Primitive Technology

by David Wescott

  Mike Ryan standing by the giant Agaves cultivated in Guatamala for Its tough fibers. (Wilson Photo)

  Native craftsman preparing Agave fiber for rope and tumpline weaving. (Wilson Photo)

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  MEMBERS RESPOND - Fiber Preparation

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  AGAVE FIBER PREPARATION ON THE TRAIL

  By David Holiday

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  On a trip through the Mogollon Rim in Arizona this past summer, we were unable to find our usual source of cordage material (dogbane, nettle, milkweed, or primrose) for the students that were with us. As an alternative we tried the large spined leaves of the Agave plant.

  They are plentiful and very thick and fleshy in this area of the country, and average over 3' long, but can get up to 5' long. We knew they were full of fibers, as we regularly pulled needles and threads from the core of the leaves. The problem was getting the fibers out of a fresh-cut leaf fast enough to use on the trail. We cut one three foot leaf and pounded it lightly on the rocks of a small running creek. The mallet we used was a section of Arizona Black Walnut that we found in a flash-flood debris pile (it was later made into a celt handle). As the fleshy part of the leaf separated from the fibers, it was washed down stream and away from the process. Along with it went the majority of alkaloids that are contained in the Yucca Family and cause severe itching from contact irritation among some people.

  Without even letting the fibers dry, we taught a streamside class in simple cordage techniques, splicing, thigh-rolling, fishline and hooks, and needles and thread. One leaf provided more fiber than we could use for the class of 15, so we coiled up the leftovers and used them along the trail for Paiute trap triggers and netted bottle carriers.

  The most interesting insight gained was the fact the high quality fibers could be obtained through field expedient means without taking the time to ret the fibers as is the method most often described for Yucca fiber preparation.

  How do you get a needle and thread? Bend the tip of the leaf back and forth until the outer tissue slightly separates from the fiber at the terminal spine. Next, carefully bend down to the plant and gently place the spine into your mouth. Caution! Be careful not to get poked by other spines! Close the teeth in the side of your mouth over the fibers at the break between the spine and leaf. Place them over the fibers so that they go between the gaps in your molar alignment. This allows you to pull the fibers from the core of the leaf without damaging the contact between the needle and fibers. Begin to pull back steadily and strongly (don't do this if you have week teeth).

  It may take a fair amount of pull, but once the fibers "release" they will begin to pull right out of the leaf. When you get them far enough out to grasp them you can take a small stick to wrap them around and use as a handle. The bundle of fibers that extend from the tip can be twisted into cordage to make a "bomb-proof" stitching cord. Good Luck.

  Working agave fibers on the banks of Clear Creek, AZ.

  RETTING BASSWOOD BARK FOR BAST FIBER

  By Scott K. Silsby

  In Vol. 1, No. 2 Bulletin of the Society of Primitive Technology, Phillip D. Moore described and explained in his article The Basswood, many of the trees uses. What follows is offered as a supplement and is my experience with the process of retting the stripped bark to obtain highly flexible, rot resistant fiber of good strength and natural beauty.

  As Phillip stated, basswood prefers moist woods, often on north facing slopes. I'll add it also thrives on limestone. My place along the Shenandoah River is but a handful of miles from the town of Linden, VA., another namesake of the basswood. There the soil is more acid but also rich and moist.

  Abundant as they are I'm reluctant to assault them for their "hides". Fortunately they have a habit of sending up suckers and the more suckers you take, the more they return. Now isn't Nature great. This past spring one of my larger four foot diameter basswoods located too close to our local railroad, failed to leaf out normally. By summer it had managed to generate numerous leaves directly from the bark, mostly on it's lower trunk. By mid summer these leaves had turned yellow and I realized the railroad had been more than generous with it's herbicide application the year prior. The tree was too massive to drop across the tracks so I decided to salvage what bark I could.

  When it's sap is up, basswood has one of the easiest barks to strip. But on an eight foot tall, four foot diameter tree perched on a limestone ledge hanging twenty or so feet from the tracks it's a challenge. I cross cut the bark near the base with a greenstone axe then scored the bark vertically in half foot wide strips as high up the tree as I could reach. I then used the axe to pry the bark strips free at the base. Antler or wood bark spuds are more efficient but the axe was available and worked adequately. In order to get strips as long as possible I backed off away from the tree while ripping the strips up until they ran out. These half-foot by twelve foot strips were too stiff to roll up so were carried on the shoulder like boards. With bark from immature trees it is convenient to roll the bark strips up like a giant roll of tape. When doing this, position the outer bark to the inside of the roll to prevent kinks in the desirable inner bark portion.

