Author Topic: What plant is this and is it suitable for cordage/bow string?  (Read 2413 times)

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Offline Tzuridis

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Is this flax? Or is it suitable for cordage?

I saw some guy make a neat bow string from flax. Or would be wiser for me to buy it? Where can I buy it other than the internet?





Thank you

Offline TacticalFate

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Re: What plant is this and is it suitable for cordage/bow string?
« Reply #1 on: March 22, 2013, 05:05:19 pm »
Can't tell you what that is, but best way to check if a plant is decent for cordage is to break off a stem, see if it has any long fibers of any sort. If it does, twist it up and test its strength.

Offline Thesquirrelslinger

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Re: What plant is this and is it suitable for cordage/bow string?
« Reply #2 on: March 22, 2013, 05:26:42 pm »
Friend, i believe that to be grass. Where are you located? If in the eastern US, it is probably a type of grass.
 Now if it is good for cordage... I will be cutting some myself this summer:D
I do not think it is flax.
Try some out, let us know!
-Squirrel
As for buying it, try knitting/cloth/craft shops- they often stock linen cloth, unbleached is harder to find. Unweave the cloth(Yes, I really do this. It is hard for me to buy stuff over internet) and untwist the threads, pull the fibers out. I do this with jute-burlap. Also with other cloths... but some fibers are hard to find in cloth.
« Last Edit: March 22, 2013, 05:34:29 pm by Thesquirrelslinger »
"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results"

Offline vyadha

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Re: What plant is this and is it suitable for cordage/bow string?
« Reply #3 on: March 23, 2013, 01:00:34 am »
Working raw flax into a string is a lot of work. Most Linums that are used for linen have been cultivated. Wild flax (Linum) here in the states rarely grows higher than 3 feet and usually gets a blue flower at the tip.
The pic does not look like a Linum to me. Try it out and see!

Offline turtle

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Re: What plant is this and is it suitable for cordage/bow string?
« Reply #4 on: March 23, 2013, 08:44:16 am »
Looks like broom sage. Not good for cordage.
Steve Bennett

Offline RidgeRunner

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Re: What plant is this and is it suitable for cordage/bow string?
« Reply #5 on: March 23, 2013, 09:20:00 am »
I agree with Turtle.
Here in this part of Alabama we just call it Sage Grass.

David
David Key / N.W. Alabama

Offline Pat B

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Re: What plant is this and is it suitable for cordage/bow string?
« Reply #6 on: March 23, 2013, 10:46:42 am »
We call that broom sedge also or blue stem.
Make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes!    Pat Brennan  Brevard, NC