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Manupropria
April 27th, 2014, 02:42 AM
Hi there,

I am new to the pen world and to this forum and would like to introduce myself and my work.
In my professional life I am a watchmaker, dedicated to Japanese art and craft and a passionated urushi lacquer artisan.
Last December I decided to start making fountain pens, built from Japanese ebonite, feed and gold nibs supplied by Bock Germany and all pens of coarse finished with urushi lacquer.

I allow myself to write down some information on urushi lacquer for those that are not to familiar with.

Urushi is a precious natural material and is*the most important material in Japan lacquer*art.
Only 150g of sap can be collected from*each mature lacquer tree over ten years*old.*

In comparison to the world’s annual*yield of diamonds which is about 30*tons, only 1.5 tons of the internationally*recognized highest quality Japanese*urushi can be obtained in a year. Last February I had the chance to pick up 1.5 Kg. of finest "sakari urushi" harvested in late Summer 2007 in the mountains of Nagano, Japan, which I use for my work

Today in Japan, 90% of the urushi lacquer used is of Chinese origin, processed in Japan because it cost only 10% of the price paid for Japanese urushi.
The difference between Chinese and Japanese urushi is, that Japanese urushi is highly transparent and much more liquid than Chinese, which on one hand allows to brush on thinner coats, which is important for stability, on the other hand it is possible to add more color pigments as a result to have more brilliant colors.

Urushi is very robust. An urushi-coated*bowl can withstand the extreme temperatures*up to 300°C.*
Its chemical resistance is also so high*that even aqua regalis (nitrohydrochloric*acid) which melts gold cannot erode it.
Urushi has a hardness of 6 on the Mohs*scale, which is the same as that of glass or a stone.
Lacquerware pieces have been found that*date back 7000 years and the fact that they*survived shows how durable urushi is.

In Japan urushi is derived from Rhus vernicifera*tree.*
Urushi differs from other varnishes*and paint media in that it sets much*harder and is resistant to abrasion, all*common solvents and even high concentrations*of acid. These properties have led*to its use as a decorative and protective*coating on a wide range of artistic and utilitarian*objects, as well as on architectural*structures.
It can be successfully applied to a variety*of substrates, including wood, metal, basketry,*leather and textiles, and can be built*up into layers of sufficient thickness for carving. Urushi is not drying in the air as*other lacquers do but hardens under moist*warm conditions. Therefore urushi artists*use a drying chamber „furô“, a chamber, with a constant temperature of 25 to 28°C*and humidity of 65 to 80%.

Coloured urushi is made by the addition of*finely ground pigments, but until the 19th*century the palette was limited by the fact*that urushi reacts with the majority of pigments*and turns black or grey.

Before c. 1840 the main pigments used in*urushi ware were „shû“ cinnabar for red,*orpiment for yellow and lampblack or iron*salts for black.*
Azurite was occasionally*used for blue and indigo for a darker blue, a*mixture of indigo and orpiment or gamboge*was used to make green.
A red or reddish yellow was sometimes*prepared from an extract of afflower and*a brownish red from red ochre.*
Brown is*made by mixing a lower proportion of cinnabar*with the urushi, although with Rhus*a deep, lustrous brown can be produced*simply by using multiple layers of lacquer.*In the late Edo period the Japanese broadened*the palette by developing several*new colors or shades, including a good*white, which was made by mixing the finest*transparent urushi with ground shells*or lead white.

A wide variety of techniques and materials*are utilized in the manufacture of urushi*ware, but since the majority differ only*in final finish, they are usually treated in seven major groups: carved, incised, inlaid,*sprinkled, painted, dry, and gilt.

Two or more techniques may be used on*the same object, for example shell inlay*may be combined with carved urushi or*hardstone and bone with painted or gilt*urushi. All of these techniques, with the exception*of dry urushi, are mostly carried out*on wooden substrates. However, metal*can be decorated with painted, carved*or inlaid urushi, leather with painted and*overlaid urushi and basketry with painted,*overlaid or moulded urushi. The durability*and finish of urushi ware is dependent on*the quality and preparation of the substrate,*and it is this more than any other factor*that determines the quality of the finished*product.

To produce the finest urushi fountain pens, many*stages of coating and polishing are required,*with a drying period of one to five*days between each one.

