Shinoby raden

[Teodor]

Hi Everyone,
Long since my last post.

Just finished this pen with raden stripes. Several translucent layers of high-quality urushi are added on the top to create gloss and protection. Some amber spots, they will clear out in time.
Turned with Nikko ebonite, for Jowo 6 nibs.
Regards,
Teo

 

[jttheclockman]

Very well done A+++ May I ask how are you doing your grooves for the stripes in the black pieces? It looks like the black is one solid piece as opposed to caps on both ends. To get squared off edges is not easy. I have had a similar version of that blank in my mind for a few years. Your fit of the stripes is very clean. The cap and body match up dead on. Not an easy thing to do either. Thanks for showing.

 

[derekdd]

Holy moley! That is gorgeous!

I've not worked with Japanese lacquer before, but have seen some of the artwork on pens, bowls, etc., and it is amazing.

Thanks so much for posting this.

 

[egnald]

Wow. What JT said. And, Wow. - Dave

 

[tomtedesco]

Great work.

 

[Teodor]

There are no grooves.

The stripes of abalone are very thin, 0.2 mm. They are glued on the prepared surface made from several layers of urushi, base layers, middle layers and coloured layers. The "glue" it's also urushi.
After curing, several layers of black urushi are painted on till everything is on the same level and sanded very carefully. The stripes alignement is done by eye, imperfection it's part of creation. In the end I applied several layers of high quality urushi to give the gloss, deep effect and protection. I polished everything with a special powder using only my fingers. All this work process took me 5 months.

Very well done A+++ May I ask how are you doing your grooves for the stripes in the black pieces? It looks like the black is one solid piece as opposed to caps on both ends. To get squared off edges is not easy. I have had a similar version of that blank in my mind for a few years. Your fit of the stripes is very clean. The cap and body match up dead on. Not an easy thing to do either. Thanks for showing.

 

[jttheclockman]

There are no grooves.

The stripes of abalone are very thin, 0.2 mm. They are glued on the prepared surface made from several layers of urushi, base layers, middle layers and coloured layers. The "glue" it's also urushi.
After curing, several layers of black urushi are painted on till everything is on the same level and sanded very carefully. The stripes alignement is done by eye, imperfection it's part of creation. In the end I applied several layers of high quality urushi to give the gloss, deep effect and protection. I polished everything with a special powder using only my fingers. All this work process took me 5 months.

Here is my new motto. I totally agree because we are our own worse critics. But in the end as you say IMPERFECTION IT"S PART OF CREATION!!

 

[Alan Morrison]

Pure class, Teo.

 

[leehljp]

"After curing, several layers of black urushi are painted on till everything is on the same level and sanded very carefully."

This idea (and age old tradition in Japan and China) is difficult for many to understand and comprehend. You have untold patience, and a master's touch! I got to watch one guy (Japanese master) do this type of sanding and finishing once. Incredible!

 

[sorcerertd]

I am probably not the only one that wondered about the term "Raden" so here is a snip from wikipedia. The history is interesting, but what I wanted to know was ultimately as simple as ra (shell) and den (inlaid).

They don't mention the skill and patience required, which I'm sure are indispensable! Teo, how long did it take you to master the urushi technique? I'm always amazed by your finishes.

 

[TDahl]

Absolutely amazing work.

 

[Teodor]

I am probably not the only one that wondered about the term "Raden" so here is a snip from wikipedia. The history is interesting, but what I wanted to know was ultimately as simple as ra (shell) and den (inlaid).

They don't mention the skill and patience required, which I'm sure are indispensable! Teo, how long did it take you to master the urushi technique? I'm always amazed by your finishes.

View attachment 356670

I'm learning by doing it. Certainly you need to master the base rules when working with urushi but, there are many technique that have some technical approaches and the rest it's up to the artist to adapt and improvise.

 

[TDahl]

I'm learning by doing it. Certainly you need to master the base rules when working with urushi but, there are many technique that have some technical approaches and the rest it's up to the artist to adapt and improvise.

