Purely for the Experiment of It!

Can you tell which "paper" I made, and which was made by wasps??

When I decided I was going to make paper, and before I even started the blogging process, I got all excited about making paper from anything "cellulose-y", i.e. of plant origin. Sooooooo, I blended up some almonds skins left over from my homemade almond milk and some garlic and onion skin. For good experimental measure I threw in the pith from a lemon rind.

See if you can tell which of the above is the Haide-made and which is the Wasp-made :)

UPDATE!!

These tricky wasps use protein to help bond their paper and make it waterproof!! Watch this AskNature Nugget video I found on YouTube...! Aha! I think I am going to have to do that next using a little Knox gelatine powder :)

Paper Making - Part II

Slurry Continued!!

So I have blended 3 batches of slurry and filled a large Rubbermaid container to the half way point, and my Mo-eckle is at the ready! I dip.... and lift.... and voila!! Uniform layer of fibres await paperhood! I am excited :) It looks pretty good!

Then things start to fall apart... literally!!

If you watched the Chancery Paper Making video I posted, you will be familiar with the process of transferring the paper from the mold onto specially made felt batts by the "coucher". They invert the mold over the bat and starting at one edge and pressing down with an even pressure roll the mold in a continuous motion which transfers the paper layer to the batt.   

I soon discovered that my all-in-one design was somewhat problematic when trying to emulate the motion of the workers in the video. The inside edge of the deckle acts a bit like velcro and hangs on to the paper fibres laying next to it and won't let go, even when I tried to free it with a finger or the tip of a butter knife. Too, being able to ensure even contact with the felt batt is hampered unless it is lined up PERFECTLY within the Mo-eckle's cutout. I also noticed that while the layer was uniform, it was overly thin and fibres had clung to the screen itself; I am now thinking that I over blended the slurry... 

Sigh! I will have to have another go with a coarser mix and see if that doesn't help; I now realize that with over 2000 years of paper making advice available to me, maybe a little less innovation, and a little more discipline on my part is in order here.

Paper Making - Part I

Mold & Deckle

So, before I can make my paper, I need the mold and deckle. This is the tray and frame which sieves the wet paper slurry while forming it to the shape you desire. I have arbitrarily decided on a document size based on one of my favourite books, The Hobbit, by JRR Tolkien. 

Typically the mold (tray) and the deckle (frame) are two separate pieces, but I am going to try and make an all-in-one. I am using a wooden box from a soap gift set I received at Christmas, a chunk of left over fly screen, a scrap of pigeon wire, and a sushi mat that I never use.  

The Result!

The Mo-Eckle Lives!

Paper Slurry!

Okay, so far so good! I am pleased with my all-in-one Mo-Eckle, and having admired it adequately, it is time to make the slurry :) So I grabbed some stuff out of the recycle bin and tearing it up, threw it into the blender along with enough water to cover it by double (so very scientific) and whirred it into oblivion. It was wonderful! Junk mail and scraps of to-do lists homogenized in a new (and better!) form of my own making - I feel powerful. 

Paper Research

China's Secret

Although its use has been traced as far back as 2nd century BCE and the original inventor is unclear, the making of paper as we know it today has been attributed to a courtier named Ts'ai Lun of China in 104 CE. Prior to this, information was recorded on expensive silk scrolls or heavy bamboo sticks; being lighter and less expensive, paper's attributes quickly made it the preferred solution. In fact, it was so revolutionary, China kept the ingredients and process of making secret for many years. 

Ts'ai Lun experimented with natural fibres and bits of old fishing net, but the bark from Mulberry trees (a resource of the silk trade) was both plentiful and available and so became one of the main ingredients in paper production.

He also came up with the "mold and deckle", essentially a sieve-like frame of thin bamboo slats which allows water to pass through while trapping the slurry fibres in a thin layer on top; this simple device greatly enhanced the consistency and speed of production. No wonder China kept it secret for 300 years! 

Eventually, through war and migration, the paper secret spread through the Muslim empire (793-1100) to Spain (1150), France (1189), England (1490), Mexico (1590) and finally the USA (1690).  

For a more detailed discussion, and to audit my sources for the above, please go here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioDEYljT2c4 

One of the oldest surviving dated paper documents is the Diamond Sutra. The photo shows only a portion of the scroll - beautiful isn't it?

The next step will be to make my own mold and deckle. Here is a great video I found in my research; the narrator's voice adds a fabulously dramatic element! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did :)

Bye for now!

Garbage In + Treasure Out = GITO

Ever heard the saying "one man's trash is another man's treasure"? Well, it is also the concept for my project, except for one major difference: my trash will be(come) my treasure.

I want to create things that I need, that I use everyday, from the stuff that usually ends up in the garbage can, the recycle bin, or even the compost heap.

The "things" I have in mind at the moment are a pen, ink, and paper. I am not sure if I am being too ambitious, but we will see how things go...

I have never made any of those things, and yet I use them all the time. It suits my personal ethic of striving to be as self-reliant as possible, while still partaking in a social context.

Okee-doke? Looking forward to our collective successes and failures over the next few weeks!