For lacquering Manu Propria fountain pens in my atelier, the finished ebonite parts undergo a minimum of 19 working steps, following the classical way of lacquering

Urushi lacquering rough steps*
1 Suikomidome: raw urushi „seshime*urushi“ is applied on the ebonite body.
2 Suikomidome: a second layer of raw*urushi „seshime urushi“ is applied on*the ebonite body.
3 Shitanuri: the first layer of black*„nakanuri urushi „lacquer“ is applied*with a brush evenly on the surface,*
then dried in the furo for 48 hours
4 Shitanuri-togi: soothening surface*with a fine charcoal
5 Nakanuri: repeating process 3 and 4 fife*times
6 Uwanuri: a layer of „kuro roiro urushi“*high quality urushi is applied with*a brush, then dried in the furo for*24 hours
7 Uwanuri-togi: grind and flatten the*surface with charcoal and water.
8 Uwanuri: repeating process 6 and 7*two times
9 Roiro sumitogi: smoothening surface*with fine charcoal or abrasive paper and water
10 Dôzuri: the surface is smoothed by*polishing with a polishing paste a*mixture of oil and tonoko powder*using a soft cloth.
11 Roiro migaki: rubbing „uwazuri“*highest quality and transparent*Kijômi-urushi on the surface, whiped*off with a special paper,
dried in the*furo for 24 hours.
12 Uwazuri Repeating process 5 times
13 Roiro-migaki: micro polish with*rapseed oil and finest polishing*powder „migako“ and finger tips.
14 Roiro migaki: rubbing „uwazuri“*highest quality and transparent Kijômi-urushi*on the surface, whiped off with*a special paper,
dried in the furo for*24 hours.
15 Roiro-migaki: micro polish with*rapseed oil and „migako“ and*finger tips.
16 Roiro migaki: rubbing „uwazuri“*highest quality and transparent*Kijômi-urushi on the surface, whiped*off with a special paper,
dried in*the furo for 24 hours.
17 Roiro-migaki: hard polish with „migako“*and the palm of the hand or soft deer skin
18 Roiro migaki:* rubbing „uwazuri“*highest quality and transparent*Kijômi-urushi on the surface, whiped*off with a special paper,
dried in*the furo for 48 hours.
19 Roiro-migaki:* hard polish with „migako“*and the palm of the hand or soft deer skin

Today, most lacquered objects produced in Japan, including pens are made fully or semi industrialized, silk screen printed instead of hand made maki-e, industrialized lacquering instead of time consuming hand polish and so on.

Looking over the classic production steps described above you might be able to calculate the production cost of a pen and then to comare with sales prices offered by the pen brands.

About maintenance of an urushi pen
Its been noted, that urushi gets brighter and more transparent with the time and it gets harder with every year.
A urushi pen should be used every day but kept out of sunlight to prevent of the color pigments to fade.
With the time scratches will appear as on every material less hard than diamond but this is one aspect that improves the beauty of urushi lacquer objects.

A good example to explain this is a lacquer technique called "Negoro"
Red lacquerware with an undercoat of black lacquer covered by a coat of red lacquer or vice versa used as vessels for food and drink offerings to the gods and buddhas, tableware and drinking vessels, tea utensils, and stationery came to be known as negoro.*

This appellation originates from Negoro-ji, a temple in Kishu domain (now Wakayama Prefecture) that was extremely prosperous from the Kamakura to Nanbokuchō period.*

During the siege of Negoro-ji in 1585 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536–1598), the temple was set to flames and the artisans who escaped purportedly spread the lacquer technique of negoro to various parts of Japan.

After long years of use, the red lacquer on the surface of negoro ware wore away to reveal a black layer underneath. These lacquered objects, which revealed their beauty over time, were highly prized by tea practitioners and art aficionados.*

Negoro—which possesses the mystique of a solid, practical form, the distinctive colors of red and black, a soft lacquered surface, and the warmth of a wooden base—embodies the beauty of early Japanese applied art.*

Today negoro objects fetch highest prices on auctions. Many of them more than 1 million $

However, please let me know if there is a question on urushi. It will be my pleasure to ansver it best possible

Thank you very much

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Alex2014
April 27th, 2014, 06:20 AM
Impressive this detail information. I love urushi-finished fountain pens. I have two Nakaya FP's in aka-tame and another one is on the way - a Danitrio Genkai bengala-tame. They all are very, very nice,

Manupropria
April 27th, 2014, 07:14 AM
Thank you.

Urushi is indeed a special material. You will also see one day, that the colors get much brighter with the time. Its like having a living been to write with. Danitrio makes very nice hand made pens. Nakaya are to "perfect" on my opinion and many of their models obviously semi-industrialized

AltecGreen
April 27th, 2014, 11:44 AM
Thank you.
Nakaya are to "perfect" on my opinion and many of their models obviously semi-industrialized

Can you supply proof or at least a discussion of which models and why you come to such a conclusion.

Manupropria
April 27th, 2014, 04:58 PM
Lets make a short calculation on a Nakaya Cigar long. As written on their website Ebonite body, "Wajima urushi nuri shines very beautifully". They normally come with a very high quality 14 kt. gold nib. Retail price $ 550.-, wholesale to the retailer price $275.-. Price including packaging, paper work, pen pouch, administrative work.

I am a very efficient and experienced worker but cannot make an ebony body and perfect lacquer finish in less than 5 hours

Make your own calculation

Best regards,

Martin

AltecGreen
April 27th, 2014, 10:08 PM
Lets make a short calculation on a Nakaya Cigar long. As written on their website Ebonite body, "Wajima urushi nuri shines very beautifully". They normally come with a very high quality 14 kt. gold nib. Retail price $ 550.-, wholesale to the retailer price $275.-. Price including packaging, paper work, pen pouch, administrative work.

I am a very efficient and experienced worker but cannot make an ebony body and perfect lacquer finish in less than 5 hours

Make your own calculation

Best regards,

Martin

I can only base the Urushi work based on the accounts (http://www.stutler.cc/pens/wajima/index.html) of Russ Stutler who wrote several articles about Nakaya and visited the workshop. From the article, the work seems to be done by hand. Now, they do do large batches of the same pen type at a time. From the article, you can see numbers of pen bodies ready for an operation. If this is what you mean by 'semi-industrialized', we might have some agreement. There is no indication of machine based assistance. Besides, how would you mechanize a process like Tame-nuri? Using machines does reduce cost but usually when you have enough volume to extract the benefits.


As for the pen bodies, those are made by Mr. Matsubara. This is very clear. Starting from the various articles on Nakaya on Pentrace including the visit of the Nakaya team to the Chicago Pen Show in 2004 to the recent TV clip
http://youtu.be/bQD9cA7dbXQ done on Nakaya which shows Mr. Matsubara making the pen bodies. (For purposes of full disclosure I did appear in that TV show).

As for the prices, Nakaya while a separate company has close ties to Platinum (The president of Nakaya is also the president of Platinum). That affords them some measure of production and volume that a company like Danitrio does not have. The nibs are almost certainly made using Platinum equipment and the feeds are the same as Platinum feeds. The nib is the same size and shape as other Platinum pens with the imprint being the chief difference. So they save a lot on the nibs, materials, etc. Packaging is trivial and the Nakaya staff is pretty lean. Compare this with Danitrio who have to buy their nibs from Bock and have their bodies made by a third party in Japan. (I'm good friends with winedoc who was the former chief Danitrio dealer in the US so I have good idea of their cost structure.) Their prices have to be higher since they don't have the same benefits as Nakaya in terms of production costs. Even then, I have Danitrio tame-nuri octagon pen that I paid $650 new from an authorized dealer. That is in the same ballpark as Nakaya so would your arguments apply to Danitrio as well.

We can agree to disagree. As someone new pen maker to the pen world and this forum (or any of the pen forums), I would advise taking the high road. It really does you not good to make disparaging remarks against another pen manufacturer in an open forum especially when you have only provided innuendo and no concrete evidence to back your statements. As I tell a lot of new people entering this hobby, the pen world is a small one and ones conduct quickly makes the rounds within that community.


BTW-I'm not saying that Nakaya does not use "semi-industrialized" methods. I'm saying I see no evidence for it based the above information including Russ Stutler's own accounts in his visit to Wajima with Mr. Nakata. The only area where I can see them doing this is mechanically assisted polishing rather than one of the traditional techniques like roiro-migaki. There is no evidence for or against such claims so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt unless someone can provide evidence.

lsmith42
April 27th, 2014, 10:35 PM
I would kindly suggest that if your pens are as good as you say they are, then their intrinsic value will be obvious and they will generate the kind of following you're looking to establish.

Another suggestion would be to avoid the mistake so many make, and invest significantly in polishing and tuning nibs in order to match the polishing of the finishes.

Even small companies using injection molding and German-sourced steel nibs take the time to do this, to great and noticed effect.

Show up at pen shows with your best work, and let people "see them with their hands."

If you build it, and it's good, they will give you their money, especially if you treat them well. Most of what has made pen manufacturers and dealers successful is how they respect people, including others in the same industry.

Manupropria
April 28th, 2014, 01:02 AM
Thank you for your opinion and information, I highly appreciate

As a passioned craftsman, I consider the matter from the perspective of the Urushi artist and it is my very ambition to maintain and to develop the traditional urushi craft together with many fellow urushi artisans in Japan. Therefore I would like to inform in this forum about this unique craft and to make people in the West know about the beauty of urushi lacquer but also the complexity of working with urushi.

It is not my intension to disqualify anybody in any way, and my information are in no way judgemental. I only give you some information and facts to reflect on.

I am studying Japanese art and craft since over 30 years and have been in Japan some 100 times.
The quality standards of manufacturers and consumers in Japan are exceptionally high and exceed even those in Switzerland.
Since I am in watch business for over 15 years I am very familiar with this aspect.
But take also in consideration, that Japan is a highly developed industrial Nation as it is Switzerland, with high labor costs where even a hairdresser earns $ 4000.- a months.