  Retting for Bast

  The retting process requires that the inner bark be filled with sap so late spring through summer are your safest times for harvest. Also needed is fresh water, lots of oxygen, plenty of warmth and a system for controlling mosquitoes. A bubbling brook in full sun with enough depth to submerge the bark is ideal so long as it doesn't get subjected to a freshet. Chasing bark down a flooded stream is not retting, it's foolish. Lacking a suitable stream or pond you can use kids wading pools. Double them up for added strength and use a garden hose to flush and oxygenate the batch at least once a day. I did a late fall batch once in the Nature Center Lab using aquarium heaters and an air pump hooked up to a couple of air stoves. It's best to avoid iron buckets as the tannic acid reacts with iron compounds producing something similar to the old colonial style ink. For a very colorful effect try adding lye from hardwood campfires. The ashes should be mixed with water, soaked a while then the liquid is poured through a screen or tight basket into your retting pool. The lye reacts with the tannin producing a burnt sienna color in the bast. I've gotten similar color reactions from osage and locust bark as well. Use care handling and splashing lye as it's very caustic, especially in the eyes.

  There is no hard and fast rule on how long the bark should stay in the water. With lots of oxygen and temperatures staying up in the eighties, I've had batches done in as little as a week. Low temperatures and low oxygen can slow the batch down to many weeks. You can speed the process up by removing bark strips and gently beating them against a smooth log or rock with a smooth mallet. This physically breaks the bark down and allows the biological process to invade the bark deeper and sooner. Don't overdue the beating. I've never heard a definitive explanation of what's going on in the retting process but thought it may be a combination of yeast fermentation and bacterial orgy. Perhaps one of our member has the bottom line on this?

  As the process proceeds you will observe the individual fiber layers of bark begin to separate. They are very fine close to the wood, gradually becoming courser towards the outer bark side. Once I can separate the course outer layer it goes on the mulch pile as I have no need for it and it tends to use up too much oxygen, slowing the batch down.

  Retted bast from trees in my area are paper thin. If you're getting thicker layers you are either into healthier trees or you are not letting the final layers separate. Properly finished bast will weight like crepe paper but will be smooth, flat and have exceptional strength. Once all the food has been consumed by our micro "whatevers" there is nothing left for fungi to eat as long as the bast is not exposed to excessive dampness for extended periods of time. Check to be sure that there is no mucilage-like sap left in the bast and test this by feeling it. If it feels slippery and slimey, leave it in longer.

  Practically all bark can be retted as basswood is, especially slippe
ry elm. My sons witch hazel bow has a slippery elm root bark string that is going into it's sixth year of service. These root fibers were very fine and short but held together very well once corded. Shortly after finishing this string and while it was still damp I gave it a heavy smoking over a campfire rich in oak bark and mountain laurel leaves with the intent of impregnating it with preservatives.

  Locally, Ailanthus (Tree of Heaven or Tree of Hell as some folks now call it) is invading the landscape displacing a lot of desirable native species. It has a most foul smelling bark that is thin and easy to strip when the saps up. I stripped some small saplings of their bark and added it to a batch of basswood bark that was about a week old. The Ailanthus retted in less than two days and I was able to lift out some pure white bast fibers that upon drying had the feel and strength of short fiber linen, which is processed from flax. The Ailanthus bark that I left in the batch rotted away over the next two days. Monitor it closely. I corded up a short section and tested it for strength. It was very strong and had a nice smooth feel to it. Not all fibers are as comfortable to handle and work with as basswood is. Some produce fibers that have a tendency to deliver minute slivers into your hand.

  Skeeter Management 101

  As for mosquitoes it's best to survey the surface of your container and watch for what looks like little rice sized pieces of floating ash which are their eggs. I daily skim them off with a fine meshed aquarium net. You can rig one up using a coat hanger and panty hose. Once the larvae appear as the familiar little wrigglers, it is best to drain your batch, hang the bark-bast to dry thoroughly before refilling with fresh warm water. Filling a garden hose up and letting it sun itself a few hours is a good way to start batches warm without wasting energy. Just don't forget the hose if you leave it under pressure in the sun as I did. Boy it looked like a giant greensnake had eaten one of my cats.

  Once you're convinced the batch is thoroughly retted, take it out of the water, rinse it off with fresh water and dry it in the sun. When stored dry it will last as long as wood does. Wet the bast prior to cording and when it redries it will hold whatever shape you formed it into. Because the fiber swells when wet, cord will shrink a little in diameter as it dries leaving a little space between the strings in your cord. Twist it tight and stretch it out very tightly as well to obtain the final cord.

  I've used it for may tasks and found it serviceable for bowstrings up to forty-five pounds weight. Weights beyond that required that the strings diameter be made too large in size to fit comfortably in a normal sized nock. Braided bast makes a lightweight, quiet and comfortable quiver strap as well as straps for ceramic ware and gourds. Use your imagination and enjoy one of nature's finest gifts.

  CORDAGE

  By Steven Edholm and Tamara Wilder

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  Fiber and Cordage

  The aboriginal world is tied together, though often with things other than actual cordage. Buckskin and rawhide thongs, strips of bark, supple twigs, cattails, tules, spruce and pine roots, long leaves like palm, etc...are among the things used to wrap, tie or lash shelters, bundles and packages together. Materials too weak and/or brittle to tie in a knot can be wrapped and tucked several times to secure them and even relatively weak materials can make a strong lashing if wrapped many times.

  Actual spun cordage, however, is needed for bowstrings, nets, ropes, snares and lots of other things you can't think of until you need a piece. Different shapes and sizes of nets are made for fishing, entrapping large and small game, carrying, for storage in the home and as sleeping hammocks. Netting can be done either knotted or knotless and among these there are many different weaves.

