Discussion on hemp fiber production.

[spaceghost22]

I know some growers end up having quite a bit of stem after the harvest and I was just wondering if anyone knows how to fully utilize this or other parts aside from the dank. Seed oil, hemp fiber (different textiles) or any other alternative to the compost heap or trash or whatever. I feel knowing this could have a future in being a saving grace for some of us.

Thanx ahead of time

 

[spaceghost22]

anybody? Some one must know how else to make use of cannabis aside from smoking it!

 

[Dee9]

you can make paper from the stems

just look around on the web for recipes

I remember reading something yonks ago on plant fiber paper

You can use the paper to make christmas cards!! haha

 

[spaceghost22]

Yeah, making paper would be nice to know... but I want the hard info... like how to build a house from hemp etc... lol

 

[kaljukajakas]

You can always weave a basket or a hat out of the stems

 

[Dee9]

I donno about a whole house - maybe a thatched roof - like a grass one?

Weave some cloth and pitch a tent?

 

[Space Ghost]

you stole my name! heh...

But in all seriousness would the amount of fiber being churned out by small growers (I say small because the big guys, 10k+, don't have the time to even think about doing any processing to any part of the plant other than the main product) amount to much compared to a few well cultivated acres in canada? or the us eventually

not trying to be a buzzkill but there is no way for small growers to collaborate and collect their trash and combine it to make a monetarily realistic product, be it paper, textiles, or whatever. At this point hemp farms are the place to get hemp.

 

[Dee9]

If one were living in a cannabis friendly area, and there were to be a depot where one could deliver the fibers = that would be nice. I suppose the fee would be according to length/weight.

 

[Space Ghost]

now matter how canna friendly the area, the place would be a hive of leo and even if it was totally legal, rippers would be there takin' #'s and following you home and shit, I sure as hell would steer clear of that place.

Here is a good way to recycle your canna waste, compost it and then use the compost to grow with.

 

[weed whacker]

the problem IME is the fact that any interruption in the stalk is an interruption in fibers, so all that bushiness you go for when growing is really a pain when trying to harvest bast fibers (the ones you want). i did make a bracelet for my gf using the stalk from one plant and it came out pretty good but definitely a lot of work when i did it...

 

[spaceghost22]

Well, thanks for everyone's input. If I could kindly insist that this discussion keep progressing please. I guess that I would like to ask someone who has worked with the plant on a more universal level to share with everyone the methodology behind the products. Surely we all here have a working knowledge with growing the plant for medicine, now I would think the next step would be for the community to collaborate in building knowledge on that forgotten and neglected side, the industrial side of cannabis.

How can I make a hat, cloth, rope, paper, jeans etc.? That is, providing I'm working with sufficient numbers of tall, uniform, straight hemp plants. What are some of the traditional methods, and from where do they come?

If I also could provide some information as to why I would like to know. Well, first I live in the US. There is a lot going on politically and I cannot trust, have never trusted my government to take care of me and my family in times of good and I surely will not trust them when things start to get ugly. In case things do get ugly and I am forced into a instance of helplessness and vulnerability I would like to have the capacity to fend for myself no matter how bad it gets. I've read articles on how during the prohibitions early days, law enforcement teams met with barrels of Polish farmers shotguns. The LEO's reported that the Polish were using the hemp to manufacture their cloths, and were reluctant to give in. So, one part of my question; How did the Polish immigrants make cloths from hemp?

 

[kaljukajakas]

Making textiles by hand is extremely labor intensive and requires a lot of skill and equipment. Here are the basics:

Separate the fibers from the stalk. Essentially you beat the crap out of some pretreated dry stalks until they are soft and then you grab a bunch by one end and use a wire brush/comb to remove all the non-fibrous bits.

Next spin the fibers into a yarn using a spinning wheel. Making fine consistent yarn requires great skill.

Then weave the yarn into a textile using a loom. Take some measurements, cut out pieces of the textile and sew them together. Enjoy.

Hemp fibres are among the strongest in nature. Once upon a time hemp shirts etc. were worn by generations of people since they wore out so slowly...


Getting started in textile making is pretty cheap actually:

http://www.paradisefibers.net/Beka-24-Weaving-Loom-p/3682.htm

http://www.paradisefibers.net/Babe-s-Production-Spinning-

 

[spaceghost22]

Making textiles by hand is extremely labor intensive and requires a lot of skill and equipment. Here are the basics:

Separate the fibers from the stalk. Essentially you beat the crap out of some pretreated dry stalks until they are soft and then you grab a bunch by one end and use a wire brush/comb to remove all the non-fibrous bits.

Next spin the fibers into a yarn using a spinning wheel. Making fine consistent yarn requires great skill.

Then weave the yarn into a textile using a loom. Take some measurements, cut out pieces of the textile and sew them together. Enjoy.

Hemp fibres are among the strongest in nature. Once upon a time hemp shirts etc. were worn by generations of people since they wore out so slowly...


