How bamboo tableware is made
January 29, 2010
Our craftsmen put their heart and soul into every creation.
1. One of the defining characteristics of bamboo is its sugar content. We harvest the bamboo during the colder months, before it has had a chance to store the sugar. FUNFAM products are created exclusively from carefully selected, healthy young moso bamboo of no more than four years old, felled in the colder months between October and March when pests are kept to a minimum.
2. After drying in the sun, the whole bamboo is cut through lengthways. Bamboo, being not a true tree as such but a type of grass, boasts a fast-growing ecology by absorbing and storing the water in its culms. If the bamboo is not sufficiently dried, warping will occur. For this reason, the drying step is repeated again and again.
3. The bamboo is now soaked in fresh water for 24 hours and then boiled in water at 100 degrees to prevent pest infestation and mold. Afterwards, the outer layer and side portions of each plank are removed. The planks are then dried again to reduce the moisture content level to 20 percent.
4. The bamboo planks are then arranged side-by-side and glued together. After this, they are compressed at a high pressure with a press machine into a single board. The bamboo is then dried again. This might strike some as persistent, but it is to ensure that no water remains to create warping problems later on.
5. Next, the planks, now formed into blocks, are then pared down. As you might have expected, this is all done by hand. Rather than following pictures and plans, this process usually relies on the intuition and very experienced fingertips of our seasoned craftsmen.
6. Finally, they are cured in dehumidifying rooms. Individual inspections are carried out to determine whether the shape is irregular or color uneven. After one last drying session to reduce the moisture level of the product to the desired 8 percent, the bamboo process is now almost complete.
7. The bamboo is then given a final coating and put out for distribution. Our products undergo pre-shipment inspections, and are routinely sent out for food hygiene inspection testing by external bodies. Only once the products have passed these strict standards are they delivered to our customers as FUNFAM products.
2. After drying in the sun, the whole bamboo is cut through lengthways. Bamboo, being not a true tree as such but a type of grass, boasts a fast-growing ecology by absorbing and storing the water in its culms. If the bamboo is not sufficiently dried, warping will occur. For this reason, the drying step is repeated again and again.
3. The bamboo is now soaked in fresh water for 24 hours and then boiled in water at 100 degrees to prevent pest infestation and mold. Afterwards, the outer layer and side portions of each plank are removed. The planks are then dried again to reduce the moisture content level to 20 percent.
4. The bamboo planks are then arranged side-by-side and glued together. After this, they are compressed at a high pressure with a press machine into a single board. The bamboo is then dried again. This might strike some as persistent, but it is to ensure that no water remains to create warping problems later on.
5. Next, the planks, now formed into blocks, are then pared down. As you might have expected, this is all done by hand. Rather than following pictures and plans, this process usually relies on the intuition and very experienced fingertips of our seasoned craftsmen.
6. Finally, they are cured in dehumidifying rooms. Individual inspections are carried out to determine whether the shape is irregular or color uneven. After one last drying session to reduce the moisture level of the product to the desired 8 percent, the bamboo process is now almost complete.
7. The bamboo is then given a final coating and put out for distribution. Our products undergo pre-shipment inspections, and are routinely sent out for food hygiene inspection testing by external bodies. Only once the products have passed these strict standards are they delivered to our customers as FUNFAM products.