  Ropes are used in association with boats and horses, fishing for big fish, harpooning, snaring large game, lashing large beams and posts together, etc. Middle and large sized ropes are usually made from many 2 ply cords twisted together. For instance, 9 two ply cords are twisted into 3 three ply cords which are twisted into one three ply rope. In many parts of the world rope is made on a rope machine (see Bushcraft by Richard Graves, 1978, Warner Books, Inc.).

  Making Cordage

  Two ply cordage can be produced by several methods; leg rolling, hand twisting, and mouth rolling. Hand twisting and mouth rolling make very tight cordage which is desirable for bowstrings and more aesthetic pieces of cord, but hand twisting entails twisting each twist one at a time and is very slow. Mouth rolling, however, produces the same results and is much faster, so I will attempt to relate this method, as I have found it to be very efficient.

  Figure 1

  To start a piece of cordage, grasp a length of fibers near the middle with your hands about 4 inches apart. Twist the fibers away from you with your right hand (B) and towards you with your left hand (A). (Twisting is best achieved by rolling the fibers between your thumb and forefinger.) As you twist the fibers tight, they will want to buckle in the middle and curl upon themselves forming a little curlycue (D) which will be your start.

  Hold the start (D) in your teeth, grasping each bundle of fiber (A) and (B) between a thumb and forefinger. This movement should sort of start to make cordage, however the two elements (A) and (B) should be twisted up tightly before they are allowed to wrap around one another as cordage. Practice will allow you to feed them together evenly. Play around with this until you have at least an inch of something resembling string..

  Figure 2

  Next grasp the junction of the elements (C) and hold it as you twist the already completed section of cordage between (C) and (D) tight so that it has a lot of spring tension. (The tension is critical in this method of cordage because it releases itself by spinning (A) and (B) into cordage.

  So, holding the tension thus produced, place (D) back in your mouth and spin on. You won't get very far for this time before you have to take it from your mouth and twist (C) to (D) tight again, but as the space between (C) and (D) gets longer (i.e. more cordage completed) you can make more cordage at a time.

  Continue until one or more strands need more fiber.

  Splicing

  Figure 3 shows two types of elbow splices. If you add big wads of fiber at one time or wait until you are almost completely out of fiber before you splice, your cordage will be lumpy or weak. It is important to add fibers Gradually and to stagger the fibers so that they will run out gradually instead of all at once. Good splicing is frequently and in small amounts.

  Leg Rolling

  Leg rolling is done on the naked thigh (pants don't work). Leg rolled cordage is looser than hand twisted or mouth rolled cordage and therefore is somewhat weaker and less durable. However it is quite serviceable and I would think that it probably accounts for the vast majority of cordage made by "real" primitives because it is so much faster to make. It is used particularly when vast amounts of cordage are required as in nets, hammocks and for the many cords required make rope.

  Figure 4

  For leg rolling the cordage is always grasped at point (C). (Right handers grasp cordage with left hand and roll with right). The two elements (A) and (B) lay at the top of the thigh about one inch apart. The rolling hand lays over both of them and rolls them down the thigh thus twisting the elements (A) and (B) tight, keeping a good hold on point (C). Ideally, by the time that you roll the two elements to your knee, the two elements (A) and (B) will no longer be one inch apart, but instead, will be lying right next to one another and touching. If not, set them that way without letting the fibers untwist. With the rolling hand, roll back up your thigh. This action should create some inches of cordage. In places like Micronesia and Central/South America people leg roll miles of cordage for nets and hammocks and can roll over 6 inches of cordage per stroke.

  Persevere.

  When you need to splice while leg rolling, which you often will, roll the elements up your leg thereby unraveling them to prepare for your splice. Then add fiber as before and continue rolling.

  Good luck.

  WOVEN TUMPLINES, CARRYING NETS, AND BELTS

  By Alice Tull
och

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  Tumplines, carrying nets, and belts are important tools for managing resources. They free the hands by shifting the loads to a stronger point on the body's frame. They consolidate the load and they allow a greater weight to be carried. They have been found archaeologically dating back many thousand years in the Great Basin and California. Their utility has undoubtedly been known far longer throughout the world. Tumplines and belts have been made from leather and other materials as well, but this discussion will focus on the woven straps of California and the Great Basin.

  A tumpline or burden strap is simply a band, about one to one and a half inches wide and more than 9 feet long. It is long enough to tie around the body and the load.

  A carrying net is a small net with straps at each end. The net is large enough to hold a basket or bundle. In either case, the strap needs to be wide enough and soft enough to spread the load at forehead or shoulders.

  In California and the Great Basin, tumplines traditionally have been made of dogbane (Apocynum cannabinum) or milkweed (Asclepias speciosa and other sp.) bast fibers. These are commonly available cordage plants in this area. Other bast fiber plants such as nettle (Urtica holosericea) or other vascular fibers such as iris ( Iris macrosiphon ) might be suitable, provided the fibers are long and strong, and an abundant quantity is available.