Primitive Hair Cordage (made from my own hair)

Human hair is composed of strong keratin proteins that are very dense. Throughout history human hair has been collected and used in many interesting ways. One of the most primitive and efficient uses for human survival is making cordage and rope. While plant fibers are the most common material that native peoples used for making cordage and rope they also used long strands of human hair. There are a few advantages as well as disadvantages to using human hair as cordage. One obvious advantage is the fact that a person with long hair naturally carries with him a source for creating cordage. The hairs can either be cut or simply pulled from the scalp and require no more preparation before being twisted into usable cordage. Human hair is also strong and has a smooth silky texture unlike most plant fibers. Human hair cordage does not absorb water. Human hair cordage also stretches more than cordage made of plant fibers, which can be either an advantage or a disadvantage depending on the intended use of the cordage. One disadvantage is that a person may have a limited amount of hair available to them. If you need to make a twenty-meter rope to climb down a cliff but the only fibers you have are what is on your head, then you probably won’t have enough fibers to make a rope long enough and thick enough to carry your bodyweight.

In this video I show exactly how I made about twelve meters of strong cordage with my hair and at the end of the video I share with you one of the ways I am using my hair cordage. Please tell my your thoughts about this in the comments.

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FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions):

Who films you?
I do. I travel alone, shoot, edit, upload, everything.

How many cameras do you use?
Usually I use just one camera. When I have underwater scenes then I also use a GoPro camera. I get different angles by moving the camera around and repeating the action to create a more cinematic viewing experience for the audience.

Where is this place?
In order to protect the integrity of the natural landscape I prefer to be very vague about the locations I use. There are places that I used to visit that were so beautiful and untouched but the consequences of social media brought all kinds of people to visit and sadly some people do not respect nature and have badly damaged these places. Therefore I do not share exactly where I go.

Do you workout?
Yes, I workout, but not in a gym. I have some weights that I use and also do a lot of bodyweight exercises. I also run and sometimes swim. I hike frequently do collect wild foods and to shoot these videos so I’m very active all the time.

Are you vegan or vegetarian?
I wish I could maintain my health on a primal diet that does not include animals but unfortunately that did not work and I ended up with health problems as a result of those attempts. From my studies, observations of nature, and personal experience I have come to believe that the best diet for optimal human health is a primal diet (paleo).

My equipment:

Camera: Nikon D7200 and GoPro Hero7 Black
Sound: Zoom H4N
Editing: Final Cut Pro X on MacBook Air
Location: California

Music credits:

Drums of the Deep by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1400021
Artist: http://incompetech.com/