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How did cypress straw come about?

The most difficult technique in making " Cypress straw hat" is to plan the " Cypress straw " as thin as cicada wings. In order to plan the " Cypress straw " with uniform thickness and as thin as an icicle, in addition to technique, the planer tool is also an important factor. The Lukang area has geographical advantages for people, things and things that can quickly learn these technologies and provide technical support, thus creating the "Lukang Cypress straw hat Legend"

In Lukang, this technology was introduced from the Japanese occupation period and used high-quality Taiwanese cypress as material. The cypress was planed into strand and weaved Cypress straw hats, which were exported to Japan and the United States. At that time, there were dozens of wood planing masters, plus weaving and other peripheral industries, and there were thousands of people engaged in related industries.

At the beginning, the angle and adjustment of the planer need to be adjusted by the master's professional feel.

The master constantly adjusts the grooves of the planer tongue and installs the planer tongue. The installation of the planer tongue must be adjusted so that the planer blade is in the best condition when shaving.

The most suitable wood for planing to make cypress hats is Taiwanese cypress. Taiwanese cypress has a strong fragrance and the wood fiber has strong toughness. "Furthermore, Cypress straw hats made from shavings from Taiwan cypress are particularly airy compared to ordinary straw hats." They are most suitable for making Cypress straw hats.

After splitting the cypress with a ten-level dividing knife, the planer can cut out ten cypress strands at one time.

The carpentry masters of the past were so smart that they could produce ten cypress strands in one go. What a clever design.

Watch us regain our glory Planing is a job that requires physical strength. At the beginning, we couldn't figure out the trick. We were sweating profusely after just cutting a piece of wood for a while.

After we did it ourselves, we realized that we were just trying out our skills. It is not easy to plan the " Cypress strands " with uniform thickness and as thin as an icicle, and to make it 90 centimeters without breakage.

The Qiaotou community has preserved the planers, workbench and lathe used for spinning and twisting; this is a unique craft industry in Lukang, and it also allows us to witness again the process of planing cypress and spinning straw.