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Ohio'sBest
08-10-2009, 10:35 AM
Has this been tried before?

momoese
08-10-2009, 10:41 AM
Yes and there are a few threads about it around here somewhere.

lorax
08-10-2009, 10:43 AM
I do it all the time, with the parts of the pstem that are not worthwhile for fibre. If you leave it natural, it's sort of a tan-khaki colour, and if you use peroxide as a bleaching agent it comes out to a nice laid cream. I produce large archival-type acid-free sheets with four deckels for my own use as art papers. Other places do it commercially, adding a certain percentage of new banana fibre to a percentage of recycled pulp and rag. When BQ finally goes to print, it will be on a gloss paper of this type that is produced locally.

I posted the method I use in another thread a while back.... Here it is!! (http://www.bananas.org/f9/banana-paper-2634.html)

Jack Daw
08-10-2009, 10:50 AM
I do it all the time, with the parts of the pstem that are not worthwhile for fibre. If you leave it natural, it's sort of a tan-khaki colour, and if you use peroxide as a bleaching agent it comes out to a nice laid cream. I produce large archival-type acid-free sheets with four deckels for my own use as art papers. Other places do it commercially, adding a certain percentage of new banana fibre to a percentage of recycled pulp and rag. When BQ finally goes to print, it will be on a gloss paper of this type that is produced locally.

I posted the method I use in another thread a while back.... Here it is!! (http://www.bananas.org/f9/banana-paper-2634.html)
Do you have also anything on making fibre from P-stems?

Ohio'sBest
08-10-2009, 10:53 AM
Cool. That would definately save some trees.

Bananaman88
08-10-2009, 11:35 AM
Beth, we need this as a "how to" in BQ some day!

lorax
08-10-2009, 11:39 AM
It's planned for Volume 2 sometime - that way I have time to do a photographic step-by-step next time I'm pulling sheets.

Jack, pulling fibre from the pstems is the same process you'd use for any other bast fibre (linen, hemp, etc.) - the hard work with banana fibre is in selecting the correct weights of fibre from the retted mass. The coarsest stuff is only good for rope and sackcloth, and as you work your way towards the center of the stem you get weights similar to silk. It's great stuff.

Jack Daw
08-10-2009, 01:08 PM
It's planned for Volume 2 sometime - that way I have time to do a photographic step-by-step next time I'm pulling sheets.

Jack, pulling fibre from the pstems is the same process you'd use for any other bast fibre (linen, hemp, etc.) - the hard work with banana fibre is in selecting the correct weights of fibre from the retted mass. The coarsest stuff is only good for rope and sackcloth, and as you work your way towards the center of the stem you get weights similar to silk. It's great stuff.
I htink we've got ourselves a new topic for BQ. :ha: