ~Peace~
Thanks to Manse and Zed, for another quality video. Thanks guys!
Thank you kindly my friend! ~Peace~
Big thank you to Manse and Zed for giving me this excellent and highly useful tutorial for free!!
Appreciate you watching and for your kind words Tom ~Peace~
I just tried doing the cordage while watching. I got it. Awsom. Best I've ever made. Thank you very much. Your right it's so strong so thin. Too good thank you
Thats awesome to hear and many thansk for watching! ~Peace~
Great video first time seeing bramble cordage keep on guys
Thank you kindly, indeed yes bramble makes great cordage! ~Peace~
I love thise series’s, thx you for your work 🍀👍🏻
Thank you for your kind words my friend and keep up the great work you are doing ~Peace~
Getting good vibes from this channel, thanks
Appreciate the kind sentiment ~Peace~
It took me a bit of time to actually try doing this, but it worked like a champ. Cheers!
Ah nice i'm happy to hear it worked for you! it's one of the most important skills out there and is fun to play around with different materials ~Peace~
This is brill! Really comprehensive and clear, thank you!
Many thanks for the kind words and for watching Jenny ~Peace~
Big thank you to Manse for allowing the recording. What an excellent video. I now have lots to work on and lots of brambles/picker bushes to practice with.
Me and you both, I need to make long lengths of natural cordage for my basecamp! :) ~Peace~
amazing what you do with nature x
Amen to that ~Peace~
the best explanation process how to make natural cordage! thanks.
Appreciate your kind words and for watching ~Peace~
very useful very good at explaining made it look easy...thanks for posting
Thank you for watching and for your kind words ~Peace~
Excellent vid. Learned a lot. Best video about making cordage I have seen yet.
Sincerely appreciate your kind words and for watching Wayne thank you ~Peace~
Incredible video. Very entertaining. Good pieces of advice. Thank you very much for all this info.
Appreciate your kind words and for watching Kalveen thank you ~Peace~
Surprised at the strength of the bramble cordage excellent video cheers Zed
Thank you kindly Rob, indeed I was impressed to at the strength of it esp when it's doubled up ~Peace~
Thanks guys. Very interesting 👍
You are very kind David thank you ~Peace~
Very instructive video - thanks to you and Manse.
You've got a few evenings of hard work ahead to get all the cordage you need for a shelter!
:-)
Haven't I just! :) ~Peace~
Very informative and well documented, thank you!
You are very kind thank you ~Peace~
Excellent video guys. Thank you.
You are very kind John thank you ~Peace~
Excellent instruction. Thanks.
A sincere thank you Harry ~Peace~
I have been looking at how to make cordage lately and of the many, I have viewed yours by far is the best. The detailed instructions and excellent video photography that is shown in great detail with close-ups made it easy to follow. I have since subscribed and will look at previous videos yet seen by me. Thank you.
That is very of you to say so Stephen thank you ~Peace~
Another awesome video Zed, thanks for unearthing these wonderful folks who inform and educate so well. Keep up the fine work! (Also, love the mini still-life interlude shots!)
You are very kind Tom and I sincerely appreciate your kind words thank you ~Peace~
Bravo!!Muy bien. saludos desde Barcelona (España)
Gracias! ~Peace~
Great series Zed. Thanks for sharing.
You are very kind Adam thank you ~Peace~
Great video and a great instructor ..................Cheers for that
Thank you kindly my friend ~Peace~
Nice vid (AGAIN) Zed, nice to see people passing on their knowledge, I went to a forest called "Amazon" and got metres of cordage made from the "Para" plant it's a lovely green (it would be being natural) and is very strong and versatile and also took no time at all to make, I would send you some but now you're one with nature you don't need it, stay safe chap, waiting for the next one (Vid) Regards from, not far from you mate
Mr Kirk as always I appreciate your kind words and for watching, stay well my man ~Peace~
Brilliantly informational video guys. Love and peace
Thank you kindly ~Peace~
Great video, brilliant to see practical uses for materials! Thanks for the information to be able to get outside and try/learn some new skills! Looking forward to learning lots more as you progress with the building of your camp!
Thank you kindly Simon and hope you're keeping well dude ~Peace~
Top notch as always. So informative. Thanks guys, keep it up
Thank you kindly my friend ~Peace~
My mates got natural cordage all over his head, shout out Joey D. Great video that mate, manse is a very calm and knowledgeable dude. ~geese~
We'll use Joey D's hair as cordage to make each other friendship bracelets with at Spoonfest x ~Peace~
+Zed Outdoors dang now the brambles better watch out even more a new use for a naughty weed thankies for uploading this video 🐗🐺🐾👍
Damn Manse knows his stuff. Very good at explaning too. Great vid Zed!
