BAMBOO-WOOD COMPOSITE POLE 織竹木柲

Bamboo weaved wood Core pole was one of the most advanced military composite material technology dated over at least 2500 years ago,  The term 織竹木柲  - weaved bamboo wood pole was know in historical text but no one know exactly the composition of this type of pole and how it is made.  

The tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng is located at Leigudun in the suburbs of Sui County in Hubei and was excavated in 1978. The tomb of the feudal King, buried 2400 years ago, contains an ancient arsenal of various battle field weapons and amount the finds, intact lacquered coated long poles accompany the bronze pole weapon. It is in this tomb that the first physical specimen of bamboo wood composite pole was found.

Upon analysis of the rare surviving intact specimen, It reveals that the pole was comprised of a core wood pole surrounded by parallel bamboo strips.  Wrapped by juke cord .  Cord surface smoothen with ash putty and cover with a thin hemp fabric.  Multiple layers of lacquer is applied to provide moisture resistance.

The composite pole is sturdy and rigid to the point of metal like, have good dimensional stability and impact resistance.  Impervious to the elements and overall, the most advance composite material technology at the time.

The multiple steps involved to create a bamboo-wood composite pole were labor intensive and expansive and eventually, the pole and its construction method was lost in the sand of time.

Until now.

Specifications

High grade Ash core pole, with bamboo strip wrap, bound by juke cord smoothen with ash putty and finish with multiple layers of true lacquer.   

This pole is uniform in diameter and comes with a brass pole cap, an exact replica of a specimen in LK Chen's private collection where the remnants of bamboo strips was discovered. 

Perfect companion for spears

Length 230 cm (7' 6")

Diameter 3cm (1.18") non-tapering

Weight 2400 g (5 lb. 4.65 oz)

This labor intensive recreation takes over 10 steps and several days to construct.