Tumpline

[Elnathan]

I made this three or four weeks ago, but only took pictures recently and got them off the camera today. I usually don't post my own handiwork on this forum, but since a lot of the inspiration came from this thread: Tumpline?, I thought I'd make an exception. Some of you might find this interesting.

Here are the basic stats: The warp is 8 strands of 170 pound hemp cord from Hemp Basics (about 1/8" thick), about 20 long, and the weft is Cousin's medium weight hemp (approximately 1/16" thick) that Wal-Mart sells. It is twined in the center section, finger woven with the oblique weave for the straps, with the ends braided in an 8-strand box braid.

The center section is roughly 2 1/4" wide, the straps roughly an inch, and while I haven't stretched it out and got an exact length it is just about 15 feet long overall. Those are pretty typical dimensions for surviving examples from the Eastern Woodlands and what I was shooting for, so I'm pretty pleased.

One reason I'm giving all these details is because most instructions on the 'net omit dimensions. I've been thinking about making one of these for at least a year and a half, but was kind of paralyzed by not having any idea how much cord I was going to need. I won't go through all the different calculations that turned out to be wrong, but I will say that I ended up using about half the amount of amount of warp cord I expected to use. Since I was ordering online and the initial cost of shipping is pretty stiff, it made more sense to me to order a lot, enough for several tries and some experimentation, rather than risk having to order again and pay 12 bucks to get a 6 dollar ball of cord shipped when I cam up just a hair short...Only problem with this idea is that I now have 1100+ feet of cord for future projects. I think I can live with that kind of mistake.

Anyway, this was a lot easier to do than I expected, and while the end product is pretty rough looking it is perfectly serviceable.

 

[Black Hand]

I made one with the Hemp cord purchased from Walmart - no shipping....

 

[Elnathan]

When I was doing the calculations it looked like ordering it online made more sense on a per-foot basis, as long as I was ordering a lot of it. Since I expected to use about twice what I actually used, and possibly screw up the first effort, getting a bunch up front made sense. The stuff I got online for the warp was a lot more consistent in thickness than the smaller Wal-Mart stuff I used for the weft - two really bad spots in 220 yards, that I was able to spot and work around when measuring and cutting out my lines, versus a bad spot every two feet or so - but I don't know if that is due to the source or just because the thicker stuff tends to be more consistent.

There is also the fact that the Wal-Mart stuff comes in balls of 196 feet, a rather awkward figure if you are thinking in multiples of 20' or 25'....

I do know that the online stuff is 100% hemp, whereas the Wal-Mart stuff is not. Seems a bit softer as well.

 

[smoothshooter]

Looks fine to me.

If it were mine, I would have to dye it some earth-tone color so it would not stand out in the woods.

What dyes work with hemp?

 

[Black Hand]

If it were mine, I would have to dye it some earth-tone color so it would not stand out in the woods.

Lat time I checked, gray-green IS an earth tone...

 

[Elnathan]

Looks fine to me.

If it were mine, I would have to dye it some earth-tone color so it would not stand out in the woods.

What dyes work with hemp?

Thanks.

I took this picture outside under a tree, and because of the irregular light and shadow on the ground I guess the colors didn't come out very well in the photo. The natural color of hemp is a light to middling tan and I don't think it will stand out in the woods. It is basically the same color undyed linen, if you are familiar with that. As a matter of fact, I've sewn powderhorn straps made of undyed hemp to the horn using undyed linen thread and the two different materials are virtually impossible to distinguish.

I suppose if I end up wanting to darken it a bit or even up the color - the twined section is actually a little darker than the straps due to a different brand of cord, though it looks lighter in the photo - I could soak it in a solution of tea with a bit of vinegar for a mordant. Apart from that I suspect that dyes usually used for linen would work for hemp as well.

 

[tenngun]

Movement is a lot more important then color in the woods. Any dull color will disappear pretty quick in the green wood or the winter brown wood. Dull red or medium blue become very hard to see against a green field.
Hemp or unbleached linen or any woolen cloth on a wrap or a line of some sort disappears very well. In historic times we know Indians who had lived in the green wood for a long time were happy to wear a red or blue match coat, with seemingly little fear of being seen. I’ve been in the woods with blue jeans and a light t shirt only to have all sorts of game walk near me and carry on the normal life with out seeming to be bothered by me till I moved.

 

[BrownBear]

I've used a tumpline a fair bit over the years for long hauls and heavy loads. Heck, we used to use them when I was a kid on the border and didn't even know what they were called. They were just common down there.

One thing regular use and heavy loads taught me. Hemp will scob your knob pretty thoroughly. It's best for me to do like my mentors and line the head band with suede or pig skin.