Indeed he's very humble too, appreciate you watching dude ~Peace~
awesome video zed, nice one, something for me and the kids to try, thank you for taking us along with you, cheers craig
Most definitely, esp considering Bramble gets everywhere it's a great fun project to try out ~Peace~
Again so much information, really inspiring. Thanks again!
Appreciate your kind words and for watching Vince thank you ~Peace~
Really nice video!! Thanks for sharing this :-)
Thank you kindly Asier ~Peace~
another great post Zed, all the best man.
You the man bro thank you ~Peace~
great video! I need to do this
Thank you kindly my friend ~Peace~
great video guys, thank you for sharing.
Thank you kindly my friend ~Peace~
Thanks for this video, it is great. Very clear instruction, the best that I have seen on this subject. Keep up the good work, and good luck with the camp. I am looking forward to the other videos in the series, should be fantastic. Thank you for taking the time to do this.
I sincerely appreciate your kind words and for watching Aaron thank you ~Peace~
Here in Scotland, Britian, there are tons, like, growing into our garden so this should be great.
Indeed yes it's a great way of utilising something that grows like wild ~Peace~
very informative Zed, thanks
Thank you kindly dude ~Peace~
Awesome to see this plant has a use other than the brambles which appear later in the year so thanks for the upload Zed.
I wage a constant war against brambles at my place as they are all over the wooded part of my garden. Slashing, hacking, digging them out, spraying, burning.....Aaaaaaarrrgghhhh...the damn things still come back.
No wonder the house is called 'Briardene'.....
Brambles can be a real pain when they take hold, the woodland my basecamp is in is festered with them! ~Peace~
A centimetre a day?? I swear the stuff grows a foot a day. Good thing it has a number of uses. Will definitely try cordage. Thanks for the great instructions.
I found a delicious and easy way to preserve the berries - a raw cordial. Works with other berries too. One part each in volume: crushed berries, apple cider vinegar and sugar (measured dry on its own). After a week or two or a month or four you can strain out the fruit and bottle the liquid. I still have some elder berries in February not yet strained and not mouldy. It is very concentrated. About 1 part cordial to 10+ parts water or added to rosehip tea with a bit of cinamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger and orange peel for a wintery hot punch like flavour and lots of goodness.
Thank you so much for those tips and advise Judy, amazing how versatile this stuff is ~Peace~
Awesome. Thank you both
You are very kind Roland thank you ~Peace~
Zed messing with the big thorns on some wild brambles? Reminds me of the saying from that Christmas movie, "You'll put your eye out kid"!!! LOL. Hope you can find loads of other kinds of cordage, Zed, and can't wait to see what you go with for the building materials and style!
Gosh the list of different types of cordage to make is growing by the day ;) As always appreciate your kind words and for watching my friend ~Peace~
I never understand how ppl mix up nettle and bramble! Great video such an inspiring craft
A sincere thank you for watching and for your kind words ~Peace~
Another great video Zed, bramble is everywhere so really useful seeing this.
Thank you kindly Rob, indeed it grows everywhere so is a great project to try out ~Peace~
great video we have loads of bramble growing round where I live. I think I may just have a go at this. Thanks for sharing
Thanks bro, yeh they grow everywhere so nice to know you can turn it into something useful ~Peace~
This is incredible......very informative.
honestly one of the best videos to date.
top work dude
You the man James thank you, glad I finally got round to learning natural cordage as been wanting to learn it for ages ~Peace~
One suggestion I might add. After you get a couple of inches twisted up hold the loop in your left hand (for right handers) and roll the fibers between you hand and leg. It will twist up much faster than the twist and wrap. You will need to do the twist and wrap when you splice in more fiber though. Good information about processing the fibers from brambles or as we call them in my area blackberry vines.
Nice I appreciate your suggestion as it makes sense ~Peace~
Cheers Zed & Manse really, really good demonstration on how to make cordage from Bramble ( Rubus fruticosus agg. - there are hundreds of sub-species across Britain ). I've always thought it would make good cord/rope as I often trip on the the b_____ stuff!
lol the stuff is a pain when it goes wild! Sincerely appreciate your kind words and for watching Gary ~Peace~
marvellous, thank you (both).
You are very kind Anthony thank you ~Peace~
Thanks Zed good information to have.
You are very kind Nina thank you ~Peace~
thanks Zed great video!!!
Thank you bro! ~Peace~
Nice video! Thank you very much. I think in North America, we refer to the bramble plant as a raspberry cane. I could be wrong; however your bramble looks very much like the raspberry cane in my garden.
