Mujitsu and Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ

dreamofnobody · 2007-05-15 08:22:49

I’m greeting everybody. I have found contact with the man growing bamboo. I plan to go that place to get some green culms. I want you to give me some recommendations about when it is preferable to harvest bamboo (what month), how old it must be, what procedures I have to do with green culms to dry it correctly, how much time I have to dry it (I read that it have to be dried 3 years, will it be crack if this period shorter?). Thanks everybody.

Jeff Cairns · 2007-05-18 07:55:54

Hi Dreamofnobody,
If you are harvesting madake, then late autumn or early winter would be the best time to start harvesting. That is when we do it in Japan. A good indicator to the start time is if there are no insects milling about .
As for what is done after the culm is removed from the earth: you need to remove the oil from the green culm as soon as possible. It's best to gently rotate the culm over red hot charcoal. As the culm heats up, you will notice the oil beading up on the surface. Wipe the oil off with a cloth. As you do this, the culm should turn to a lighter green color. You should start at the root end (all the long root hairs and dirt should be removed first) and work your way up the culm to just above the node that forms the utaguchi.
After the culms have been de-oiled (called aburanuki) they should be left to stand upright in direct sunlight for 2 or three weeks if possible. Make sure to take them out of bad weather. Also make sure to turn them regularly so that all sides get equal sun exposure. Once they have been sunned sufficiently (the colour will change to the color we are used to seeing in a new shakuhachi, anywhere from off-white to tan. There still may be hints of pale green, but that's okay.) you need to place them in a relatively dark place in a horizontal position. Here they will stay for anywhere from a year and longer. Longer is better. The bamboo my personal shakuhachi was made out of, lay in waiting for 30 years before it was made into what I play today.
After a sufficient time has gone by, the bamboo is then bent in a bending jig if necessary and is ready for crafting.
Hope this helps.
Jeff

dreamofnobody · 2007-05-20 14:48:06

Yes, it is very helpful. Great thanks. I have question about last phase of drying in dark place. If it will dry in a year period, there is will be very cold in winter (may be -10C or lower). There is nothing bad or a drying place must be warm (>0C or higher)? What temperature conditions are preferable?

dreamofnobody · 2007-07-31 12:35:23

Up

dreamofnobody · 2007-09-17 15:27:46

Why there is no answer? Is there something wrong? Or nobody knows the answer?

Last edited by dreamofnobody (2007-09-17 15:33:31)

Kerry · 2007-09-17 22:33:46

Hi dreamofnobody,
If I was in Krasnodar, I would keep the bamboo inside in the warmth and try to keep it from such extreme temperature changes. Live with the bamboo. Be calm, warm and blow dude! -kerry

Jeff Cairns · 2007-09-18 01:29:05

Hi Dreamofnobody,
Sorry to miss the remainder of this thread. I've been away. As Kerry suggests, it's best to avoid big temperature/humidity changes over a short period of time, however, our bamboo curing room shifts from -3 at night to +10 during the day on a sunny day in the winter. Humidity stays relatively stable and there is no problem with this. Though the bamboo is kept indoors for this period, there is no heating in the room. Most importantly, no big, fast changes is a good thing.
cheers
Jeff

dreamofnobody · 2007-09-18 17:20:10

Great thank's for your answers.
Ok. No fast temperature/humidity changes. I have just not completely understand about heating in the room. I can imagine to dry it in my living room in some dark plase like a cupboard. In winter in Krasodar can be more than -10 and of course there is a heating in my house(so the temperature from 20 to 28 approximately), and in winter there is very dry air in the room. Can I dry the bamboo in this conditions?
And I have some additional questions.
1. a) The question about the period when bamboo get sun light. The question is what I have to do if all two or three weeks there will be cloudy and rainy? Have I just wait and put the bamboo in the sun next two week's?
b) If I correctly understand the criterion that I have to stop sun period is the mentioned colour changes?
2) I have heard that butt-ends of bamboo piece have to be oiled something like epoxy glue. In this case moisture goes out evenly from the bamboo piece surface. Is this have to be used?

