hunting knives, buck knivesI’ve been reading a survival book in my free time and picking up a wealth of knowledge about getting by in different landscapes. Rope is one of the most important tools on any long hike or camping adventure. There are endless uses for the simple item. If a person doesn’t have rope they can make it out natural sources. I went camping this past weekend and wanted to try braiding natural rope with the foliage around me. The book said to find limber branches and shave it down to the core with hunting knives. Then you peel the inner strands like string cheese. After collecting enough of those strands they can be braided together for a strong rope. We brought buck knives.

I found the right kind of limbs and went to work. It definitely takes time. The flexible inner wood core sliced into thin strands made for a great rope. My end result was a 5 foot long rope which I tied around a long branch hanging off a dead tree and pulled. The rope snapped. Practice makes perfect. The key outdoors is always having hunting knives.