Mans sure does a nice tidy bit of cordage. The finer length on which he was working was absolutely uniform. It was a pleasure and soothing in the extreme to watch him work. I hope to give it a try come Spring.
I had no intention whatsoever to seek these skills tonight; nonetheless I find myself wondering what else you have on your channel. How serendipitous do you have come across your channel. Nicely done, and downright compelling.
I hope that in your neck of the woods you’re done with the pandemic and are back to doing your beloved Bushcrafting again.
Hi Daphne, I sincerely appreciate your kind words and for watching. Yes the pandemic has made filming for me extremely difficult, that being said I hope to get back into the swing of things as of next month. Stay blessed and many thanks once again ~Peace~
Thankyou super interesting.
Thank you for watching and fore your kind words ~Peace~
"I'm right handed, like most normal people." 😅 I'm laughing at my left handed brother and daughter right now.
lol bless :) ~Peace~
Ace, thanks Zed
Thank you kindly ~Peace~
cool. Thanks both.
Thank you kindly Mr Hopkins ~Peace~
Very caliming vid again. I susbscribed to his channel waiting on that ramsons recipe sounds an interesting one.
Thank you for your kind words, indeed Manse and his team are very knowledgable guys and very humble too ~Peace~
thanks for sharing
You are very kind Stephen thank you ~Peace~
hahaa that "peace out" must have been practiced that was just tooo cool!!
Has taken a few years to evolve ;) ~Peace~
Nice one guys, I really enjoyed that. Great presentation.Have subscribed ✌️
Appreciate the connection Martin and also for your kind words too, thank you ~Peace~
Plenty of brambles here in the states..good video
Indeed they grow everywhere and in long lengths too, many thanks for watching my friend ~Peace~
got some brambles to get rid of in the back garden so im going to give this a try. thanks zed!
Best of luck dude, those things grow everywhere and can be a pain so it's cool to turn them into something useful ~Peace~
get video and great demonstration. interested if the intial twisting can be quickier by rolling the fiber away from you on you leg to create the inital twist then use the oppostie firbe strand to roll in the opposite action to twist both sides together?
A sincere thank you for your kind words and indeed there are a lot of variations to the techniques shown in this video. As with everything you tweak it so it works for you ~Peace~
you guys are great! so much information and so well explained. Thanks so much. So are we going to do nettle cordage? and what about wet retting to get the fibers out?
Indeed I have videos planned for exactly that in the future, also cordage made from Lime bark too ~Peace~
Great vid thanks for the tips
Thats very kind of you to say so Sean thank you ~Peace~
One thing I would add is to warm your hands up first with some exercises and not to do too much at a time so you don't get a repetitive strain injury.
Thank you for watching ~Peace~
Thanks for the information. Would have been interested to see some basic stress test demonstrations...
Alas due to time constraints was not able to show that, may be next time if time and logistics permit ~Peace~
Very informative Zed.....
Thank you kindly Kim, bet you have some interesting materials to work with in Oz when it comes to natural cordage making ~Peace~
Great video 👍
You have a new subscriber 👌
Sincerely appreciate the connection and for the kind words, stay blessed ~Peace~
Nice content! Keep it up!
Thank you kindly my friend ~Peace~
Fantastic video guys. Great to see those nasty brambles have a use. Could you tell me please if this cordage will stand up to use in a bow drill? If not what would. Thankyou!
Thank you kindly David, I haven't tried it myself yet but Manse has used Bramble cordage for bow drill and said it worked perfectly although you do have to tweak your movement a little ~Peace~
Zed Outdoors thanks for your response? It occurs to me that often things work in summer when they are needed perhaps with less urgency than in winter when they work less well. This is especially so with fire when it's harder to make when needed the most.
Thanks 😊🙏🏻
Thank you Benyamin! ~Peace~
I did it! Thanks :-))
Thats great to hear :) ~Peace~
Great video Zed good stuff to know can you do the same with black Berry bush vines?
I've never worked with Blackberry vines so couldn't say Charlie, no harm in trying though as the principles of cordage making are generally the same across the board from what i've seen ~Peace~
A good demonstration thanks... and it is nice to have a positive aspect of blackberry vines to contemplate as I fight my way through them on the hillsides. I presume that cord made from brambles will be strong while still green.... but is it like other natural cordage that can become more brittle as it dries out? Best wishes from New Zealand....
