Culm Selection and Burning

Selected Culm From TK Rod Project

When the time came to select a culm to use for these rods my selection was somewhat limited--I had unloaded much of my bamboo when I moved into a tiny apartment a couple of years ago. Out of the 3 culms I had left after the move (all of which were nice), I had given one away, and now had two to choose from. I selected one of them, then realized I had chosen a culm selected from a Demarest Bale "lottery" at the very Gathering that Lisa had made her impression on Ted. If you believe in poetics, this at least sounds like it should have some meaning.

After selecting the culm (which had already been cut into two, six-foot sections) I set to work filing the nodes with an eight-inch mill bastard file.

Before From TK Rod Project

After From TK Rod Project

I did not file them completely flat, but dressed them smooth and took the majority of the nodal bumps out.

The next task was to flame the sections. This should have been a fairly straightforward process, and it is one I enjoy. Unfortunately for me, my particular climate did not present the opportunity--Here in Erie we had 33 consecutive days with measured snowfall in January and February, and most of this time was spent in the teens. My attempts to flame were consistently foiled. When the temps were more moderate it was snowing. When the snow took its work-day breaks the temps seemed to dip down further.

When I finally found a decent window to torch the culm, I opted to use MAPP gas. Normally I use propane, but the MAPP burns hotter, and I believed this would counteract the colder conditions.

From TK Rod Project

The bottom half of the culm is represented by the two sections on the left, and this will make up the strips for the butts of the rods. Tips on the right. The culm looks much darker now than it will when the rod is finished. This actually was a fairly light flaming that when finished should have a nice tight mottling... similar to my cat, only thinner.

From TK Rod Project

From TK Rod Project