Bamboo

[millarky]

Hey Mike I have a couple of pieces but they are ~ 3.5" in diameter. Pretty big but if you want it PM me.

[JohnSawyer]

I've seen on home improvement shows where they discuss some bamboos as being invasive. One went as far as digging a 4' deep trench around the bamboo and put in a solid barrier (1/2" thick plastic of some sort) just to contain the shoots to prevent uncontrolled spread...

Since bamboo is a grass, it regrows where once a tree is cut down, a new one has to be planted in it's place...

[HamMike]

Thanks guys for all the tips! I'll post pics when I come up with somethin. Millarky thanks for the offer but I'm lookin for poles to be about the same diameter as commercial aluminum hiking poles. I saw a set of cross country ski poles at a thrift store awhile back and wish I would have grabbed them.

[trinni]

It's sometimes used for katana cutting practice, inside a wara (reed/grass bundle) or alone, to approximate the cutting resistance of the spinal cord . Even as strong as traditionally-made katana blade is, hitting a 2 or 3 inch piece of bamboo with a misaligned swing arc can and will damage/bend a blade (and make the owner cry). I've done it before in my early days, luckily, with cheap blades.

What was the goal of your cutting practice, trying to find out what the cutting resistance of the spinal cord would be like?

[grok]

I've seen on home improvement shows where they discuss some bamboos as being invasive. One went as far as digging a 4' deep trench around the bamboo and put in a solid barrier (1/2" thick plastic of some sort) just to contain the shoots to prevent uncontrolled spread...

Since bamboo is a grass, it regrows where once a tree is cut down, a new one has to be planted in it's place...

I have also heard of using a 5 gal. bucket to grow the bamboo in to keep it from spreading. Nature will find a way though.

[DiscoveryDiver]

...Nature will find a way though.

Jurassic Park...

[krugd]

I have found several sizes of bamboo in wallyworld - check the garden department.

Also watch out for bamboo that has been artificially colored - unless you like blue hands!

[the_gr8t_waldo]

if you're looking for "quailty" stock, look on line for fishing rod making supplies. i don't know if it's currently available but, TONKEN GULF bamboo was the world's standard for the very best stock.the price will be a bit of a shock but once fashioned into terking poles the pain will quicky meld away and you'll treasure the joy of them.

[DiscoveryDiver]

What was the goal of your cutting practice, trying to find out what the cutting resistance of the spinal cord would be like?

It's not my idea by any means.....this goes back centuries before I was born. Ideally, cadavers were used for testing the cutting ability of swords, failing that, rolls of wet reeds (or rolled up tatami mats) were used. Bamboo was added for the realism referenced previously.

Hope I didn't give the wrong idea...

Nowadays, cutting through reeds or bamboo is more a test of arc generation and angle of the blade at the point of contact. If the blade is anything more or less than perpendicular to the application of force, bending or breakage is a risk.