Mujitsu and Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ

jamesnyman wrote:

I am VERY allergic to both poison ivy and apparently also urushi lacquer. I have played many older shakuhachi with urushi lacquered bores with no ill effects, but newer flutes are a different story. What is the best way to "cure" the urushi lacquer in the bore of a newly made shakuhachi?

For a discussion bearing on this topic (and/or many others), go to the forum search function and type 'Curing Urushi' into the search field. Read the first thread that comes up ('Curing Urushi', posted by rpowers).

The search function link can be found at the top of the page in the line: 'Index', 'User List', 'Rules', 'Search', 'Profile', 'Logout'.

The search function is a useful part of the forum.


Here's the link to that thread:

http://www.shakuhachiforum.com/viewtopic.php?id=614

eB

Jamesnyman-

Not sure if this particular topic (curing new flutes) was already covered in the forum - and since I am total expert on urushi (I've learned the really really hard way) I'll share with you the main points of my experience with new flutes and urushi.

Basically you should treat urushi just like poison ivy.  If you are dying to play your new flute and can not wait the month or so it should take to cure (estimates go from 1 week to 6 months for a new flute to cure, which I guess depends on how sensitive you are.) but in the interim you can wash your hands and mouth down with tecnu - a substance that does a great job of getting the urushi off your hands and mouth - after each playing session.

One thing you can do is rub your new flute down with tecnu and then rinse it with water.  I did this and it stopped my new flute from causing the urushi rashes.  But I have no idea if this might do something else to the flute.  In my experience it was fine.

There is also another product you can put on your hands before playing which gives you a protective coat from urushi.

And I assume you have read elsewhere on the forum already that the way to cure a flute is to not make it dry - but moist. 

Good luck!