Kintsugi Starter Kit Guide

STEP. 2

Wet a towel with water and squeeze it lightly. Wipe the sides of the box with the towel so that they are slightly damp. Place the towel inside the box.

STEP. 3

Depending on the shape of the broken vessel, it may be necessary to devise a way to prevent the kintsugi part from touching the bottom. For example, place chopstick at the bottom and fasten them with tape. (▶Refer to the photos.)
If you do kintsugi a practice vessel, it is not necessary to do this because the vessel can be placed as it is.
 

STEP. 4

Put out the special resin A and B on the simple surface plate.
When repairing practice vessels, about 2.5 cm of each resin should be enough.
*The special resin does not harden when exposed to air, so do not rush the process.
*It is not necessary to wear gloves since the process does not involve the use of Urushi yet.
 

STEP. 6

Take some of the kneaded resin on a spatula and put it on both cracks of the body and the piece.

STEP. 7

Apply resin firmly without gaps.
Use a bamboo skewer if it is difficult to use a spatula in a small area.
 

STEP. 8

The photo on the right shows resin on both sides of the crack. The remaining resin is left in place and will be used later to check the hardening of the resin.

STEP. 9

Stick them together tightly with force - the resin will stick out. Please hold it with your hand for about 5 minutes. Then remove your hand and wait another 5 minutes. 
※If the resin gets on your skin, wipe it off with a tissue moistened with salad oil.
 

STEP. 10

Please prepare the Tokusa while you are waiting.
Take one piece of Tokusa and cut off the hard part at both ends with scissors.
 

STEP. 11

Fill a small plate with water and soak the Tokusa. Please set aside for later use.

STEP. 12

Touch the excess resin on the simple surface plate with your finger to check the degree of hardening. It will feel sticky until it dries. When it feels smooth to the touch, please proceed to the next step.

STEP. 13

The cutter is used to scrape off any resin that protrudes.
You do not need to care even if little remains, as it will be shaved off further in the next process.
 

STEP. 14

It looks like the picture.

STEP. 15

Crush the Tokusa in water with your fingers to flatten them.

STEP. 16

The areas that could not be cut away with the cutter are rubbed with Tokusa to make them flat. In a later step, Urushi will be applied along the joints, so the surface should be perfectly flat.

STEP. 17

The surface is now clean and flat.
※If there are any small gaps, please repair them first. - Proceed STEP 40~44 (P13~14)
 

STEP. 18

Clean the simple surface plate and spatula. Use a cutter to scrape off hardened resin from the surface plate and spatula. Scrape off small areas with a Tokusa.

STEP. 19

Please wear gloves as you begin the process of using Urushi. 

Please DO NOT remove the gloves until the work is completed.

STEP. 20

Put out the E-Urushi on a simple surface plate. Put the Urushi on the brush and trace the surface to be glued.
※When using the brush for the second time, wipe off the oil with a tissue. Please be careful not to touch the tip of the brush as it is soaked with oil.
※Wipe off the oil thoroughly, as any remaining oil will cause the Urushi not to dry.
 

STEP. 21

Start painting from the inside. If you paint from the outside first, it will be difficult to hold the bowl.

STEP. 22

Then, moving on to painting outside.
【If you touch the area painted with Urushi! 】
※Soak a tissue with oil and wipe it off. Wipe off all the Urushi on the inside of the vessel as well and wash the vessel once with detergent to remove the oil completely. Then reapply the Urushi from the inside again.
 

STEP. 23

After applying the Urushi, watch it for 5 minutes. The resin may absorb the Urushi. If the Urushi is absorbed, please reapply the Urushi over the top again. The picture on the right shows a "chip", which is an example of Urushi being absorbed. Urushi can be absorbed even in the lines of cracks.

STEP. 24

Prepare a piece of cotton and brass (or tin) powder on paper. Please use brass or tin powder as desired! In the instructions, brass powder is used. (Both can be used for tableware)

※Use the handle of a bamboo skewer as a spoon to remove the powder from the bag.

STEP. 25

If the Urushi has not been absorbed after waiting 5 minutes, you can sprinkle brass powder. Please press the silk wadding tightly against the brass powder. This is an exercise, so put plenty of it on.

STEP. 26

Vibrate the silk wadding with your index finger by tapping it and dropping the powder on top of the painted Urushi.