However, as mentioned above, it is time consuming to make an ebonite body and a glossy black "kuro roiro shiage" finish, which traditionally includes between 19 and 24 working steps. Roiro Shiage is the most difficult of all techniques although it seams simple. The application of the 5 to 6 intermediate layers "nakanuri" is not to complicated although every layer has to be ground with charcoal and water. But the application of the top layers "uwa nuri" is difficult and needs full concentration of the worker. These layers are hardly thicker than 0.01 mm, every layer has to be ground after hardening and it often happen, that a layer is ground through, then a new layer has to be applied. Uwanuri is the finest and purest lacquer and has to be filtered from any impurity before application. Before put into the "furô" the lacquer is checked for dust and other specs which are carefully picket out with a so called "fushiage bô", a Bamboo staff with flat thin point.

After the last "uwanuri" top layer has hardened and ground it is necessary to give it a rest for a few days for completely harden. Then the surface is ground to grit 3000 and then polished with a soft cotton, rapeseed oil and "tonoko" a fine clay powder. A ready made past is often used instead of tonoko.
After carefully cleaning the surface of any oil remain the final polishing "roiro shiage" starts with "uwazuri". "Kijiomi" urushi, the best transparent urushi quality is rubbed into the surface and wiped off again with a soft paper and put into the hardening Chamber for 24 hours. This working step is repeated 5. Then the surface is polished with the fingers, rapeseed oil and "migako" a fine polishing powder. Now think about the total thickness of the 5 uwazuri layers which have to be polished but not polished through. After cleaning again kijiomi urushi is rubbed in and wiped off and put into the furô for hardening. Then it gets a hard polish with migako and the palms of the hands or a soft deer skin. If everything went well, a beautiful polished roiro shiage is achieved. Roiro shiage process differs in details from school to school.

While the industry works with supervised climatic chambers, we, the small artisans work with traditional drying chambers called "furô or murô". If the relative humidity is to low, the lacquer surface will become "bokeru", remains sticky. If the furô is set on 90% humidity the lacquer will still dry within a few months. If the humidity is to high, the lacquer will become "chijimu" produces wrinkles because the water cannot leave the lacquer for the outer skin has already hardened. Then the lacquer has to be ground off. It happened one time, that a Thunderstorm with heavy rain destroyed my whole work because humidity in the furô went up. But as mentioned before this is a problem we have to cope with not the industry

Pure Japanese urushi that I use, cost 1200 to 2000$ a kilogram but in the industry mostly darker Chinese lacquer processed in Japan and mixed with chemical substances to make it brighter is used in the industry because its lower cost.

Tamenuri is a so called "nuritate technique in which a final coat of transparent urushi is applied on a polished "uwanuri" urushi surface.
The polishing of the "uwanuri" does not include all the roiro shiage steps. The target here is that the layer shall be applied rather thick and come out from the furô without any flaw or inclusions. The urushi used for tamenuri is called "shûai urushi" and is usually thinned with oil for a better flow.
Urushi thinned with oil remains matte and cannot be polished. This technique is less complicated and time consuming then roiro shiage.

Ishimeji or stone surface is a technique that can be applied with very little care in short time with no risk. After the necessary intermediate layers have been applied "kanshitsu fun" dry lacquer powder is sprinkled on the last very thick layer of nakanuri and hardened in the furô. There are many different ishimeji techjniques but for pens usually another layer of nakanuri is applied and after hardening the peaks are ground off and polished

Kindly think about and feel free to make your own conclusion.

AltecGreen
April 28th, 2014, 06:14 PM
I am fully aware of the various steps used in urushi work. You and I can certainly find common ground in the artistry and elegance of this art form. As for the rest, we have a difference of opinion but that is a minor point in the grand scheme of things. I'll leave it at that.

If you want to educate the people on this forum, pictures of the various steps in the process would be very useful.

Manupropria
April 29th, 2014, 02:10 AM
Thank you very much, I am with you.

Maybe to begin a few pictures of my urushi workbench taken yesterday. I was about to finish a number of kuro and aka negoro pens, give it the last "uwazuri" before final polish. The yellow lacquer on the table is used for experiments to achieve Tortoiseshell Lacquer called "bekkô nuri".
And for those interested can follow me on facebook under https://www.facebook.com/manupropriatime
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Manupropria
April 29th, 2014, 08:46 AM
And this is how the fountain pens came out today

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RuiFromUK
April 30th, 2014, 02:19 AM
Some more beautiful pieces of work.

Congratulations on the quality achieved with these pens.

Kind regards,

Rui