Hi Teodor,

I have been researching Urushi for some time now, and have only found few resources on the actual techniques and skill sets used in the art. Are there any resources you could recommend on the base rules you mentioned?

 

[Teodor]

Hi Teodor,

I have been researching Urushi for some time now, and have only found few resources on the actual techniques and skill sets used in the art. Are there any resources you could recommend on the base rules you mentioned?

Unfortunately the resources are very scarce in English language, you will have to buy them from Japan. Most of the books in English are very general with few instructions, YouTube is also a source of knowledge. A lot of trials and errors will give more insights.

Mail-order sales | Japanese lacquer store Watanabe shoten | 漆芸材料専門店　渡邉商店(渡辺商店)

 

[leehljp]

Hi Teodor,

I have been researching Urushi for some time now, and have only found few resources on the actual techniques and skill sets used in the art. Are there any resources you could recommend on the base rules you mentioned?

Tim, another Japanese pen maker who has mastered Urushi is Martin Pauli who goes under the name of "manupropria" here. A link to some of his work is here:https://www.penturners.org/members/manupropria.25197/#xfmgMedia

There is another from France and another from one other European country that has mastered the Urushi. What I have learned from each of those who have mastered Urushi is that they also are fluent in Japanese.

One aspect of Urushi that is so often characteristic of traditional Japanese cultural treasures is that one has to basically know or understand Japanese written and spoken language to create or operate within that realm. Teodor: "Unfortunately the resources are very scarce in English language." I too ran into this phenomenon back when I moved to Japan in '86 and went to a "paint" store for some different kinds of finishes. NOTHING in English, and I had a 6 inch thick English to Japanese dictionary. It was more that 15 years later before I found Tung Oil. They had it the whole time I was there, but type or look up "tung oil" into a dictionary and nothing came up. Tung Oil in Japanese is called "China Tree Oil". I had seen that numerous times but did not connect it with "Tung Oil" until after about 15 years and purchased some and smelled it. Tung Oil! As Francis Xavier once said: "Japanese is the devils tongue!"

That is beside the point of Urushi as a finish. I don't know how long Teo takes to make a pen but Martin (Manupropia) once mentioned that on average a pen takes about 30 days, and most of that time is for the finish. Sure, it can be rushed, but true connoisseurs will know immediately upon seeing it.

 

[Displaced Canadian]

I say well done. You can tell when one thinks about the final product compared to thinking about the time it takes.

 

[Teodor]

Tim, another Japanese pen maker who has mastered Urushi is Martin Pauli who goes under the name of "manupropria" here. A link to some of his work is here:https://www.penturners.org/members/manupropria.25197/#xfmgMedia

There is another from France and another from one other European country that has mastered the Urushi. What I have learned from each of those who have mastered Urushi is that they also are fluent in Japanese.

One aspect of Urushi that is so often characteristic of traditional Japanese cultural treasures is that one has to basically know or understand Japanese written and spoken language to create or operate within that realm. Teodor: "Unfortunately the resources are very scarce in English language." I too ran into this phenomenon back when I moved to Japan in '86 and went to a "paint" store for some different kinds of finishes. NOTHING in English, and I had a 6 inch thick English to Japanese dictionary. It was more that 15 years later before I found Tung Oil. They had it the whole time I was there, but type or look up "tung oil" into a dictionary and nothing came up. Tung Oil in Japanese is called "China Tree Oil". I had seen that numerous times but did not connect it with "Tung Oil" until after about 15 years and purchased some and smelled it. Tung Oil! As Francis Xavier once said: "Japanese is the devils tongue!"

That is beside the point of Urushi as a finish. I don't know how long Teo takes to make a pen but Martin (Manupropia) once mentioned that on average a pen takes about 30 days, and most of that time is for the finish. Sure, it can be rushed, but true connoisseurs will know immediately upon seeing it.

Sharing for you all an YouTube playlist , https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0iJuYNxZuBSXUU8vY0F0wuF7HpBYzud1