Post #791014 by tikiskip on Wed, Nov 7, 2018 1:13 PM

"you'd most likely have to soak the planed strips in something to break down the material a bit (which is probably why they're so fragile) and then steam the heck out of them to get them that pliable"

For sure.
I put rattan in my hot tub and it get real bendy,I have at times added soap to the water ( not in my hot tub) this helps keep the rattan wet and not to dry too fast as you work.

Plus when I say wood it could also be rattan as rattan has a fibrous type of grain and would work well for this.
If you can get fresh rattan it is also WAY more workable heck it's still green, I don't know if you could even find rattan green like that.

But damn it is still hard to bend it without breaking whatever you do.

Bet these people made these right next to the spot where the Rattan was harvested.
Just not that big of a demand for this kind of thing anymore so why make it.

Everything is made of plastic these days, the more we say we are going green the more not green we get.