Bamboo Paper?? for fiber??

[Jim and Joyce]

Who might have some input for using bamboo for papermaking, for a papermaking workshop next week. It was probably used before rice in ancient cultures.

As a handspinner, I am interested in using bamboo fibers for handspinning.
If flax, with great effort, becomes lovely linen, surely bamboo fibers stripped lengthwise down the stem, should work.
I am about to sacrifice the dried, dead-looking center stalk of my brand-new black bamboo purchased at the bamboo sale of the Tierra Seca Chapter meeting and sale in Tucson AZ to
test these two projects.
Am very interested in answers? reactions?
Joyce in AZ

[kevinrl]

Culm sheaths are used for papermaking, and the end product is great.
Also I have seen a beautiful white fine paper made from the inner few layers of a new culm.
I have a friend who is making some for me just now, from some B vulgaris Wamin culms. Hope that turns out fine.
I think that it has to be still very fresh, the culm that is, not dead. I want to use it as a base to print photos on.
Will let you know how it turns out.
Regards,
Kevin

[Darrel]

The Oregon Chapter had a meeting last year where they made some bamboo paper.
You might email Gib Cooper to find a contact.
-- Darrel

[CaroleMeckes]

Joyce
I think (like Kevin said) you would do better with green young culms that just grew this spring. I have some cut pieces and a few culm sheaths if you want a sample.
Mark Meckes has done some research on this - there is
also a papermaking internet group that he joined. They do "paper swaps".
You are a handspinner - you make fabrics?
Carole Malone

[Derick]

This is very interesting. We have a lot of sheaths on the culms or falling off. It had not occured to me that they could be used for paper. Who knows about the procedures. By the way we have a lot of Bambusa Vulgaris If we
can be of help please let us know.

Cordially
Derick Calderon
Guatemala

[kevinrl]

I have asked this friend that is making the paper, (she is a paper expert) to write an article for the Bamboo Soc of Australia newsletter. If and when this materialises then I will post it on here for all to see.
From what I have seen of the procedure it is a fairly involved process, boiling the culmsheaths for several hours, in caustic, then mincing them to break apart the fibres, then into a bath of water and some gooey stuff that looks like gelatine but is not, then onto a screen and finally press and dry.
Kevin

[tharlow]

Cusack Paper making Procedures

1. start with a kilo of bamboo leaves w/small branches and or shoots less than 3 months old.

2. Shred #1 finely with garden shredder or blender.

3. boil shredded leaves with 1/2 kilo caustic soda, (sodium carbonate) in just enough water to cover. Keep topped with water. Be sure to have safety rubber gloves. Once the consistency is slimey, it's done.
DO NOT TOUCH WITH BARE HANDS.

4. Remove large pieces and pour through a course colander. Pass slurry through nylon stocking, and rinse very thoroughly. Squeeze out excess water (I'd keep my gloves on throughout!).

5. Beat the heck out of the fiber after removing it from the stocking. He suggests a kitchen blender, a mortar & pestle, or a paint stirrer on a power drill. Add water as needed to make a very wet paste.

6. Put paste into tub and add a lot of h2o 10--20 liters. You will be scooping your frame through this.

7. Put 3 layers of felt or calico on a plywood post pad.

8. Apparently by now the slurry is neutralized from the rinsing and dilution. He says stir slurry thoroughly with hands, and scoop screen frame through quickly letting the slurry to rush through the screen. Be sure to evenly distribute it across your frame.

9. Now you flip your pulp sheet onto your felt pad (#7). I think this step is trickier that I describe. The goal is to get the pulp off the screen onto the fabric. Lay a felt over the fiber.

10. Repeat up to 30 times.

11. Lay 3 more pieces of fabric on the last sheet.
Put top plywood on top. C-clamp the two boards together at corners. Tighten as needed over the next 24 hours.

12. Take off clamps. Lift apart sheets with the fabric. Place pulp face forward against a window pane, and roll flat with a paint roller. Let dry stuck against window.

13. When dry, paper will easily peel from the felt. Press again in the plywood press w/o fabric. Then iron.

Whew! pages 170--173.

[Jim and Joyce]

HI Tom,
What a wonderful untapped resource this group is!!
Much of the process after the bamboo prep is the same as all papermaking, somewhat labor intensive, but interesting.
The messy part of it is more like the preparation of flax to make linen. I've done that, too from flax I've grown. The long stem fibers have to be separated from the cellulose.
Some old cultures did it with fermenting for a long while in water and heat. The lye part came later to hurry the process. Raw linen is still the least favorite fiber of handspinners because it is so course and hard on skin.
But if you remember pure linen handkerchiefs (like my Dad's),you'll remember how fine and thin and soft they became with use.
I do appreciate your efforts and will be sure to let you all know the outcome of my workshop.
Joyce Charboneau
Stanfielf, AZ

[samikbhattacharya123]

would not it be difficult with this species for paper-making? try species like bambusa tulda/ bambusa balcooa. Culm sheaths are used for papermaking, and the end product is great.
Also I have seen a beautiful white fine paper made from the inner few layers of a new culm.
I have a friend who is making some for me just now, from some B vulgaris Wamin culms. Hope that turns out fine.
I think that it has to be still very fresh, the culm that is, not dead. I want to use it as a base to print photos on.
Will let you know how it turns out.
Regards,
Kevin

[sarah_9]

Hello,

Recently i find one very good handmade paper site, they also deals in bamboo handmade paper, you can find more information on bamboo paper from there.



Regards,
sarah_9

Handmade Paper (http://www.coniferhandmades.com/)

[CaroleMeckes]

Hi Sarah,
I did not see any reference to bamboo paper at the site you referenced - do they make it by special request or just have not posted any info about it on their website?
Carole

[sarah_9]

Hello,

Hey have you tried their product page, last time when i visited the site, they have a product bamboo paper, may be they are out of stock, or something like that.


Regards,
sarah_9