 

[Black Hand]

I’ve been in the woods with blue jeans and a light t shirt only to have all sorts of game walk near me and carry on the normal life with out seeming to be bothered by me till I moved.

Because most game either sees in Black&White or a limited color range, otherwise the required Blaze orange required in my state would alarm the deer. Prey is more attuned to movement than color...

The one exception that comes to mind is the Turkey. They have excellent color vision.

 

[George]

One thing regular use and heavy loads taught me. Hemp will scob your knob pretty thoroughly. It's best for me to do like my mentors and line the head band with suede or pig skin.

Reminds me of a description of the same problem from a Hidatsa Indian, mid-19th century.

"On the march, a woman might also carry a light load, as two or three blankets or a robe. Such a load she carried on her back with her pack strap, which had both a shoulder and a forehead band. Though the headband was not generally used, it was of help sometimes, as when the woman wished to rest her shoulders. If the headband was kept constantly in place, it would fret the skin of the woman’s forehead."

Spence

 

[Black Hand]

Here is the one I made from medium-weight Walmart hemp. About 16 feet OAL, center band is ~1.5 inches wide by 2ft long and is constructed with 18 core strands. The beads were added after completion. At each end of the center band, there is a flat-braided section about 18 inches long that splits into 2 braided tails. If I ever make another, I will just do a single tail.

 

[coloradoclyde]

I usually don't post my own handiwork on this forum,

I think you should seriously reconsider that position...
If it is half as good as what you posted, it is more than worthy..warranted and wanting... :thumbsup: :hatsoff:

 

[Elnathan]

I usually don't post my own handiwork on this forum,

I think you should seriously reconsider that position...
If it is half as good as what you posted, it is more than worthy..warranted and wanting... :thumbsup: :hatsoff:

Well shucks. Thanks.

I don't generally post my work anywhere, now that I think about it. To start with, I haven't actually finished much in the last couple years, and when I do get something done it always seems kind of egotistical to post it online unless I am looking for a critique or trying to show someone how something is done.

Right how I've got a couple of cutlery projects, including a tomahawk casting that I am taking in-process pictures of, and I will probably post that here when I get it finished.

 

[coloradoclyde]

Sharing one's work so that others can learn and be inspired, is never "egotistical".

 

[BrownBear]

If the headband was kept constantly in place, it would fret the skin of the woman’s forehead."

Oh yeah.... And I have a lot more forehead to fret these days!

BTW- Ernando, the ancient hand I irrigated with, used a simple piece of rope for a tumpline. But he always wrapped it with his big red bandana.

 

[Darkhorse]

I wish you would do another one and post pictures of each step. I have never worked with "Trumpline" or really braided anything. When I wanted something braided, like a set of reins or a headband, my wife took care of all that. So I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the entire process.
I've been wanting a woven strap for a powder horn for some time and this looks interesting to me.

 

[BrownBear]

I'll let Elnathan speak for himself, but while you're waiting you might enjoy perusing these instructions on finger weaving.

 

[Elnathan]

I wish you would do another one and post pictures of each step. I have never worked with "Trumpline" or really braided anything. When I wanted something braided, like a set of reins or a headband, my wife took care of all that. So I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the entire process.
I've been wanting a woven strap for a powder horn for some time and this looks interesting to me.

Well there are three separate process used to make a tumpline, twining, finger weaving, and (in this case) a box braid for the ends.

In the case of fingerweaving, Dave Canterbury does a much better job explaining it than I could: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7T1ceA0kJE
Just keep at it and don't be afraid to pull it apart and start again when it doesn't look right, and you will soon get the hang of it. There are a lot of other, more complicated methods, but this is the one I used.

For twining I more or less followed the basics outlined in this book: https://www.amazon.com/Basic-Twini...e=UTF8&qid=1525009888&sr=1-3&keywords=twining and for the box braid this video was very helpful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxW5MlJKeh8 . There are written instructions online, but the video was much more helpful, I found.

It is really not all that difficult - this was actually the first time that I did any of these techniques. What I did do was cut four 5' pieces, looped them around a dowel so I had eight 2.5' pieces to work with, and then just made a very short half-tumpline as a trial run. Initially that was mostly intended to see how many warp strands I needed for a given width, but the ability to practice with shorter strands turned out to be really helpful.

 

[nhmoose]

I usually don't post my own handiwork on this forum,

I think you should seriously reconsider that position...
If it is half as good as what you posted, it is more than worthy..warranted and wanting... :thumbsup: :hatsoff:

Totally agree!!! :hatsoff:

 

[Chris C]

Was the cord you got from hemp basics 1mm or 2mm?