Great thank's.

Itamar Foguel · 2009-10-04 20:52:10

This thread is intrestiong..2 bad not all the questions were answered but still very informative...

I got another related question thats why i bring it back from the dead: If while doing aburnuki over a gas stove some of the bamboo skin got wrinkled it means i burned it? what should be done? peel off the skin and go for a lacquer finish later on?

james3232 · 2009-10-07 08:12:07

Dear Itamar

What do you mean by aburnuki? I think you may over-burned the bamboo. can you tell me how did you cure the bamboo? i.e. oil remove.

James

Taldaran · 2009-10-07 11:38:06

A friend gave me some boo that she cut late spring, and when it dried it wrinkled. I think that when you harvest in fall and winter there is less water content.

edosan · 2009-10-07 12:11:17

james3232 wrote:
Dear Itamar

What do you mean by aburnuki? I think you may over-burned the bamboo. can you tell me how did you cure the bamboo? i.e. oil remove.

James

This may be helpful (direct download link to PDF about aburanuki process by Monty Levenson):

http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/9748/a … imonty.pdf

Last edited by edosan (2009-10-07 12:12:15)

Itamar Foguel · 2009-10-07 20:36:56

Thanks A lot Edosan thats great! gona be helpfully in the next harvest this weekend.
And the problem was that the so called bamboo was no boo at all but some kind of straw with large cane that is native to Israel, some of the curing on it worked but a lot of it just got wrinkled.
Any way now i got some fresh boo from some 1 that has then grow as tall as trees in his garden, not sure if they are Madake but they are very similar, i did the curing using perry's method over the gas stove with the aluminium foil really carefully and it went great with no burns or wrinkles (though it took about an hour for 2 canes of boo) .

Next harvest me and a friend (who is also interested) gona do a BBQ fire and go traditional
And now its exactly autumn with the first rains and all so i guess it would be best to harvest now.

Itamar Foguel · 2009-10-11 07:21:24

Ok one more question. I did curing to 3 bamboo root pieces, the first 2 which i collected were already lying outside for a lil while, their curing over the gas stove with the aluminium foil conus went with no problem and they are drying in the sun at the window inside my balkony.
The third 1 which i harvested myself, i must note that cleaning and grooming the root end took hours. now when i did the curing over the stove i did it really gently, and still i noticed that the bamboo developed some tiny surface cracks and it did over all the bamboo sections other then the ones really near the root end. when the bamboo cooled most of them disappeared.

now what is the reason? i tried to do the curing further away from the flame but other then making it cure slowly it didn't prevent those surface cracks.

Last edited by Itamar Foguel (2009-10-11 09:01:18)

KibaXIII · 2010-07-24 20:34:34

Would anyone have any advice on whether or not to performing aburanuki a second time but at 30s instead of 60 per rotation to double check on the resin in the boo?

Mujitsu and Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ

#1 2007-05-15 08:22:49

Bamboo harvesting and drying

#2 2007-05-18 07:55:54

Re: Bamboo harvesting and drying

#3 2007-05-20 14:48:06

Re: Bamboo harvesting and drying

#4 2007-07-31 12:35:23

Re: Bamboo harvesting and drying

#5 2007-09-17 15:27:46

Re: Bamboo harvesting and drying

#6 2007-09-17 22:33:46

Re: Bamboo harvesting and drying

#7 2007-09-18 01:29:05

Re: Bamboo harvesting and drying

#8 2007-09-18 17:20:10

Re: Bamboo harvesting and drying

#9 2009-10-04 20:52:10

Re: Bamboo harvesting and drying

#10 2009-10-07 08:12:07

Re: Bamboo harvesting and drying

#11 2009-10-07 11:38:06

Re: Bamboo harvesting and drying

#12 2009-10-07 12:11:17

Re: Bamboo harvesting and drying

james3232 wrote:

#13 2009-10-07 20:36:56

Re: Bamboo harvesting and drying

#14 2009-10-11 07:21:24

Re: Bamboo harvesting and drying

#15 2010-07-24 20:34:34

Re: Bamboo harvesting and drying

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