Mujitsu and Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ

LithoSphere · 2008-07-20 23:52:31

Howdy shakuhachi lovers,

The other night I was working on my latest flute and got carried away with the root end and made it very very ugly.
I sat there stunned for a while - then said what the hell and torched it - this was interesting for a while, but not comforting - so then I sanded the whole flute length down smooth (the outside obviously)...a little more interesting so I played it a bit more and went to bed
The next day I painted the bottom black, why not....a little more interesting.
The next day, still bummed with the look, I sanded the flute even smoother and then burnished the whole length.
Now - this was Sensual! Smooth! Beautiful!
So - the question, why have I not seen this sanded down approach before? It seems fairly obvious once you let go of traditional aesthetics.
Is it putting the long term reliability of the flute at risk?
Anybody else trying this?

Kiku Day · 2008-07-21 00:44:45

Congratulations getting to a place you like with your flute.
Sanding dawn the root end is not a new approach. Many Edo period shakuhachi has this. Here is a picture of one from the Meiji period. I agree, it can be very nice.
Not that I have made any research into this, but I think there are less sanded down root ends today than during the Edo period (according to what I have seen). Probably a shakuhachi fashion!

Mujitsu · 2008-07-21 00:57:40

Excellent!

Occasionally I see shakuhachi which have been sanded and polished this way. (Often older shakuhachi, but not always) One advantage is that the bamboo absorbs stain better without its skin. It also polishes very well and looks nice. I suppose a possible disadvantage could be that the bamboo is less protected without the skin. However, I haven't experienced any proof of that.

Sometimes I'll sand the skin off of a flute if there are obvious imperfections on the surface. A flute can also be shaped, then sanded and polished. For example, there might be a ridge along the fingerholes which makes the flute uncomfortable to hold and play. Filing down the ridge to make it flatter can make it more comfortable. Other times I might sand the skin off on an aesthetic whim.

Experiment away!

LithoSphere · 2008-07-21 23:33:47

Thanks Ken! I am glad to hear that you haven't experienced any sudden bamboo explosions after removing the skin. The flute is starting to recover sound wise (or I am starting to recover :-) and I am enjoying all of its aspects now. It may be a stretch, but I though about the bamboo skin in parallel to the bark of a tree today - bark is almost always removed to reveal the subtlety of the wood beneath it. In a similar way I found the bamboo revealed more luminosity, more and different coloration, and certainly a silky smooth inner self when sanded down and burnished. What fun!

Nice flute Kiku - you are right I started by sanding down the root end kezurine style but I couldn't/didn't stop - the whole entire length of the flute is sanded.....I think each thickness/layer (like a tree ring?) has a different color, it is like bamboo archaeology in a way :-)

Toby · 2008-09-12 11:38:08

Here is a little trick I learned from some carvers in the Trobriand Islands in Papua New Guinea (no kidding): if you can get ahold of a pig tusk it makes a wonderful polishing device. If you rub it hard on just-sanded bamboo it makes it glisten. You may have to do this a number of times over a period of time, as the fibers swell depending on the humidity, but it does a great job. If a pig tusk is too difficult to come by you can also use a smooth pebble or some other hard and smooth object (hopefully with a rounded edge, to apply pressure without tearing the bamboo fibers). Just make sure it is neither rough nor angular.

Toby

edosan · 2008-09-12 16:37:39

Walrus and hippo tusk work very well, too, or so I've heard....

Yooper · 2008-09-12 19:35:54

My father told me that his father would polish wood with a chicken bone.

Jason Castner · 2008-09-13 06:24:49

I sand the crap out of alot of flutes that I make. By hand with sandpaper from 35 grit to 600 grit. It gives the flute a fingernail quality as well as allows the grains and inside beauty stand out. The birth marks stay if you have a peice of bamboo with pretty pink or red birth marks they will stay when the skin is gone.

I have also burned the crap out of some of my flutes after using a round 1/8 file to sand spirals the whole length of the flute. The spirals stay light colored while the skin burns black. Then When I sand the charcoal off the flute is a pretty brownish black with beautiful light spirals.

I suggest binding the flute with 20 lbs fishing line right away when your flute is done just to be safe. Thanks to Perry Yung for teaching me how to bind a flute with friction knot.

Jason Castner · 2008-09-14 02:32:01

http://a423.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/im … 2f183e.jpg

made this flute recently in 3 hours. sounds good for free and fast.

Jason Castner · 2008-09-14 02:33:43

heres a closer shot.

root end...I didnt clean it up that much
http://a860.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/im … 1fe443.jpg

Jason Castner · 2008-09-27 23:48:04

finally cleaned up the root end - with a belt sander and then by hand. boy its beautiful

Mujitsu and Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ

#1 2008-07-20 23:52:31

Sanding/Burnishing flutes

#2 2008-07-21 00:44:45

Re: Sanding/Burnishing flutes

#3 2008-07-21 00:57:40

Re: Sanding/Burnishing flutes

#4 2008-07-21 23:33:47

Re: Sanding/Burnishing flutes

#5 2008-09-12 11:38:08

Re: Sanding/Burnishing flutes

#6 2008-09-12 16:37:39

Re: Sanding/Burnishing flutes

#7 2008-09-12 19:35:54

Re: Sanding/Burnishing flutes

#8 2008-09-13 06:24:49

Re: Sanding/Burnishing flutes

#9 2008-09-14 02:32:01

Re: Sanding/Burnishing flutes

#10 2008-09-14 02:33:43

Re: Sanding/Burnishing flutes

#11 2008-09-27 23:48:04

Re: Sanding/Burnishing flutes

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