Choosing kintsugi tools: traditional handmade maki-e brush? Pragmatic affordable nylon brush?
Kintsugi tools are very extensive, most are handcrafted and carry as much history as the craft itself. One of my favorite tool is the maki-e brush (a fine brush used in intricate urushi lacquer paintings). Mastering delicate brushwork with these beautiful brushes is quite a zen experience.
Those who owned traditional maki-e brushes already know how delicate and precious they are. Those who are ready to upgrade to better brushes may find it confusing as to how to choose brushes. We have made a 3-part video series, namely Geeky Brush Talk, explaining maki-e and lacquer-use brushes. If it's too geeky to your liking, skip to part 3 to hear the recommendation. LOL.
Brushes made with natural hair are the most traditional and deliver the best performance. Whether it's Rat 🐀 hair (from underarm) or Cat 🐈 hair (from neck/chest) or Human 👨 hair (guess where...) , all are meticulously selected for the best quality to be made into maki-e brushes.
Synthetic nylon is a great substitution, but not all are created equal. 🤯 Nonetheless, we still manage to find a premium-quality synthetic brush developed for maki-e use by the experts.
EXCERPT from Kintsugi Brush Talk:
Geeky Brush Talk features our findings from testing a few brushes and we are making some best-in-class recommendations! We recently added one new cat-hair brush and one new synthetic brush in our assortment. Check them out in our store and snatch one while supply lasts. I hope you find our information useful in deciding a good maki-e brush for your kintsugi tool box.
Dig deeper into authentic tools and material. Time to ditch the brushes in your hobby kit and curate your own kintsugi tools!
This never-ending pandemic....
What hasn't been affected by this never-ending pandemic?!
Many if you may have picked up kintsugi craft during all those lock-down times. In fact, the craft industry in Japan has also seen its fair share of impact from this unprecedented incident.
Looking back at the beginning of 2020, we had problem acquiring rubbing alcohol (ethanol alcohol) as priority were given to medical workers and hospital use. So we resorted to Vodka (not a bad substitution at all! 🥂 ) Later that year, pure gold powder was in shortage as the gold-leaf studios in Japan had to remain closed during multiple States of Emergency, where production of gold powder was halted. Not to mention price hike of pure gold is also adding to the problem.
These days, you may have noticed all shops and suppliers are running out of cat-hair brushes. Recent lock-downs in China and the broken supply chain is now affecting import of raw material for making brushes. So if you already acquired your maki-e cat-hair brush, congratulation! It will be awhile for us to see those beautiful hand-made natural-hair maki-e brushes to become available again.
Remember to learn about brush maintenance and keep them in top shape!
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