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#1 2007-04-16 19:09:38

amokrun
Member
From: Finland
Registered: 2006-08-08
Posts: 413

Urushi on the surface of the root-end?

I've seen various flutes which have urushi or something else on the surface of the bamboo. Very often this layer goes all the way from the root to the first node or so. Some flutes have a very precise line where the layer ends whereas in others the layer sort of fades out without a clear ending point. Most such flutes have been rather old although I have seen some new ones as well.

I read from somewhere that komuso monks occasionally used such flutes. I believe John Singer has a picture of such flute on his site. I was curious if that sort of thing has any adverse effects on the flute? Is the flute more or less likely to crack from the root if it gets covered in urushi? Is there anything else to keep in mind that you could think of?

The reason I was asking is that I'd love to get a 1.8 (roughly anyway) jinashi with such a design. I just want to be sure that it's not a recipe for disaster. I've grown to like the look of such flutes and I'd love to get one more 1.8 that is a jinashi.

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#2 2007-04-17 21:53:51

Mujitsu
Administrator/Flutemaker
From: San Francisco
Registered: 2005-10-05
Posts: 885
Website

Re: Urushi on the surface of the root-end?

amokrun wrote:

The reason I was asking is that I'd love to get a 1.8 (roughly anyway) jinashi with such a design. I just want to be sure that it's not a recipe for disaster.

Staining the roots with a thinned urushi mixture seems to be a common practice with many shakuhachi. Sometimes the urushi is applied thicker. I'm under the assumption that this is mainly done for aesthetics. I suppose one could argue that coating part or the entire (exterior) flute with urushi might protect the bamboo, but I don't know that for sure. I can't imagine and have not experienced any negative results from this.

KL

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#3 2007-04-18 10:48:28

Mujitsu
Administrator/Flutemaker
From: San Francisco
Registered: 2005-10-05
Posts: 885
Website

Re: Urushi on the surface of the root-end?

Mujitsu wrote:

I can't imagine and have not experienced any negative results from this.

If you are sensitive to urushi, that would certainly qualify as a negative! However, I've never heard of or experienced any adverse  results on the bamboo by applying urushi.

Ken

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#4 2007-04-18 10:56:04

amokrun
Member
From: Finland
Registered: 2006-08-08
Posts: 413

Re: Urushi on the surface of the root-end?

How does oiling the surface of the bamboo work if the whole thing is covered in urushi? Is it just left alone or does urushi actually let some of the oil through? As far as I can tell, a flute that has urushi in the bore seems to keep moisture sealed inside it pretty tightly. It would seem to make sense that using oil or such on the surface would just make the surface oily until you wipe it off.

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#5 2007-04-18 11:15:32

Mujitsu
Administrator/Flutemaker
From: San Francisco
Registered: 2005-10-05
Posts: 885
Website

Re: Urushi on the surface of the root-end?

amokrun wrote:

How does oiling the surface of the bamboo work if the whole thing is covered in urushi?

I don't use oil for flutes. (bare or urushi covered) There are different views on this. Personally, I don't see any advantage of using oil over urushi. Maybe there are others who practice differently.

KL

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#6 2007-04-18 12:00:25

amokrun
Member
From: Finland
Registered: 2006-08-08
Posts: 413

Re: Urushi on the surface of the root-end?

Mujitsu wrote:

I don't use oil for flutes. (bare or urushi covered) There are different views on this. Personally, I don't see any advantage of using oil over urushi. Maybe there are others who practice differently.

Just so we are talking about the same thing, you don't use anything (oil, water...) on your flutes to keep the moist? And yes, I've kind of noticed that when it comes to bamboo there are lots of opinions and some of them seem to be almost like voodoo magic with no basis in anything other than "that's how I've always done it". If I had a dollar for every time someone tells me something that is totally different from what I was told the last time my Taimu fund would have overflowed by now.

Actually, this leads me to a rather strange story. My first flute, a student level jiari from Monty, ended up cracking slighty at few places after 6 months or so. Nothing serious, just surface cracks that stop at the bindings. I used to oil that flute regularly because it was recommended. The next flute I bought was a 2.5 jinashi from Ken here. I've owned it for longer than it took the jiari to crack and it shows absolutely no sings of cracking even though I barely oil it at all. It could be the thick walls. It could be the jiari/jinashi issue. It could be just luck. Either way, that one is still intact with no oil on it for a good while now.

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#7 2007-04-18 14:18:28

Mujitsu
Administrator/Flutemaker
From: San Francisco
Registered: 2005-10-05
Posts: 885
Website

Re: Urushi on the surface of the root-end?

amokrun wrote:

Just so we are talking about the same thing, you don't use anything (oil, water...) on your flutes to keep the moist?

I've used oil in the past but haven't for years now. As I get older with shakuhachi, I usually take the "less is more" attitude. Or, I may just be getting lazy.

amokrun wrote:

I've kind of noticed that when it comes to bamboo there are lots of opinions

One of the things I love about shakuhachi is that there are so many ways to go about it. We're talking about a hollow stick with holes here. From such a basic beginning, conflicting opinions and advice seem inevitable. For me, shakuhachi is mainly a tool to help me practice being myself. So, beware of my advice!

amokrun wrote:

crack.....It could be just luck.

I imagine there are many variables involved with cracking. But, sometimes it might just be luck of the draw.

KL

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