550 paracord and quality bank line are costly materials, but three unique knots can help reduce costs. When working with cordage, these knots are the constrictor, square, and jam knots—tie them right, and your biggest problem will be what to do with the extra cashola you save.

How to Save Cordage

Not only do these knots hold an enormous amount of weight, but they also require significantly less cordage (rope) than traditional lashing and frapping.

The square knot is a simple, valuable knot that can be used to join two pieces of rope of equal diameter or to tie two pieces of wood together. To tie a square knot, hold each end in your hands, then cross the right end of the rope over and under the left end and wrap it around. Then, cross the left end of the rope over and under the right end and wrap it around again. Finally, pull on all four rope ends to tighten the knot.

The Canadian jam knot is useful for tying a rope around an object and tightening or bundling it. To tie it, you need to make an overhand stopper knot at the end of the rope (leave a little tag end), then make another overhand knot below but close to the first and leave it loose. Then, pass the other end of the rope through the overhand knot and pull it tight around the object. To loosen it, you pull the tab of the stopper knot. It’s a handy technique when dealing with cordage.

If you’re looking for a versatile knot that can be used for various purposes, such as whipping, clamping, binding, and replacing zip ties, the constrictor knot might be what you need. To tie this knot, wrap the rope around the object twice in an X shape, tuck the end under the middle of the X shape, and tighten the knot.

One Lash Tripod

This tripod is different from your average, time-consuming, and overlashed tripod. This is the simplest and quickest tripod you’ll ever use. It’s perfect for hanging your cooking pot, water filter, smoker, or even your backpack in moist conditions.

You don’t need thick poles for this tripod to work. Thin poles broomstick thick will do just fine. If your poles are green, you can baton them to the desired size, as the ends don’t need to be perfectly sawed. Bundle them together like a triangle instead of laying the poles flat as in traditional tripod lashing. Tie a square knot (reef knot) about two-thirds of the way up the bundle, then rotate one pole to tighten the lash. Spread out the poles, and you’re ready to start cooking. This method not only saves time but also valuable cord. So, try it and see how quickly and efficiently you can set up a tripod.

Canadian Jam Knot Benefits

Canadian Jam/Arbor Knots are used to tie a rope around an object, but they differ. An Arbor Knot is a simple knot with one loop that can attach a fishing line to a reel or a rope to a post. A Canadian Jam Knot is a more complex knot with two loops that can be used to tighten and loosen a rope around a bundle or a tree. The Canadian Jam Knot is called the ‘Bushcraft Zip Tie’ because it can compress a load like a zip tie and save on cordage.

Camp Stool/Pack Frame

The Roycroft Pack Frame has a long-standing history that goes back several years. Many different Bushcraft and Survival schools teach variations of this pack frame with varying knots. However, I prefer to keep it close to what Mors Kochanski and the Karamat Wilderness Ways teach. This style of pack frame originated from Tom Roycroft, a survival instructor for the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Mors Kochanski regarded Tom as his mentor and learned many things from him, including the Roycroft Pack Frame.

The original pack frame was designed to carry large amounts of weight, such as pigs, barrels, and firewood. The Roycroft Pack Frame that most people recognize has been modified to be a pack frame, meaning that the ends of the A-frame have been cut shorter than the original one seen by Roycroft. The legs were left longer so the person carrying the load could squat back against a tree or building and rest, like sitting on a chair. Using these general principles and building techniques of the Roycroft Pack Frame, I made an intentional camp chair/stool.

Lets Make One!

To make the camp chair/stool, I needed wood, a paracord, a saw, and a knife. I started with a green poplar freshly blown down from a storm. I used a bucksaw to cut these thick pieces into the required sections. Each diagonal piece was about inseam long and bicep-thick. The cross piece was about forearm thickness and fingertip to bicep long. The original pack frame used a knife to carve the flat portions that would line up and be tied together. However, with these large proportions, I used a saw to make the stop cuts and a knife to baton them. This technique left me with notches and a place for the pieces to fit together. I made flats on each end of the pieces, except for one diagonal with the flat on the opposite side.

Laying the wood down with the crosspiece on the top flats, I angled them away from where they would eventually be. I applied a jam knot on each section, joining the apartments. The jam knots naturally tightened when the tops were bent to assume their proper position, creating tension. I held the top together, slipped a constrictor knot over, and pulled it. With the general shape in place, I returned to the jam knots at the crosspiece and added another, crossing the first knot. When the cord was trimmed on all knots, I melted the ends with a lighter as an extra safety measure.

Tongs

Functional and straightforward to make in the woods, a set of tongs will save your bacon in more ways than one. A green or dead broomstick-thick stick can be cut about the length of your forearm (elbow to fingertip) with a saw or beaver-chewed with a knife. With your tool of choice, baton the stick, leaving roughly four to five inches at the bottom unsplit. Get a thin stick no wider than a #2 pencil and slide it down to the end of the split to wedge it open. Test for flexibility (green wood is more flexible) and experiment with different wedge sticks.

Add rope below the wedge stick when you have a good fit, and the tongs close quickly. The typical knot/lashing is whipping, which uses a fair amount of cordage wrapped around the stick and the free end pulled through. However, a simple constrictor knot will hold the split together. This method is more straightforward, faster, and uses less cordage.

Conclusion on Cordage

In short, using square, constrictor, and jam knots can save you money on cordage. These techniques are versatile and can be used for various outdoor scenarios. By implementing these skills, you can stay well-prepared without worrying about exceeding your budget.