STEP. 27

Please sprinkle brass powder on the Urushi until all Urushied area is covered. ※There is no problem even if you sprinkle too much brass powder. Since this is an exercise, please sprinkle boldly.

STEP. 28

Sow the inside in the same manner.

STEP. 29

When the brass powder has been sprinkled so much that Urushi cannot be seen, put the powder on the silk wadding once more. Lightly stroke the surface with the silk wadding along the lines where the Urushi has been applied. Stroke the surface gently and gently so as not to press against it.

STEP. 30

Watch for about 5 minutes.
If the area where the brass powder was sprinkled does not start to turn red, everything goes well!
 

STEP. 31

If it turns red, it proves that the brass powder has settled in the Urushi. Please go back to step 25 and sprinkle brass powder again.

STEP. 32

If there is no change in the color of the area sprinkled with powder, place the vessel in a “Muro” – a box you prepared as the first process. 
※The picture is an image finished with tin powder.
 

STEP. 33

Place the lid on for 2 weeks. If the Muro is cardboard box, place a wet towel on top to maintain humidity. It would be perfect if you keep the temperature inside the Muro at 20℃~25℃ and humidity at 70%~80%. Urushi is characterized by the fact that it hardens by the action of enzymes using moisture (humidity) in the air. This is called "drying" in the world of Urushi for convenience, but please note that the meaning of "drying" is different from that of "drying" of laundry.

STEP. 34

Please wipe the Urushi off the brush with a tissue.
※Please DO NOT touch the brush tip.
 

STEP. 35

Put salad oil on a small plate and tap the base of the brush to remove the Urushi. It is enough if the Urushi is removed to about the level shown on the left in the photo.

STEP. 36

Put a generous amount of clean salad oil on the brush and return it to the cap. (Just enough oil to drip off).
※If the cap breaks, just wrap it in plastic wrap and store it.
 

STEP. 37

After wiping the Urushi off the surface of the surface plate with a tissue, soak the tissue in oil and wipe it clean. The work is finished by washing it with detergent because it is slippery with oil.

STEP. 38

After 2 weeks, please take out the repaired bowl from the Muro and rinsed with water to eliminate the powder – Here is the Kintsugi bowl only for you!
※Picture is finished images.
 

STEP. 39

Prepare Muro and special resin - STEP 1~5 (P3~4).

STEP. 40

Take a little resin on a spatula and fill in the chipped area.
※Please put it on just enough to raise it up a little, as you will shape it later.
 

STEP. 41

Once filled, please wait 15 minutes for the resin to be harden. Touch the excess resin on the surface plate with your finger to check the hardening. It will feel sticky until it dries. When it feels slippery to the touch, please proceed to the next step.

STEP. 42

Shape to some extent with a cutter.
※Be careful not to shave too much, as the next step is to shape it in earnest.
 

STEP. 43

Rub the shaped area to some extent with a wet Tokusa to further shape and smooth the surface.
※Midway through the process, wipe off the water with a tissue to make it easier to check the shape.
 

STEP. 44

It is perfect when the shape is right, the resin part is no longer shiny, and the whole piece is whitish.

STEP. 45

If there is a dent or you have cut too much, make the resin again and go back to STEP 40 (p. 13). In the photo on the right, the black areas are the dents.

STEP. 46

Clean the simple surface plate and spatula. Scrape off hardened resin from the surface plate and spatula with a cutter. Scrape off small parts with a Tokusa.

STEP. 47

Please wear gloves as you begin the process of using Urushi. Please DO NOT remove the gloves until the work is completed.

STEP. 48

When using the brush for the second time, wipe off the oil with a tissue. Please be careful not to touch the tip of the brush as it is soaked with oil.
※Wipe off the oil thoroughly, as any remaining oil will cause the Urushi not to dry.
 

STEP. 49

Put out the E-Urushi on a simple surface plate. Please put the E-Urushi on the brush and apply the Urushi to the resin part. Be careful not to make the surface bumpy.
※The tip is to paint vertically, horizontally, and diagonally.

STEP. 50

From here, the process is the same as the cracking process. 
(STEP 23~38 <P8~12>)
 

STEP. 51

Prepare the Muro. 
(STEP 1~3<P3>)
 

STEP. 52

Draw lines over the cracks with E-Urushi, sprinkle with brass powder, and allow it to dry. (STEP 19~38〈P7~12〉)