Green rods are used in their natural state, having gone through no treatment process, their name originates from the raw state, not their colour. Buff, the most popular, is obtained by boiling the willows, to release the naturally occurring colourant Tannin from the bark into the wood. The bark is then stripped from the willow revealing the characteristic red-brown colouring.
The stripping is done by a revolving brake, a machine much like a threasher commonly used to harvest corn. White willow can only be produced for six springtime weeks a year, whilst the sap is rising the willow is cut and stripped of its bark straight away without boiling.
Brown willow is boiled but not stripped of its bark. The willow is then spread out ready for drying ready for sorting into heights, they are then tied and made into bundles |
