Urushi Diy For Beginners (Tutorial)

[MichalK]

Hi,

 

I've put into one article some information how to start with urushi on fountain pens.

- tools you will need (from surface to brushes and abrasives)

- materials, types of lacquer

- basic practice advice

- "recipe" for basic tamenuri

 

https://tamenuri.com/how-to-start-with-urushi/

 

I hope you will find it useful.

 

Right now due to COVID it may be tricky to order some of these products. In Europe all of them are available at DICTUM. Japanese shops (Watanabe Shoten, Kato Kohei) will not deliver right now to most destinations (Japan Post suspended deliveries).

 

 

[OCArt]

WOW! Thank you so much for making this beautiful tutorial!

[amk]

Bless you!

 

I'm wondering if urushi is the way to bring back to life all those rather dull, rubbed, oxidised black hard rubber pens I've picked up over the years. What do you reckon?

 

And by the way - what's the absolute minimum you can start with? I've built my urushi wishlist at Dictum, but it addes up to pretty nearly EUR 400....

Edited April 16, 2020 by amk

[MichalK]

WOW! Thank you so much for making this beautiful tutorial!

 

Thank you !

 

Bless you!

 

I'm wondering if urushi is the way to bring back to life all those rather dull, rubbed, oxidised black hard rubber pens I've picked up over the years. What do you reckon?

 

And by the way - what's the absolute minimum you can start with? I've built my urushi wishlist at Dictum, but it addes up to pretty nearly EUR 400....

 

 

Dull old pens - absolutely YES. If it not to be rescued any other way - urushi can not just save it but also transform into something new, and beautiful. Or at least interesting )) It applies not just to ebonite, but also "tired", heavily scratched resin pens, like Montblancs etc. One thing is important - removable clip, otherwise you will not be able to lacquer the cap. Other trim is to be masked, but clip that is non removable, sucks in this area.

 

As for budget - ine EU (Dictum) this is the budget unfortunately. It does not even include abrasives (other than tonoko and migaki) or brushes. But as I wrote in article - start with Ki Urushi and do some fuki. it's how I started, and learned a lot.

But this is a rabbit hole. Right now I have over 10 different lacquers, several hake, different golds etc.

[amk]

I'm ahead on the gold, as I have gold leaf and composition metal leaf for my calligraphy and antiques restoration :-)

 

Okay, I think I'll spend the money. A lot of the old pens only have accomodation clips so I'm happy to get going on them!

[Pierre---]

I'm wondering if urushi is the way to bring back to life all those rather dull, rubbed, oxidised black hard rubber pens I've picked up over the years. What do you reckon?

If you coat it with Urushi, you will have a different pen like new, but you will destroy maker marks and texture if any. And you need to be familiar with Urushi, a matter that you will not learn in half an hour. If yo want to restore it to get the same pen but newer, I would advice dipping it one hour in chlorine (10% + 90% tap water) after taking off the metallic parts, then polishing and oiling. Two different ways for two different results.

Edited April 17, 2020 by Pierre---

[amk]

Pierre, these are real beat up pens. No imprints left. In many cases third tier anyway but some with quite nice nibs.

 

My nice Watermans are not getting urushi treatment! No, they'll get polished! Thanks for the tip on chlorine, I will give that a try.

[MichalK]

If you coat it with Urushi, you will have a different pen like new, but you will destroy maker marks and texture if any. And you need to be familiar with Urushi, a matter that you will not learn in half an hour. If yo want to restore it to get the same pen but newer, I would advice dipping it one hour in chlorine (10% + 90% tap water) after taking off the metallic parts, then polishing and oiling. Two different ways for two different results.

 

 

You are right, that is why it is a good solution for really bad shape pens - deep scratches, even cracks etc. But if you want you can lacquer a brand new Montblanc 149 calligraphy

And yes - you will not learn it in an hour. Just basics took me 2 months of practice, after several months of studying, gathering materials, etc.

[MichalK]

Urushi can be both: very harmful or completely safe. Cured urushi, on fountain pens, kitchen utensils, lacquerware, jewellery - is safe. On the other hand raw, fresh urushi, or not cured fully can be very dangerous to some people, and for most of them harmful. The main ingredient of urushi lacquer - urushiol, responsible for its important properties (polymerisation) is a strong allergen.

About urushi rash in my newest video:
https://youtu.be/qb-UxwqIKRo

[amk]

So I just put in a nice big order at Dictum. I rationalised it to myself; I can buy a new Pelikan 600 and a couple of bottles of ink, or I can get started in urushi :-)

[MichalK]

So I just put in a nice big order at Dictum. I rationalised it to myself; I can buy a new Pelikan 600 and a couple of bottles of ink, or I can get started in urushi :-)

 

 

haha I started exactly same way Dictum is good local supplier (EU), but for serious shopping nothing beats Japan (Watanabe, Kato Kohei i some more). Have fun and stay safe with urushi

[MichalK]

In case you missed:

1) Nanako-nuri - one of thugaru nuri techniques int he making

2) Mixing urushi with pigments

[dozuki]

I am standing at the edge of the rabbit hole.  Would you have a link for a supplier you trust? 

[grayautumnday]

On 4/15/2020 at 11:53 PM, MichalK said:

Hi,

 

I've put into one article some information how to start with urushi on fountain pens.

- tools you will need (from surface to brushes and abrasives)

- materials, types of lacquer

- basic practice advice

- "recipe" for basic tamenuri

 

https://tamenuri.com/how-to-start-with-urushi/

 

I hope you will find it useful.

 

Right now due to COVID it may be tricky to order some of these products. In Europe all of them are available at DICTUM. Japanese shops (Watanabe Shoten, Kato Kohei) will not deliver right now to most destinations (Japan Post suspended deliveries).

 

 

I have been avidly watching your channel, and I'm so grateful you've been so incredibly generous sharing your knowledge.

 

As someone who is disabled and poor and could never afford to pay a fair price to buy any of your beautiful pens, but who has been a lifelong tinkerer and broken/damaged item repairer: home furniture, sewing machines, spinning wheels, weaving looms, wool combs, vintage gadgets/handheld computers/classic laptops, antique hand knotted rugs, book bindings, paper making, textile dyeing/painting/batik, soft metal jewelry... sorry to ramble...

 

 I'm familiar with polymerizing oils and a bit with varnishes. I'm intensely drawn to the process of urushi, but before I go through the process of trying to practice while also learning to manage the risks/hazards of urushiol dermatitis...

 

I'm imagining that I might be able to experiment over time with the skills of building up 3D multi-layer maki-e type techniques using mixtures of boiled linseed oil, polymerized tung oil, perhaps a bit of spar varnish, thin the viscosity with turpentine...

 

... it's absolutely not the same processes as urushi, and there are many differences in the sort of timing and curing involved, but the same sort of patience and adapting to materials and seeing how pigments sprinkled building 3D objects in many many many layers of applied translucent polymerizing finish.

 

My name is Autumn, so I was thinking designs of autumn tree leaves or autumn grasses. using oxide pigments and gold/silver micas that I already have.

 

I thought perhaps of using polymerizing/hardening oils to deeply seal in oil painted designs on inexpensive aluminum and stainless steel bodies of pens I already own.

 

None of these are fast processes. And there are no experiments I can find by other pen makers with these materials. Thankfully there are a few posts on antique instrument/luthier restoration forums that provide clues to suggest that I might not be crazy to try.

 

Thank you again for all your generosity creating such detailed demonstrations and sharing your knowledge for others considering the long path to building competence in urushi lacquer for use in finishing fine writing instruments. It's quite a legacy.