Abaca, Bleached

Bleached abaca is in sheet form and sold by the pound. Each sheet measures 25" x 32" and weighs approximately .9 pounds. However we may cut sheets to fit more easily into boxes. Premium bleached abaca can be processed very easily in a kitchen blender or other form of mixer if a Hollander beater is unavailable.

This is among the highest quality abaca pulps that has been bleached and is whiter than our previous bleached abaca. The industry uses this pulp for the making of currency and security paper. Abaca production has been regulated by the Philippine government since 1914, when abaca fiber was classified based on color, strength, and cleanliness.  It is  the whitest of our abaca pulps.

Abaca is the Philippine word for Manila hemp, the fiber that comes from the stalk of a special type of banana tree, Musa textilis. This fiber came into use in the U.S. primarily for the making of tea bags and filter paper which required a thin, porous paper capable of withstanding hard use. Abaca paper has incredible "wet strength", enabling the artist/papermaker to pick up a wet, newly formed sheet of paper and manipulate it into any shape without tearing the sheet. It also has a long fiber length and is excellent for sculptural applications as well as being a remarkable substitute for Japanese - style papermaking, eliminating the need for hand beating the bark fibers.

Longer beating times in a Hollander produce wonderfully crisp and translucent sheets. We strongly recommend abaca as a versatile, all-purpose pulp.