Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Primitive Skills => Topic started by: AKAPK on December 20, 2008, 02:49:18 pm
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Got a bunch of Dog bane processed , am wondering if one is supposed to clean the fibres to get any toxins out or are those evaporated after the stalks dry?Thanks Phillip
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I ant never cleaned it before.. just get the pith outa it and proses it good.
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I processed a bunch and am still working on more. I never cleaned the fibers. I would imagine that most of the toxins are in the milky sap. And that the dry fibers are pretty clean and safe. That being said I still wouldn't floss my teeth with any. ;D
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I just try to get all the flaky bark off, never had any problems (Rick, I actually have flossed my teeth with dogbane :) ) I would guess also that most of the toxins would be in the sap. I wouldn't eat several pounds of the fibers though, cause you never know. ;D Dogbane has been one of the most common fiber materials used for a long, long, time, and I've never heard of anyone having toxicity problems from anything except eating the plants.
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I just try to get all the flaky bark off, never had any problems (Rick, I actually have flossed my teeth with dogbane :) ) I would guess also that most of the toxins would be in the sap. I wouldn't eat several pounds of the fibers though, cause you never know. ;D Dogbane has been one of the most common fiber materials used for a long, long, time, and I've never heard of anyone having toxicity problems from anything except eating the plants.
Man, I don't even floss with floss. That is some wicked caveman hygene. I can only guess what your toothbrush is. ;D
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Just squirt a little toothpaste on a weasel...........;D
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After spending 8 hours getting fibre from 108 stalks of the Bane I realized I didnt scrape the outer layer off first so it took another 4 hours of brushing to get the lumps out.
The fiber that was to short after brushing I made into cordage for other Art stuff, Looks good on the other clanker drum I made yesterday(show pic later) really like the golden color of this Dogbane, Hardly any waist I'm happy with what I got and after all that i feel fine.
The short brushed out stuff I washed Because it was full of dust, made it easier to make cordage also. Thanks for responding All,Thanks Hillbilly.PK
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there is a video on youtube about dogbane prossing.john
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i have been trying to process milkweed,cant seem to get the outer bark off,even when i roll it between my fingers like the video.and getting the fibers
out in full length is tricky too.i think i am going to give retting a try
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I think wetting it helps the bark off bane but milk weed? banes easier to make cordage with moisture added not to much though.
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dogbane,and milkweed are virtually tha same thing except milkweed doesnt have the toxins,atleast thats what i have been told
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I have the same problem with milweed . I had better luck when it was still green.
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so then cut it green and let it dry out,then strip out the fibers?
that sap is nasty to work with,gets every where
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What does Dog Bane look like? Do you know if it grows down here in Florida?
Wayne :)
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Milkweed generally dosn't make as strong of cordage as dogbane. There are different types of milkweed some being better than others. I think swamp milkweed is the best of the milkweeds. I also have a much harder time getting good long fibers from milkweed as compared to dogbane.
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I like butterfly milkweed and common milkweed-the fibers are softer than dogbane and nearly as strong, especially the butterflyweed. Blue star (Amsonia) is another one of the better cordage plants.
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Hillbilly-Any tricks you use for getting the fibers out of the common milkweed? Do you process dry or green? Milkweed is easier to find than dogbane in my area. But I have such a fight getting it clean.
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Hillbilly-Any tricks you use for getting the fibers out of the common milkweed? Do you process dry or green? Milkweed is easier to find than dogbane in my area. But I have such a fight getting it clean.
same for me
i have some that i already crushed and took out the woody core.its been sitting since october with the outer bark still on.i tried again the other night to get the outer bark off
by rolling between my fingers,just like on the u-tube video,i can get the bark off but then the fiber strands seem to break also.you end up with clean fibers,short though like 6" long.
i did have better luck when i first picked,and it was really wet.the bark and fibers were naturally retted and it was esier than all get to seperate the fibers from the outer bark,and they stayed full length.
so i am taking all my dried milkweed stalks and going to try retting them.i'll let ya know the results.
not sure what kind of milkweed it is,it does have strong fibers,and makes for good cordage.
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Sometimes the bark comes off pretty easy, sometimes it doesnt. I have done milkweed green and dry both, I usually do it dry. You can scrape the bark off with your thumbnail or a knife blade turned up perpendicular if you want it completely clean, or just grab a big wad of fibers and start doing the "bicycle" thing with your hands, it usually gets most of it off, and more will come off as you twist it into cordage.
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Steve, I've been playing with the stuff you brought to the camp-o-rama and am amazed how strong it is. I've only tried the dogbane and not the milkweed yet. Pat