Thank you kindly Stephen, cord made from bramble which is still green will be inherently weak due to the shrinkage as it dries out so it is very important to dry them out first before resoaking and weaving ~Peace~
@@Zedoutdoors Thanks for the tip. After watching this video I cut a two-foot length of the new season's blackberry vine and made a cord. I was impressed with its strength. We are a bit spoiled down here in NZ having Phormium tenax (NZ flax, Harakeke) as a strong fibre source.
Hope your channel grows to rival those Primitive skills channels ! Enough pools already !
lol those pools are getting bigger each time :) ~Peace~
This is like a secular revelation. I've tried to do this before, but it turns out too late in the summer. I thought later in the summer would result in more mature and stronger fibers, like nettle and milkweed, and it didn't work out. Now I'm greedy for June to try again. Thanks, Guys!
Indeed there is a sweet spot for colecting these as come autumn / winter they go hard and brittle ~Peace~
@@Zedoutdoors You might be interested that cattail stalk has a "sweet spot" for harvesting around June (at an elevation of 300'). The fibers produced then are very strong, much more so than the leaves. Later in the summer this quality is lost, and the fibers become weak and separate easily, like the bramble.
I really like the knife,who is that made by?
Alas i've forgotten as this was filmed some time ago, sorry about that dude ~Peace~
Thanks for all the great videos! Just went out into the garden and made some myself. One thing I was wondering is there any special way to tie it off at the end of the cordage?
Appreciate your kind words and great to hear you gave this a try, yes you do a simple over hand knot to ties the ends of ...my apologise for not covering that in the video as it's something that I only realised I should have touched upon afterwards ~Peace~
Oh okay great that's what I done anyway, cheers Zed!
Thanks
Much appreciated my friend ~Peace~
I'm brazilian, but I've lived in Oxford. The woodland there is gorgeous. Sadly, I didn't practice bushcraft at that time
Ah cool Oxford is a beautiful city and very historic too ...Obrigado :) ~Peace~
can you use a spinning wheel to make yarn out of the bramble?
It's not something i've done myself, but I am aware of others having success with using a spinning wheel ~Peace~
looks like the same process as as you use stinging nettles
i'm right handed as most normal people hahaha good one,he has humor to
Glad you got the humour as some folk take it too seriously ;) ~Peace~
A video on cordage with nettles would be awesome, especially how to handle it without getting stung
Boil nettles or soak them overnight = They won't sting . Good luck friend .
Or pass them quickly over a flame
Indeed yes as thats something I want to learn too, have added it to my list of tutorials to film dude ~Peace~
Grasp the nettle. It actually works! It breaks the tiny needles on the nettle that stings you.
I made some last year. I started off picking a dozen nettles without being stung by thinking carefully before each picking and going for it, but then got impatient and started getting stung! After a while I didn't care about getting stung!
you can cover your hands in mud, acts like a barrier and the needles of the nettles can't get through.
of course you could always just wear gloves!
Tip: If you do get stung, screw a nettle leaf into a ball and run it on the sting - works much better than a dock leaf, and guaranteed to have some available if you get stung!
Great vid, would bramble be good for bow drill cordage ?
Manse said it would be ok to use yes although you would need to deploy a different technique for the bow drill, when logistics and timing permit i'd luv to do a tutorial with Manse on exactly that as i'm eager to try it myself ~Peace~
Hey man, can you tie it to something and spin it with a stick instead of by hand?
Indeed yes I do't see whay that would not work ~Peace~
Can you do this with briers?
From what I know you can't make cordage with Briers, although you would need to 100% clarify that ~Peace~
Nice Video! What knife is Manse using?
Thank you kindly, his knife is a custom made one made by 'Shing' ~Peace~
So zed what's the shelf life once it's made? Could you make some now as prep for next year?
Once the fibres are dried they last for a very long time before you're ready to resoak them and weave them, so yes they will easily last a year ~Peace~
Thanks zed, keep doing your thing!
Hi. Is there the right time I can collect bramble stems?
Hi Naoko, yes you should collect them in the Spring and early Summer when they are green and wet, they dry up too much in the Autumn and Winter ~Peace~
i got a question lets say i made a few of these for bow drill and i want to keep them for all year around, and lets say i made some in June and kept them stored and dry and i want to use them in late fall or winter would i just re-wet them and they would be essentially "ready to go" or would they just be brittle and break? if storing them in a dry spot isn't the best thing to do maybe tell me how should i store them. thanks for showing me this how to video Zed Outdoors and im subbing for sure.
Process them down into the individual fibres prior to weaving and yes indeed yes they are perfectly fine to store for as long as you want, and like you said you simply rewet them to weave them as required. Thats what the first nations in North America did, harvest during spring / summer and then weave during winter ~Peace~