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Just to put my question in context, I had superficial cracks with 2 shakuhachi. Then I put them in wet box, they not only get the crack closed, no surprise, but seemed to benefit globaly from being humidified. One is a jiari old flute, the other one is a new hocchiku. They definitely played slightly differently after being wet, in an interesting way. Also they felt a tad heavier, until they dry up, which shows they really soak in.
My question is, as bamboo like humidity, can you feel it is a good practice for those that seem fragile or dry, to leave them a night or so every month for instance, to have their level of humidity at best? It seems to me a better idea than always put them with a dampit closed in a plastic for life, to prevent them from cracks.
One shakuhachi who had a previous crack poorly repaired seems to benefit from that, in its sound quality when it goes out of the wet box, showing probably the repaired crack could be some more closed.
Thank you for reporting your findings!
Dominique
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Sure flutes sound better when they are wet.
But it's not good to subject the shakuhachi to rapid and drastic changes in humidity. That's what causes them to crack. You want to keep them in a steady humidity if possible probably around 70%. If you live in a place that has more than 79% most of the time that's good too.
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Stick with the plastic bag and dampit approach. It's a hassle, but it works.
eB
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