Originally Posted by
Fred Smedley
Alan, thanks for your sources. It appears that that the Calcutta Franks sells might be "Iron Bamboo" Dendrocalamus strictus. His pricing for the Black and Calcuta seem quite good. Where you happy with the product he sent you? Did you need to dry or season it farther?
I was quite happy with it. I did not need to dry it any further, however I did have some splitting--it happens. Order more than you need. Also order longer poles than you need. If you have some splits you can cut out the section below the split and use it.
Oh, and I highly recommend West Systems epoxy for wetting out your lugs. Very easy to use and no offensive odor.
You may also with to research impregnating wood. It will make the bamboo harder and reduce splitting. There are a million different ways to do it; knife making sites will have a lot of good information about how to go about it.