Mujitsu and Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ

hi,i am using some thing which i believe is better than nylon /synthetic binding in a term that is natural looking and stronger, also more durable and will not loosen even if you throw the shakuhachi in the fire. its a strong cotton line with a natural color, may be 0,5-1mm  which goes very well esthetically  with the shakuhachi.
i make the necessary binding and after that i impregnate it with a 2 component UV,water resistant epoxy for marine use. it even has a good heat and fire resistance . its not a lacquer and goes straight into the line so it still looks natural like not treated. in fact it glues the line to the bamboo in a very strong manner. cotton line impregnated with epoxy has so strong tensile strength that it would not crack even if you leave it in front of some strong heat or exposed  under the strong sun at summer. i tried it many times
here are some not very good quality pictures of the result but i could not find other 

and apart from what is said already many times here with the time one start to know better the material and care perfectly at the exact moment, i mean caring without too much caring. leaving it open, without putting too much thinking and energy in this stuff but when for example there is an inside feeling that the bamboo is dry , placing it in the shower  for a day or outside for a day or two like i do. and it takes from the morning humidity what it has to.
though may be i believe so cause i live at the seaside      and don't have big problems with the humidity

and the old bamboo looses some tensile strength and cracks easier if very dry and  fast humidified, so blow every day and the bamboo  will never dry ...

Last edited by costademaria (2009-03-06 19:36:41)

udo.jeromin wrote:

3. Is a binding advisable after all --- or should I expect/hope that the surface crack will stay at the surface?

I've always wondered about this (even though all of my flutes have some kind of binding).

A good tight binding will keep the bamboo from expanding, and will help close an existing crack. Since flutes crack when the bamboo shrinks, how does binding protect against new cracks?

Last edited by rpowers (2009-03-06 23:16:26)

Thanks a lot for your comments.

costademaria wrote:

...better than nylon /synthetic binding... its a strong cotton line...

radi0gnome wrote:

it has enough stretch that when you put it on nice and tight it stays nice and tight even if the flute shrinks a bit.

Many people recommend synthetic binding for its flexibility.  I've thought about using natural thread (cotton or linen) and to utilize its interaction with water in order to get it tighten up after binding.  I decided against it because for its lack of flexibility and for its interaction with water which may also cause it to loosen with changing moisture.  I do not seal my bindings, just a little drop of superglue to secure the knot.  Reasons: my bindings aren't too nice (yet) and I want to be able to replace them; also I don't like the idea of lacquer or superglue on my flutes.

costademaria wrote:

i mean caring without too much caring.

radi0gnome wrote:

I'd advise binding it.

That's a very good point.  I tend to be a more cautious person.  I've talked to people who simply said to me: "why repair what's not broken?".  Seems to be a personal disposition.

radi0gnome wrote:

I plan on quitting my addiction to buying lower quality Ebay flutes for a year or so and purchasing a good flute that really kicks with the money I save.

"Quality" of a shakuhachi is a difficult thing and does not necessarily relate to its price.  I've brought some instruments back from Japan.  The instruments I value the best did cost me ca 100 USD and 30 USD.  An instrument that I paid about 1000 USD for some years ago hasn't been played for a long time now.

radi0gnome wrote:

I've been told that if you aquire a vintage wooden transverse flute that hasn't been played in long while that your strategy of playing only a few minutes a day at first is a good idea. Bamboo might be different, and I have a hunch that those that follow the advice sometimes find that the flute cracks anyway. I don't know at all about oiling, the last time I read anything about it in regards to transverse wood  flutes the consensus was that it's very controversial about whether it helps or not. Some swear by it but I never met anybody who did. Transfer that to a different material, bamboo, and you can understand why I don't have a clue.

Indeed I've been told that one should start to play new wooden flutes only a couple of minutes a day and only in the low register.  The recorders I bought many years ago also came with flute oil (walnut) and instructions.  So the maker certainly thinks it's a good idea  Some shakuhachi players/makers think so too.  I feel is that my flutes really appreciate some oil on the skin from time to time.

rpowers wrote:

Since flutes crack when the bamboo shrinks, how does binding protect against new cracks?

edosan wrote:

It's the outer surface of the shaft that shrinks as moisture is lost, and the bore tends to stay the same, thus, cracks.

This does not seem to fit the experiences I described --- and was one of the reasons for my post.  Perhaps the reaction of shakuhachi to changing moisture is more complex and depends on age of the bamboo/instrument, how the bamboo has been cured, construction (jiari/jinashi, sealed/unsealed bore) and possibly other factors?

It may not 'seem' to fit your experience, but that's the way it works.

