Japanese paper making and Technique: Strain
About this blog series
“The message from traditional Japanese paper“
In this post, I focus on technique of straining.
First of all, Chinese character of sheet forming “漉く suku” also represent straining. It is the moment when the fibers are separated from the water which are originally the plants that had grown in the soil and gradually dis-parted in the water.
Bamboo reed are used for the screen where actually strains. Silk gauze are attached to some screens to make paper without any traces of the screen. At our mill we also use copper screen which used traditional western hand paper making. We also use stainless screen as a modern paper making. All screens have different characters so we choose them properly according to the materials and purpose of the paper.
Straining also appears when making formation agent Neri from Tororoaoi which is essential for Japanese paper sheet forming technique Nagashi-zuki. Crushed Tororoaoi is kneaded in a coarse mesh bag, strained to get viscus water and then strain it again through a cloth to get smooth Neri.