Making 4-Ply Twisted Bow Drill Cordage & A “Hang Fire Ember”

Turning 2-ply cordage into 4 ply for extra strength and durability. While I still prefer braided cordage over the traditional two-strand twist, you can greatly increase the toughness of a piece of twisted cordage by folding it over on itself and twisting it again.

The first thing that you will notice is that the muscle memory you built up twisting cordage will be useless, as twisting in the same direction that you used to make it in the first place would only unravel it. This means that it will feel very awkward at first, so if you are going to go through the stage of training your fingers; then here’s a trick you can use to make it easier.

I first learned this from David McIntyre (of Alone) on the Bushcraft USA forums. It is not much different than the classic technique, but by twisting the two strands multiple times, it allows you to rotate the main cord two or three times with each pass; making much quicker work.

David actually uses this method to make the initial two-strand twist, but I haven’t been able to get consistent results with it on the first pass, but it works great for me when making four-ply.

Check out David’s video for a more in depth demonstration and explanation of this approach…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3dFyJ80CUQ

The more consistent in thickness your cordage is, the better they will join up, but I have found that with this method, the two don’t have to match perfectly to make a nice piece of rope. One key is minding the angle of the “Y” created by the two strands. The goal is to keep that angle the same with each twist, and keeping everything taught makes a big difference.

Rolling the finished product on your thigh and then putting a bit of tension on it really does a good job of locking everything together. Some people are able to make cordage exclusively by thigh rolling, but I haven’t been able to get the hang of that yet.

So why take the extra time to double it over and re-twist it instead of just using more material in a classic two-strand twist? That was my big question too. My experience confirmed what I learned from David; the fact that it is doubled over and twisted again keeps the fibers more secure and results in a more durable finished product.

If done right, you end up with a piece of rope that is much more than the sum of its two halves; especially in terms of resistance to abrasion; which is a key factor in good bow drill cordage.

This stuff was cottonwood bark, but this method works well with all sorts of natural fibers.
You can see that when I was testing it out with the bow drill set, I wrapped it around my hand but also gave the section that I was about to use a few extra twists to keep everything tight. I obviously had plenty of cordage to spare, but wanted to show how little damage this stuff takes when it is twisted tightly together like this.
The set was western red cedar and while I didn’t have any trouble with the cordage, the set ended up producing a typical hang fire ember. This is when the pile will smoke for a moment after drilling and appear to stop entirely; but with some babying can be brought back to life. Cedar seems especially prone to this, but I have seen these delayed embers form in lots of different woods, so it is a good reminder to pay attention to the pile.

It took several minutes from the time I stopped drilling until the pile glowed red. It is sped up to 10X for time, but if you are interested you can see an extreme example of a hang fire ember by checking out one of the videos below.

Hang Fire Ember Sped Up
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rf7zdbkuN7U

Hang Fire Ember in Real Time
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXS_41b-xCM

Materials Used

Cordage: 4 ply reverse-wrapped black cottonwood bark.
Bow Drill Set: Western Red Cedar with a fatwood bearing block
Tinder Bundle: Western Red Cedar Feather Stick

Knife: ESEE Laser Strike

Music:

Nowe – Horizon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g845F6ORCOc

Luca Stricagnoli The Last of the Mohicans Guitar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Kbv1OpIpaA