Sure, you can cut an agave blank as regular foam blank in a CNC Machine. We have successfully tested the Agave blank on all traditionally used CNC machines.

The cleanest cut is produced by the machine with milling blades, which is also used to produce our factory cuts.

You can work the agave with the same tools as with conventional foam. We recommend working with the planer as much as possible, as this is originally made for wood and cuts the agave even better than you are used to with foam.

You can draw your finboxes and cut them as usual. We recommend the use of UFP finplugs. The most versatile and strongest finplugs, that are suitable for Futures and FCS systems. The only finplug on the market with recycled content.

Agave's ingenious fibre structure makes it much stronger than conventional foam, while still being extremely light. The stability is in the blank itself, the job is to make it water tolerant and resistant in the long term. The sealing step, in which the fibres of the blank get closed, is more important than the lamination itself. The Sealing makes the blank water-resistant and prevents it from becoming soaked. After you have successfully applied the sealing to the Agave board, you can laminate the surfboard as usual.

Regarding the durability of the surfboard, we recommend laminating it with bio-epoxy resin and a fibremat material of your choice.

Before lamination, it is important to close the fibers with a sealing step. It is necessary to make a filler coat with Eco Epoxy and Aerosil (silica) 50/50 by volume.

WHY?
The fiber structure of agave is full of air, similar to a long bundle of straws. This feature makes the Agave so light but also strong and it is also beneficial in case of dings, as water will run along the grain and not penetrate the core of the surfboard.

The blanks do not have a stringer but a middle pole that shapers can use as a guide. You simply mark half of the middle stem and can be sure to have the center. The entire blank consists of many stringers, this makes them incredibly light, but also very stable.

Yes, agave is the natural material that is most similar to foam. You can CNC mill the agave, but you can also handshape it. Before lamination, the agave needs a sealing step.

The Agave has similar properties to foam in terms of flex and weight.

One difference is the pleasant rebound effect of the agave, which can also be found in skis or skateboards. This gives the flex life, as the board reacts much more intensively to the surfer's forces. It is important to mention, however, that this type of detail can only be felt by very experienced surfers.

The source of our agave blanks comes from a company based in Kenya called Grow Blanks. They are the first & only agave surfboard blank producing company in the world. Grow Blanks is based on one of the world’s largest agave sisal fibre producing farms with exclusive access to a vast amount of raw material. This allows Grow Blanks to produce blanks in quantities that can make a meaningful impact in the surf industry.