Fire Making Fire with bowdrill and nettle cordage

[Micha1984]

Dear all,
I can light a fire with the bowdrill by using a 'synthetic' cordage, e.g., a climbing cordage, and now I would like to replace the synthetic cordage with a natural one.

I have tried nettle cordage, by following this tutorial, and using the rope-lay technique. The rope appeared to be pretty solid when I tested it by putting it under tension with my hands, but it instantly broke when I used it with the bowdrill. Please find enclosed a few pictures of the rope and its breaking point.

Do you guys have any suggestions on how to improve this?

Thank you!
Best,
Micha

 

[mewolf1]

Looks to me that the cord is just a tad smaller at the break point. A tighter lay would help as well. My opinion is that natural fiber needs to be thicker than
synth cords too. There looks to be a new learning curve here; keep us posted on your findings.