Pakohe Papers

Pakohe (pronounced par-kor-hé), is a dark grey/black (argillite) stone found in the Whanganui River renowned for its properties of hardness, strength and durability. Early Māori communities recognised the superior qualities of the stone with its ability to hold a sharpened edge, ideal for making adzes and other tools. Pakohe has the same properties as flint and obsidian (volcanic glass) and provided a source of razor-sharp flakes that had many uses including flax work. The superior qualities Pakohe is known for is the reason why we chose it as our business name. It inspires and reminds us of our obligation to produce paper of a consistently high quality.

Our papers are unique. Although we had previously made twenty two different papers we decided to concentrate on the six that have proved the most popular. They are handmade from 100% New Zealand flax fibres and in order to keep it as natural as we can a decision was made not to include sizing in our range which effectively makes our paper waterleaf. Most papers are still perfectly suitable for photocopying and/or ink jet and laser printing of certificates, invitations, letters, documents, fine art printmaking i.e. woodcuts, etching and drypoints, pastel work, sketching and an infinite range of crafts including lampshades, book binding, box making – in fact anything that requires a genuine New Zealand flavour. The full range of papers are available in A4, A3, 500mm x 700mm and 1000 x 700mm.