Equipment and tools for KINTSUGI
FURO - moisture cabinet
The limits for polymerization of URUSHI are in a temperature range between 20 °C and 30 °C and a relative humidity between 65% and 85%. To ensure these conditions, a moisture cabinet (URUSHI FURO) is used, which is equipped with variable-use shelves and offers dust-free conditions in addition to the favorable temperature and humidity conditions.
HERA - spatula
URUSHI is almost always processed together with other substances such as vegetable oils, color pigments, fillers but also camphor, which must be mixed with the Lacquer. For this work, a spatula (HERA) is used, which is traditionally made from a split chip of cypress wood, the Japanese peacock or snowball tree, in different widths and bevels by the lacquer artists themselves usually.
FUDE - paint brushes
FUDE (round brushes) are available in various designs regarding hair length and the thickness and smoothness of the trim (bristle). They are used for drawing fine lines and filling decorative areas and are mainly used for MAKI-E (scatter paintings). Characteristic of the FUDE is a brush tip about two millimeters long, which merges into a more or less bulbous body of the trim. The bulbous part serves as a depot for the medium to be painted — URUSHI — which is directed into the tip and, depending on the “depot size”, allows very long lines to be drawn without interruption. The brushes are always moved from top to bottom, vertically.
Since 2008, it is prohibited to import or trade cat fur within the European Union. Thus, alternative brushes to the usual Japanese cat hair brushes are offered within Europe. Brushes with a metal trim are not recommended because it causes discolorations of the urushi.
Tools for gold application – ASHIRAI KEBO,
MAWATA and TSUTSU
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ASHIRAI KEBO is a special brush made of hair from horse back fur for applying very fine powder gold.
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Alternatively, MAWATA (fine silk absorbent cotton or silk cotton fleece) can also be used.
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Another small tool for flat coating with scattered metal are the sieve tubes provided with sieve mesh of different mesh sizes.