I needed to pull the tree out from the surrounding foliage toward the landing area that I had planned. I began by tying a clove hitch secured with a half hitch around the trunk. Then I walked to a suitable sized tree in line with the landing zone to pull the tree over. I usually use a trucker’s hitch to cinch down but the rope was a braided rope that resisted the usual tie so instead I used an alpine knot for the loop that takes the place of a pulley to pass the rope’s end through.

 
There was enough flex in the tree so that I had to tie the loop farther out from the anchor tree to gain proper leverage. As I pulled the rope the tree tilted towards me but there came a point that I wasn’t strong enough to pull more so I walked mid way to the tree and began to lean on the rope. After several bounces and tugs the tree began to give way slowly and I was to bring the tree down right where I planned. I was delighted.

I tied onto the second tree and began to cut it. To my dismay it began to lean the opposite way and I stopped just in time. Fortunately I had a second rope so I attached it to the tree and anchored on axis to the direction of it’s errant leaning and pulled it back upright. Between the two ropes I was able to reverse it’s initial lean and felled it on top of the first tree!

Using a loop on a rope acts as a pulley and increases your leverage when using it to pull a load, in this case a tree. I used an alpine knot because it can be tied in-line and is easily untied later. If you think in terms of how pulleys work you can use a rope similarly and accomplish amazing feats when needed.

Because of that early experience I was able recently to redeem some salvaged ropes that gave me a usable longer rope for odd jobs. A few weeks ago I was able to pull my son’s car out of a muddy ditch by using that rope which gave me a real sense of satisfaction.

It turns out that my son’s car had no anchor points to tie onto underneath the rear so I had to weave the rope in and out of the slotted chassis frame in order to attach it. That took some time to accomplish and as a result I decided to buy a “slip hook” for shallow attachment situations. Having one splice in the rope already, I decided to continue the theme by attaching the slip hook using an “eye splice” where the end of the rope forms a loop when the end is spliced into it’s side. A loop such as this can be a great attachment point for other apparatus as well. At the other end of the rope I made a “back splice” that makes a nice termination similar in function to whipping a rope to keep the end from unraveling.

There are a number of “how-to” videos and articles online that are well worth viewing and I recommend that they should be followed by personal practice to gain valuable experience. Rope and cordage skills should be a part of your emergency preparation skills and can save the day when needed.

Many hammock enthusiasts are familiar with “whoopie slings”. They take an end of a braided cord such as Amsteel and insert it into the side of the cord further down and direct it into the hollow core of the cord for several inches and then redirect it back out again. This is known as a spliced choker. The cord’s length can be changed by adjusting the size of the loop that is created using this method. You might be familiar with a Chinese finger trap toy that uses the same principal of constriction. The compression of the outer sheath caused when a load is applied to the primary line holds the woven portion of the cord in place.

Similarly my fellow instructor’s cordage loop operates on a compression basis as well but instead of being routed down the core of the cord it takes a serpentine path that waves back and forth through the main line. As illustrated in the photo it has several cinch points. You may also notice that the end of the cord has been fused using a flame but formed into a point. This point acts as a needle for weaving the cord’s end back and forth through the primary strand. I call it a serpentine compression weave.

Whereas making a spliced choker often requires tools, the serpentine compression weave is accomplished very simply by using the built-in “needle” and only requires a way to fuse the pointed end. This would be an easy campsite project using braided synthetic cordage and can be used in a variety of ways.

On the bushcraft side of life, cordage can be made in the field from a variety of fibrous materials. Plants such as nettles, dogbane, milkweed, thistle, grass, and more provide fiber that can be twisted by hand into strands of cordage. Using fibers can often take time to prepare but there is perhaps a quicker resource for binding material – sapling roots.

A sapling is defined as a young tree, especially one with a slender trunk. They send out roots that are close to the surface of the ground that can grow to several feet in length. In addition, they are very flexible and quite strong.

The root in the photo was collected from a sapling at the edge of the woods behind my home. The ground is covered by leaves and very moist from recent rains. I used a gardening hand cultivator to dig up the soil to reveal and retrieve the root but a digging stick or even just your hands can accomplish the same task. This root was just an inch or so below the surface and about three feet long but other roots could easily be longer. Care should be taken to uncover these as much as possible rather than just pulling it free to preserve their length which will make them much more serviceable for binding.

The tripod in the photo was lashed together using this single root and was very serviceable. Additional roots could be used to further strengthen it if needed or to hang a pot over a campfire for cooking. In any case, it took very little effort to collect the root and assemble the tripod in a short amount of time.

Polyethylene plastic is pretty tough material but of course has it’s limits based on the thickness/thinness of the material. I have used plastic bags in the past to bind items but was limited by it’s length. It occurred to me that with a little modification I could “daisy-chain” cordage to any length needed using multiple bags.

I decided to cut each bag down the mid-line, top-to-bottom, and then poke a hole inside the pleated fold at the bottom. Now I could poke the handle loop from the first half through the bottom hole of the second half, then push the bottom of the first half through it’s own emerging handle loop, thus creating a daisy-chain link that could be repeated with each ensuing bag half. If necessary it could be twisted like conventional cordage while combining multiple daisy-chained strands for added strength.

This may not be the strongest cord but definitely has it’s place for improvised cordage in a pinch for simple tie-downs and binding.

This is all good until you swap out the standard issue lace with 550 paracord. Some folks perform this exchange as an emergency preparedness measure, giving them wearable multi-use cordage. Five-fifty paracord has a different texture that is a little stiff and slick, causing it to occasionally slip out of a standard knot, even if double tied.

I swapped out the laces on several pairs of my shoes and experienced the slippage problem of the 550 paracord and tried the double knot approach but found that it didn’t work for me, so I experimented with a different method that does work. I began tying the standard knot but wound the “pulled through” loop around a second time. This binds the initial loop with much more friction and “stays put”. It still allows you to pull a single lace to untie it. Check the video above to see how it’s done.

If you have 550 paracord laces, give this a try and see if it will work as well for you.

Once a pull tab is carefully removed from a can lid, you can fold over the small attachment eye on the tab to smooth out the ring’s inside edge. Any sharp edges can wear on the line over time but give added friction to help hold the line in place. You can feed the line in the larger hole, pass over the middle bar, and exit out the other hole. Pull the line out a ways and return the end of the line to the previously attached end of the tab and tie onto it… I prefer a bolen knot, but a couple of half-hitches (simple knots) will do. You can now place your cord’s loop around an anchor like a tent peg and slide the new tensioner up the line until the slack in the loop is taken up. This device works best on cord versus string as a thicker line provides better friction.

Keep this handy application in mind along with pull-tab fish hooks. What other applications have you used? Please share them in the comments below.

Today we see many survival television shows and web based videos where hosts and participants wear a Cobra Lanyard Stitch wrist band. At a recent multi-day event in which I demonstrated primitive and survival skills, I noticed that a visitor was wearing such a wrist band. I hadn’t seen one up close so I inquired about it’s purpose and construction. I was told that it contained about 6 feet of paracord at the ready for emergency use. This cordage too can be used to construct a bow & spindle fire kit as well as for a myriad of other uses. The next day he brought extra cord and taught me how to make one for myself.

It’s interesting to know that in parts of Papua New Guinea, tribesmen still wear rattan wrapped around their wrists that they unwind to use with the fire-thong method. So, wearing reserve survival gear has been an historic tradition that has been kept alive for those who want to be prepared. And you thought it was just a fashion accessory…