How to make a reco-reco

What you need

• A piece of bamboo with an outside diameter of about 5cm and al ength of about 25cm, open at at least one end
• A pencil or waterproof felt tip pen to mark the bamboo. (As bamboo doesn't absorb liquids, it won't work with a "standard" felt tip pen)
• A sharp knife (preferrably a hobby knife)
  
  Do not use a snap off blade knife: bamboo wood is very hard and there is a big probability that the blade will snap at the most inapropriate moment, possibly causing rather severe injuries...
  
• Sanding paper
• About 3h of time...

How to proceed

• Draw lines on the bamboo at a regular interval (for example every 3 mm). You can make these lines the same length over the whole of the bamboo or vary them in some way, as you prefer.
  
• Every other line, use the hobby knife to make a groove between successive lines, as indicated ont the sketch below:
  
• You than get a pattern as indicated by the straight lines in the sketch below:
  
  To get the pattern with the rounded lines, take away some more wood with the hobby knife and then sand it.

Your reco-reco is now ready to be decorated. For the decoration there are plenty of possibilities: pyro-engraving, paint, felt-tip pens, ... Keep in mind though that bamboo doesn't absorb liquids, ruling out the use of waterbased paint like e.g. ecoline. If you are to use a non-waterproof decoration method (e.g. gouache) then a layer of varnish will be indispensable to prevent damage to the decoration during use of the reco-reco.

Below 2 examples of finished reco-reco's (follow the link for a more detailed view):

Reco-reco decorated with gouache and alcohol based felt-tip pen (black lines around coloured shapes), protected with a coat of acrylic varnish (satin gloss)

Reco-reco decorated by pyro-engraving

Good luck !