Getting started in textile making is pretty cheap actually:

http://www.paradisefibers.net/Beka-24-Weaving-Loom-p/3682.htm

http://www.paradisefibers.net/Babe-s-Production-Spinning-

Thank you, this is an excellent contribution of the sort I was hoping to garner. The reason I press this issue to much is perhaps someday some of the viewing audience (myself included) may with to recede from the grid and it's implications. The practice of overlooking these most basic skills seems to be becoming an international pastime here in the "civilized" nations. I cannot accept the fact that I do not know how to make my own cloths etc. I feel that if I can build my home, weave my cloths and grow my own food and medicine there should be no time in my life where I must depend on my government to take care of these things for me. It is one thing for my family and friends to look after me in these ways, but outside of this select group of VERY trusted people there is no room for dependence. After all, "a country boy can survive!".

 

[spaceghost22]

Here's a little tid-bit I found over in the growers dept. How to make paper/papers from your leftover plant material (stems and leaves)

I actually did a post on this in OG.... "How to make papers from your trimmings"


1. Break your stems into small bits, and place them and your leaf trimmings into the blender. (about half full). Fill the blender with warm water. Run the blender slowly at first then increase the speed until the pulp looks smooth and well blended. ( 30 -40 seconds) Check that no flakes remain. If there are, blend longer.

2. The next step is to make a mold. The mold, in this case, is made simply by stretching fiberglass screen (plain old door and window screen) over a wooden frame and stapling it. It should be as tight as possible.

3. Fill the basin about half way with water. Add 3 blender loads of pulp. (the more pulp you add the thicker the finished paper will be) Stir the mixture.

4. Now is the time to add the liquid starch for sizing.(This is not necessary but if the paper is going to be used for writing on, you should add some, the starch helps to prevent inks from soaking into the paper fibers.) Stir 2 teaspoons of liquid starch into the pulp.

Place the mold into the pulp and then level it out while it is submerged. Gently wiggle it side-to-side until the pulp on top of the screen looks even.

5. Slowly lift the mold up until it is above the level of the water. Wait until most of the water has drained from the new paper sheet. If the paper is very thick, remove some pulp from the tub. If it is too thin, add more pulp and stir the mixture again.

6. When the mold stops dripping, gently place one edge on the side of a fabric square (felt or flannel square). Gently ease the mold down flat, with the paper directly on the fabric. Use a sponge to press out as much water as possible. Wring the excess water from the sponge back into the large plastic tub.

7. Now comes the tricky part. Hold the fabric square flat and slowly lift the edge of the mold. The wet sheet of paper should remain on the fabric. If it sticks to the mold, you may have pulled to fast or not pressed out enough water. It takes a little practice. You can gently press out any bubbles and loose edges at this point.

8. Repeat the steps above, and stack the fabric squares on a cookie sheet. Save one fabric square to place on the top of the stack to cover the last piece of paper. Use another cookie sheet to press the remaining water out of the stack. (do this outside or in the bathtub, it can make a mess)

9. Hang on a clothesline or laying them out on sheets of newspaper. When they have dried peel them off the fabric and voila! you have paper(s)!

10. If you made the paper very thin - you have made your own rolling papers. If you made them thick, use them to write your Legislative Representative and tell them to decriminalize Marijuana.

 

[Hydro-Soil]

Here's a little tid-bit I found over in the growers dept. How to make paper/papers from your leftover plant material (stems and leaves)

Freaking Sweeet!

I wonder how well this works with sugar leaf? Would it retain the flavor?

 

[spaceghost22]

Freaking Sweeet!

I wonder how well this works with sugar leaf? Would it retain the flavor?

I don't know, I would think the sugar would burn too... I don't know how that would taste or how good it would be for someone... Though the papers are a sweet idea, I'll be making some of this when I get my first harvest... I might not have enough though...

I bet the sugar leaf would taste rather well... try it or google it and let me know!

 

[weed whacker]

spaceghost - i think he means sugar leaf as in the leaves you trim off your buds that have a trichs on them.

and i think that assuming you included enough material that is more fibrous (those leaves dont have long fibers, wouldnt be sturdy paper at all), you'd get rolling paper that tastes like weed and gets you a little more high. not a bad idea at all.

 

[rusto]

using hemp for paper instead of trees could end deforestation.. the first declaration of independence was written on hemp paper and still hasn't browned.

As for clothes, hemp holds up about 10 times more than cotton...
the seeds contain amino acids.. the list goes on

its ironic and horrible that probably the most useful plant we know of right now is illegal to grow. its the most durable fiber!

bogus.

 

[Pops]

Actually, Jefferson used hemp paper for the draft copy of the Declaration and paper made from flax for the final copy.

Hemp is usually soaked in water for a long period to loosen the fiber and then they beat the Hell out of it to separate the fiber. As was mentioned, it is very labor intensive.

 

[spaceghost22]

Yes, intensive indeed. Still more worth it than not... Enjoy those papers, I know I sure will!