The second flute I mentioned was exposed to substantially more humidity after I got it (and before it cracked) than before when it was completely dry.  So I don't see how drying out can have caused it to crack when, before cracking, the change in humidity was from dryer to more humid.

udo.jeromin wrote:

radi0gnome wrote:

I'd advise binding it.

That's a very good point.  I tend to be a more cautious person.  I've talked to people who simply said to me: "why repair what's not broken?".  Seems to be a personal disposition.

Well, if they're going to respond like that as if they are engineers, exlpain to them it's a design flaw you're fixing. The material shakuhachi are traditionally made from tends to crack.   

udo.jeromin wrote:

radi0gnome wrote:

I plan on quitting my addiction to buying lower quality Ebay flutes for a year or so and purchasing a good flute that really kicks with the money I save.

"Quality" of a shakuhachi is a difficult thing and does not necessarily relate to its price.  I've brought some instruments back from Japan.  The instruments I value the best did cost me ca 100 USD and 30 USD.  An instrument that I paid about 1000 USD for some years ago hasn't been played for a long time now.

Yes, I had already toned down that statement a little bit by changing "Ebay junk" to "lower quality Ebay flutes" with an edit. I enjoy the quirkiness of lower price flutes too, but the ones I got as known-good (or at least known-OK, I'm talking $500 and under) fully functional flutes directly from a reputable seller get the most play time. I've got to admit I got more than a few that were pretty good after repairs from Ebay, just not as good. And, you're probably right that sometimes an expensive flute won't be worth the asking price, there's probably more potential for this to happen with anonymous Ebay sellers, but from a reputable dealer I'm guessing you pretty much get what you pay for. And having played a variety of shakuhachi with the variety of unique quirks that go along with them I can only imagine what an instrument with minimal quirks would be like. So I think the next step for me is to hold back on the Ebay flutes and use the money to go towards a higher end flute where whatever quirks exist just give it character. It's going to be a though decision though, jiari or jinashi, long or short, something I can take lessons on anywhere or will I use a wooden 1.8 for those situations... I know I spent more combined for the shakuhachi I already aquired, but the thought of buying an instrument that will cost so much that it'll be the last instrument I buy for a while is a scary prospect. Buying Ebay "junk" shakuhachi is a hard addiction to break.

As there seems to be nore activity on this thread, I'd like to wrap up what I've learned from the discussion.

1. Theory says: the single one reason for a (bamboo) flute to crack is a loss of moisture.

2. Some observations show: a flute that has dried out and has not completely intact bore sealing may crack after (so, possibly, as a consequence) starting to play it again.  Neither oiling it inside (to help seal the bore) nor outside (to make the skin more flexible) is a secure recipe for crack prevention.

Hence, to prevent a dried out flute from cracking when starting to play it (again, or for audition or after acquisition) it may be advisable to start playing only short periods of time each day, keep it in a humid environment and, possibly, bind it.

Is this accurate?

Amen.

To report a further observation:

I started to redo the bindings on the first flute.  When removing the old (loose) binding I discovered that the thread has imprinted on the surface of the bamboo, implying that the binding must have been fairly tight at some point.

So, I see two possible explanations for it to become loose:
1. the thread expanded or loosened
2. the flute shrunk when not played any more
As the knot on the bindings was sealed with superglue and the thread is synthetic I very much doubt that the first explanation is valid.

The (surface) crack is still closed.

Now, this raises the question:
is it advisable to let a flute rest (i.e., not play it for a while) before binding it?

edosan wrote:

What is advisable is to bind it with something that is elastic, like monofilament, instead of thread, which loses any elasticity after it is stretched.

Rattan, which was the material of choice for quite some time, seems to have stood the test of time in terms of durability when the instrument is cared for.  Since it has been used for some time as part of the general construction technique, I think it's worth using even now if it's available (if not, write me.)  This brings one into the realm of corrective as opposed to preventative binding which has a specific process that must be adhered to, at risk of being a mediocre fix.  That is, rattan (to) has both an aesthetic and functional appeal but must be sub-bound with another material (mono filament works well here) in order to ensure long lasting functionality.  As such, inlaying the binding at some level needs to be done.  Though there are some who think that inlaid bindings change the quality of sound of the instrument for the worse, I haven't encountered this.  In fact, I have found that the sound of any instrument changes over time (both better and worst) and that change is attributed mostly to changes in the physical /environmental body  of the instrument.  Thus, I make the distinction between corrective and preventative binding.  I would also like to say that preventative binding seems to be a relatively new idea and has probably come about as a result of the relationship of cost to availability of instruments.  In short, binding was always a corrective procedure except where a joint may have occurred.  Perhaps a sub-bound joint might correct my otherwise wandering jeremiad right now.