MAKING ABACA FIBER
Abaca fiber is extracted from the leaf sheath around the base of the abaca plant. Harvesting of abaca stalks
usually takes place between 18 and 24 months from the first shoots.
When mature, an abaca plant will have about 12 to 30 leaf stalks,
each approximately 12 to 20 feet high. Subsequent harvest is done at 3 to 4 month intervals.
There are two stages in the harvesting process:
(1) topping, when the leaf stalks are cut at the base of the petiole
with a knife or a sickle.
(2) tumbling, when the stalks are tumbled down with the use of a bolo knife.
After tumbling, the cut stalks are put in a pile, ready for the next step:
Tuxying.
Tuxying is the process of extracting the fiber from the leaf sheaths.
A specially-made tuxying knife is used to make an
incision through the inner and middle layer of each sheath,
close to the base or butt end to remove the outer layer.
The strips, or “tuxies”, obtained from this process are then put through a
cleaning process, called stripping, in which all
pulpy material is scraped off and the strands of fiber are freed.
In the Philippines, the two common stripping methods in use are
hand-stripping and spindle stripping.
Hand-stripping (hagotan) is a simple yet laborious method. The strip, or tuxy, is inserted between a block and the stripping knife, then pulled with force
from the tip end of the tuxy to separate the fiber from any waste.
The spindle stripping method involves winding the fibers around a
tapered-shaped spindle which is kept in motion by an electric motor or
an engine. A spindle stripped fiber tends to be whiter and more lustrous than a corresponding grade of hand stripped fiber.
The abaca fibers are then left out to dry naturally in the sun.
Once the abaca fibers have dried out sufficiently, they are transported to a warehouse where they are sorted according to quality.
The best grades of abaca are fine, lustrous, light beige in colour and very
strong. The official standard grades of abaca fiber are divided into three
classes depending on the manner of extraction: hand-stripping, spindle-stripping or decortication. Quality is then determined by colour, texture,
fiber length, strength, and cleaning, which is a direct result of the stripping method and knife used.
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