Bamboo artist, Jiro Yonezawa, shows how to prepare bamboo for weaving. Follow him step-by-step from harvesting the bamboo to making finished strips.
WARNING: The knives used are very sharp. Please take precautions to avoid serious injury. Wear gloves and work carefully. Practice, practice, practice…..
0:22 Bamboo grove to drying canes
2:14 Oil extraction with caustic soda
3:16 Oil extraction with heat
4:00 Surface preparation
5:30 Splitting poles
6:07 Split short poles with bamboo knife
7:17 Use kikuwari bamboo spitting tool
7:53 Quarter splitting long poles Yotsuwari
10:20 Make rough strips
12:05 Tips and detailed instruction
15:32 Making strips: Separate outer layer from inner layer
18:04 Habatori: Make strips uniform width
20:14 Senbiki: Make strips uniform thickness
21:17 Mentori: Make beveled edges
22:40 Basic hexagonal weave