Here at Plyco bamboo is one of the many products we offer to our hardworking customers. Whether it’s our Bamboo Laserply variety or the Strand Woven, Carbonised, Narrow Grain or Wide Grain offerings, we are absolutely in love with everything bamboo offers.
Why exactly are we such huge fans of bamboo though? Well, there are stacks of reasons and we thought it would be a good idea to explain how bamboo being so environmentally friendly in particular has made the product one of our favourite offerings at Plyco.
The first and arguably most surprising fact we like to let customers know is that Bamboo is actually a grass! That’s right, you’ve probably lived most your life assuming it’s some type of tree, but in reality, it is classified as a grass. There’s good reasoning for this classification too. The rate at which it grows is so crazy it’ll make your head spin. Some species of bamboo can grow up to 91cm in just one day, making it easily one of the fastest growing plants in the world.
Because bamboo grows at such a ridiculously fast rate, harvesting it is actually helping do the environment a favour. Harvesting bamboo prevents forests from becoming overgrown. Once the bamboo is harvested the species will sprout right back up again, completing a sustainable and environmentally friendly cycle.
A panda's best friend
Bamboo is known as a giant variety of grass. What this means in simpler terms for us non-plant expert people is that it does not require re-planting once harvested. The root system remains in place and growth will continue to occur without any outside interference necessary. This brilliant feature of bamboo ensures that the impact from harvesting is virtually nothing, which in 2018 is a huge positive and something our environmentally-conscious customers love!
As a product bamboo is actually quite similar to hardwood plywood in sheet form and is able to be used in a wide variety of applications. As we mentioned earlier there are four different types of bamboo we offer alongside our bamboo suitable for laser cutting. Arguably our most intriguing variety is the Strand Woven. Here a special manufacturing process is used that helps turn the bamboo into a more durable product, making it perfect for use in furniture or wall cladding.
Strand Woven Bamboo
Our Narrow Grain and Wide Grain varieties are exactly what they sound like! The Narrow offers grains that are closer together while the Wide offers grains that are more spaced out. Narrow Grain style involves a tight-knit grain which is linear in appearance has small visible notches. On the flipside, Wide Grain style bamboo involves a broader, more plank-like grain, which is able to show off more of the product’s unique cross-knuckles.
Wide Grain Bamboo
And finally, we come to our Bamboo Laserply, which has become a real fan favourite with customers. The fine and dense grain of the bamboo makes it an ideal product for laser cutting, etching and engraving. It also machines extremely cleanly at high speeds, which is a major positive! With such a stunning combination of qualities making it perfect for use with your laser cutter, you’ll be making beautiful cake toppers, key tags, jewellery, plaques and signs in no time. It also comes in a Carbonised colouring.
Bamboo Laserply - Natural Colouring
So now that you know a little bit more about bamboo, why it’s just so darn environmentally friendly and why we’ve fallen in love with it at Plyco, why not pick some up for your next project? It’s so versatile and can be used in so many ways that it’s bound to suit your needs, no matter what they are! Jump on over to our store and pick up some, or alternatively, come in-store and see firsthand just how stunning bamboo can be.