Processing Dogbane Fiber, with Dave McIntyre
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- Опубліковано 23 сер 2024
- Making cordage from natural or man made fiber is an essential, though underrated, survival skill. In part one of this video series I demonstrate how to process dried Dogbane shafts into raw fiber.
Dogbane is common in North America. Native Americans used it for all their cordage needs, harvesting it in large volume at the end of winter.
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A dogbane versus milkweed video would be useful!
This is the kind of thing you do at night after the sun goes down with a long winter's evening is ahead and you can't see to do anyhting else. Monotonous, repetetive, simple tasks like this are actually quite theraputic done next to a good fire. It keeps the hands busy, allows the mind to wonder and results in something useful.
That fibre that pulled out during scraping looks like a good quick way to get a fluff ball for a fire roll, cheers for the lesson I'll put it to good use
I looked all last winter for dogbane, and then in... I think it was april... I decide to explore the trails in a nearby park more and I'm tired and sore and hungry making my way out of the trail to head home, look to my right, and lo and behold there they were. In the end the dogbane was literally less than a five minutes walk from a peppermint and cattail patch I like to harvest from. The dogbane was standing up, so it had stayed dry and decayed more slowly. I was able to harvest into June and have it hold up. Though the dry weather was probably a bonus. I'm using homemade spindles for this one. The small fluffy fibers are called "tow" by the way, and can be used for making a smaller, softer yarn.
I discovered daylillies and of all things spiderplant leaves, when dead and dry but not dessicated could make cordage, and a nice tight one too. Not particularly strong, but if you wanted to weave a doormat or a gathering bag or a carry net out of it you might be able to. My apartment building gets cold easily, so natural things I can forage to make coverings for the floor and walls are always welcome, since I don't have to spend money on them.
Well, time to put making cordage on my to-do list! Really awesome and educational video. Thank you!!
Marvelous video. Dogbane started growing in my back yard four or five years ago. My brother pointed it out so I simply let it do its thing. There were only about a dozen plants then but now I can harvest a few dozen and hardly notice the difference. Great stuff. My students have been anxious to learn how to process dogbane so this is perfect for them.
This is the best video about natural cordage I have ever seen.
Thank you very much. I know my method is a little different but it really does work well with a wide variety of fibers. It also allows you to make very fine thread quickly.
@@Colhane I will definitely try it. I have been using nettles. I'm hopefully going to make enough to make a small backpack. Not sure how long it's going to take, or how much, but your method will definitely speed up the process. Thanks
In my self-isolation, I've been learning how to make cordage from yucca. In about a week, I've progressed from the initial 4ply braid I learned to the reverse twist, to leg-rolling (which I couldn't get to work), to the method you described on a BushcraftUSA post. Your in-hand rolling method is BY FAR the best I've utilized, and I can't imagine it would get any better without using a machine. So far I've made probably about 15-20' of cordage, and I find it so fascinating. Thank you for sharing your experience.
Thanks Dave: At the start I was not sure where you were going. To me you made something out of nothing or an extremely well hidden thing , Thanks for the eye opener Brian 76
Once you know about this amazing plant, you will always be looking for it to make cordage :)
Thank you so much! It was hard but totally worth it and if I got the chance to do it again.. OH you KNOW I'd be up for it!
Bill, you've been comment bombing several of my videos with suggestions on how to win Alone. Some of your ideas have merit and others are very impractical given the circumstances and realities of solo survival. My best suggestion for you is to get out and try them in real conditions. Solo survival and the harsh reality of actually living off the land is not an intellectual exercise. For instance, your suggestion to use a massive gill net made of inner strands of paracord across the entire cove fails to take into account the kelp forest stretching across the entire cove and the massive surf that closed the cove for up to a week at a time driving hundreds of Cedar logs and thousands of pounds of loose kelp toward shore on a daily basis. There is far more to catch there than fish. Rather than a wool and oilskin bag (rated for how cold?) that I could dry with rocks, I took a 0 degree Lamilite bag and Goretex bivy ensuring that I never had to dry my bag and any dampness in my clothes or socks dried overnight by body heat alone. Treble hooks were not permitted on Season 2. Gulls are a protected species in Canada. I could have easily trapped them with an Arapuca, but it would have been illegal. Catching ducks with baited hooks is a great survival technique but also illegal just about everywhere outside of an actual survival ordeal. Keep thinking and working the problem, but if you think you will net/gather/forage a hundred pounds of food a week outside of gill netting a salmon run or downing a big game animal, you are not speaking from experience.
Dave, thank you for increasing my knowledge of cordage. I just really started making it
Awesome Dave. This is going into my favorites list!
Thank you Steven
Great video Dave... Looking forward to part 2...
i've found i don't have to scrap before removing the pith, during the wrapping most of the outer stuff comes off or even if you do a pre-roll or just use your hands and rub the fibers in between them will remove majority of the outer shell
Right on ! Thanks for sharing Mac!
Thank You. Looking forward to part 2. I think there is milikweed down the street along the lake. Probably the wrong time of year but I will check it out.
Thanks ...now I have to see if it is in my area and identify it and harvest some this winter.
I just used your method on the wool I sheared yesterday. It worked great.
Oi Mac !! ... Nice blade, your videos are very educational, thank you Mac.
Thank you Fabio! I love the Abe Alias design of knives
looking forward to part 2! I've been making cordage from the inner bark of black locust trees. I had use for several smaller trees that were cut by power line maintenance crews. I figured that it was worth a try. Decent cordage, not on dogbane's level but useful. A Native friend, who follows the old ways, used a mallet to break down dogbane. I tend to use a sharp edges rock to scrape off the outer bark. Less cutting risk.
