Fiber
Fiber (ger .: fiber ) or Mexico Fiber , occasionally Fiber written, is a yellow natural fiber . It is mainly obtained from the leaf veins of two agave species that grow on the Mexican high plateau . These are the agave lechuguilla or Ixtle agave and the agave funkiana from the Jaumave area (ixtle jaumave). The Jaumave fibers are a little smoother, thinner and softer than Lechuguilla fibers. However, they are both allowed to be sold under the Mexicofibre name.
Originally, the leaves were collected from wild plants. Later, when the demand for Mexicofibre increased, plantations were also created. Attempts to cultivate the fiber-producing agave species in other tropical highlands, such as East Africa or Java, have failed . The plants there could not develop fibers suitable for brush or paintbrush production, so that Mexico has a natural monopoly on fiber . From the age of three, the leaves are harvested three or four times a year in the plantations. The finished fiber bears the trade name "Tampico-Fiber", named after the port city of Tampico .
The advantages of fiber are its extraordinary resistance to acid , alkali and heat , as well as high elasticity and optimal water absorption. This is why the natural fiber fiber is very important in the areas of scrubbing brushes, scrubbing brushes, bath brushes, massage brushes and dish brushes. Fiber can withstand temperatures above 200 ° C. For use under high heat loads, e.g. B. in road construction as a tar scrubber or for machine brushes in hot environments there is no adequate replacement by other fibers. A mixture of Mexico Fiber and Bassine from the Palmyra palm is called Union fiber referred, often in the ratio 60:40, 50:50 or 40:60 traded.
Today fiber is partially being replaced by synthetically produced fibers. Natural fiber, however, has a higher resistance and, unlike synthetic fibers, absorbs water.
literature
- Ernst Bock: Brushes and Paintbrushes; The diverse products of the brush and paintbrush making trade and their most important components. Self-rel. of the Central Association of Brush Manufacturers, Dressers and Suppliers of the FRG and West Berlin, Bechhofen a. d. Heide, 1983, pp. 145-148.