FGarbrecht
Member
Cherry burl FP, fuki urushi finish, Bock #5 black nib
Urushi is fun but it's pretty hard to get much info unless you speak Japanese (or can read it). If you decide to jump in, there are a couple of folks here who are making tremendous urushi pens (Teo, Manu Propria, Pierre). I'm just a bare beginner but am happy to share whatever meager information and resources I have if you actually want to give it a try.I like it. Makes me really want to try Urushi.
One of the fun (but occaisionally frustrating) things about urushi is that it does require a good deal of trial and error and experimentation, but you can keep going with the same pen stock and keep adding layers and keep learning with each layer. The first pen I did with a urushi finish started last October and I just finished it, largely because I was never satisfied with it. It has over 30 layers, each requiring at least 24 hours in the furo, some sanding or polishing before the next layer, etc. That pen even spent 2 weeks in a jewelry tumbler because I got disgusted and threw it in just to see what would happen. Here's a picture of it after all my trials and errors. The form of the pen is admittedly a bit funky, but the finish turned out pretty interesting and has a beautiful depth to it. This pen started out as an attempt at maki-e, and you can see some of the sprinkled gold peeking through in places.Goodness, that's nice.
I too have been wanting to try urushi, but (i) work is unrelenting and there's currently no time for the extensive trial-and-error that I suspect would be needed, and (ii) I've got so much acrylic material to turn, I feel I shouldn't move onto new endeavors before going through some more of it. Some day, perhaps.
Good question about the section. I made the pen as I was learning how to do kitless and I had not learned how to make a section yet, so the one on the 2nd pen is a Bock section that I purchased. When I threw all the parts in the jewelry tumbler, some of the finish on the section came off revealing metal underneath, which I basically left alone.Nice second pen too. Is that a gold band on the section, or an optical illusion?
(sigh) If you keep posting these things, I will probably pursue urushi (I don't really need my job, right? ) But seriously, it's nice to know that you can just keep working on it in the background, thanks.
Thanks! I'm not aware of any step by step videos in English or any books with step by step instructions in English. I've picked up what I know from those Japanese language videos and a few other online resources, and from asking questions here.Ohhh geese I love these pens. The time spent was well worth it, great job. I have been wanting to try this so bad an have been watching youtube videos of the Japanese and Chinese master pen makers using maki-e and urushi and been drooling all over my keyboard at work...not a good look in the work place. What is "furo to cure" Do you have any go to videos that actually help learn the process rather that just have music playing the entire time like I have only found? ahh What open end mandrel is best?