I'd love to find a simple way to process Dogbane fiber without all the scraping. It really is tedious, but the fiber is so good I don't mind. I learned to make two-ply in Brazil and enjoyed discovering new plants there. I'm now in the process of rediscovering North American plants. Part two is ready for upload, so check back in a day or two.
I'll be sure to watch it! Yes, it is tedious but then our ancestors didn't have the distractions that we have today. I just enjoy making things so it isn't bothersome to me. I'd rather make cordage than watch TV! (I made an exception for Alone, lol)
here in WV I've always known it as silk weed and it looks a lot like milk weed especialy when young but the seed pods are a dead give away on older plants just found your channel and plan on doing some binge watching' great video
thanks dave for the info, now i have to wait until next fall to try it..
..bill
You can still find dogbane in places! I collected this this in March, keep your eyes peeled!
Thank you Dan! Had to get life sorted for a bit when I moved back to the USA
parabens pela vitoria no alone
Very interesting !
Thx for sharing
Im glad to see you out there Mac! Good job bro!
love watching you vids cheers from the UK
Thank you very much for putting up this video. Yep I know it isn't a 'glamorous subject', but that's OK. I am not here for glamor. I am here to learn useful and constructive skills which I have never been taught. I am so glad that I found your channel.
(I thought you would have to mash vines, then soak the mash in warm water until they could be separated.)
Thank you from a new subscriber :-).
Thanks for subscribing. Cordage making is a highly underrated skill. Many people learn a simple reverse twist method and check it off as mastered. Bushcraft is all about the skills not the gear.
Meu ingles ainda esta fraco, mas foi muito interessante o video, apenas nao sei se podemos conseguir esse tipo de fibra aqui no brasil. Congratz man!!
Interesting video. You look younger even though your coat in getting whiter. :) Great video, maybe show the audience what dog bane looks through the different seasons. Thanks.
good idea! thanks !
that's a lot of fibers for not that many stocks... dogbane is indeed a great resource! i've made cordage from nettles several times, from stocks similar in diameter but you don't get that much material...how would you process green dogbane stocks? Or is it just not done with green stocks? I found out that using a rolling pin on fresh nettle stocks works very well if done gently, the fibers detach from the stock quite nicely & quicky. Btw, i'm an old colhane fan, very glad you're posting vids again, lots of people have missed you! you are one of the classic youtubers :)
Dan Yack ,try gently smashing between two rocks while doing so in a creek or other water source. (:
Great, thanks for the tip!
Really interesting and informative video, I'll definitely keep myself updated on your videos from now on!
Great video,Dave! I agree with you that making cordage is an underrated skill.
Thanks for sharing this. I actually learned something and will be giving this a go .
~Jon Adams
Be warned, once you start making cordage it becomes a compulsion. You'll find yourself twisting the paper covers of drinking straws and such.
Colhane - Dave McIntyre , making cordage isn't all that new, I've never used dog bane to do it, and the stuff grows just about everywhere it's a little damp
@@Colhane i already am
Great video! How's the money holding out? If it was me I'd have spent it all. probably in the first week lol.
What did you think of season 3 and Callige? I can't remember the spelling. The teki hut girl. I was amazed. She looked like she was killing it all the way to the end on food too.
I wonder how did the Natives scrape the skin of the Dogbane ? what type of stone did they use ? or animal bone ?
I am in Michigan and it is the first of Nov.....can I harvest dogbane now? I have a bunch in my field I would like to collect...If I can't get to it right away can I store it until I can get to it later this winter???
Ever use flint or chert to scape the outer layer off?
I haven't but it is certainly possible.
You can send me that big mess of dogbane fiber!!! Personally, I like basswood fiber from a convenience point of view - I find I get longer fibers. Thing is, neither dogbane or basswood is common this far south, so we use beargrass (yucca), cypress bark, even spanish moss for coarse rope.
In Brazil we used Yucca, Sisal, Buriti Palm, and Imbira bark. Back in PA I used Willow and Basswood bark, but Dogbane was my favorite.
You look reborn. - Mike / vec
Thank you!
Where are you? West Michigan isn't warm enough yet for frogs or insects...
Near Middleville MI, it really warmed up around here.
I'm in Holland, and we don't have nearly that much activity yet. Lots of birds coming home though.
I just discovered dogbane growing in my yard. Can it be harvested while still green, before it gets really cold?
You want to do exactly the opposite. Harvest it in late winter after it has died and totally dried out. You have to get to it before the spring rains make the stalks rot. I have an older video on my channel about harvesting it.
thats more than enough fibres to make a cord for bow drill
Easier way is to split the shaft and pull the fiber and outer bark off then roll it all between your hand to get the bark off. It's less time consuming and saves fibers.
I've tried that and it left a lot of the bark in the fiber. Maybe its a difference in the quality or maturity of the stems. This bark seems to be stuck on tight.
It is the MOST important !!! I can make a cutters from a stone !!! I would have a HARD time making rope.
But...can it be processed down further and used to make clothing?
Very good question, beyond my skillset for sure though. The fibers are very soft against the skin so Dogbane would make comfortable cloth if someone was able to weave with it.
Where do you find dogbane?
Grow it yourself from seed. Apocynanum cannabinum. Go to Prairie Moon Nurseries for the seed.
could you use course sandpaper to do the job?
I've never tried it but it would probably get gummed up and fuzz the fibers.
Colhane - Dave McIntyre good point. thanks!
If I needed to make 100 yds I would die :(
That background noise sounds like my tinnitus - horrible!
It sounds like you are near a shooting range.
That was state land with a shooting range about a mile away. It does sound like Michigan is at war.