Chair Cane What is Chair Cane? It's the outside bark of rattan, a jungle vine of Borneo, Sumatra and Malaysia. It grows in dense forests and frequently reaches tree height causing it to fall over and form a matted undergrowth. The stem, which is covered with beautiful green foliage grows in length from 100 to 300 feet and is seldom more than one inch in diameter. For export, these stems are cut in 10 to 20 foot lengths. The outer bark is stripped from the main stem leaving the inside core which is generally called reed. The outside bark is cut by machine into various widths and thickness for usage as cane seating material or for wrapping and binding other materials together.

Selecting the Correct Size and Amount of Chair Cane Natural chair cane is used in hand weaving a seat or back on chairs that have drilled holes in the frame. The method consists of weaving strands of cane through these drilled holes in the frame to form the desired patterns. The size of cane needed is determined by the diameter of the drilled hole, and the distance between these drilled holes center to center. Material Needed for Hand Caning Seats: Strand cane for weaving, binder cane, one caning awl, pegs, and instruction book.

Milli/ Meter Size	Size of Cane	Approx. Size of Drilled Holes	Approx. Distance Apart Center to Center
1 1/2	Carriage	1/8"	5/16" -3/8"
1 3/4	Superfine	1/8"	3/8"
2	Fine-Fine	3/16"	7/16"-1/2"
2 1/4	Fine-Fine	3/16"	7/16" -1/2"
2 1/2	Fine	3/16"	1/2" -9/16"
2 3/4	Narrow Medium	1/4"	9/16" -5/8"
3	Medium	1/4"	5/8" -3/4
3 1/2	Common	5/16"	3/4" -7/8

All cane above is of superior quality, freshly cut from rattan, with strands 8 feet or longer. The 250-foot coil is usually made up of strands 8-foot or shorter for the benefit of beginners. 4MM binder cane included in coils and with hanks of cane.

American Selected Long Strand Chair Cane
We also stock our "American Selected" long strand cane. We personally select all of the strands that are 12' and longer from our Superior Quality CBS Brand Cane and put in 250', 500', 1000' hanks.


Binder Cane
Superior Quality Binder Cane is the same as Chair Cane except that it is wider and thicker. It is generally used

to cover the holes around hand-woven seats and as a wrap on wicker and rattan furniture and great for porch rockers. Our Binder Cane is also available in American Long Select. Available in sizes 4,5,6 mm and sold in 100' Bundles and 500' Hanks.

Shave Slab Rattan
The 8-9 MM Shaved Slab Rattan is a coarser type of cane, not as uniformly cut as the wide binding cane. It is used extensively in rustic type hickory furniture made from Hickory trees. (Also used in porch rockers). Available in 1 lb. Hanks of approx. 300'.