Aluminium is also used in kintsugi. The grind of what I have is fine and since aluminium is so light it almost immediately becomes airborne when the package is opened.
Aluminium, traditional, lacquer based kintsugi
Category Archives: materials
materials used in kintsugi
Palette knives, traditional, lacquer based kintsugi
A wooden, straight palette knife is traditionally used in kintsugi. There are a couple of qualities of wood and thickness with the thinner one being of higher quality.
Kintsugi materials, palette knife
Metal holder, traditional, lacquer based kintsugi
This is a tool used for sprinkling the metal on the lacquer. You load it up in the open end and the metal comes out the meshed end. The mesh stops any debris in the metal from coming out.
Kintsugi materials, metal holder
Polishing tools, traditional, lacquer based kintsugi
Kintsugi materials, polishing tools and this
These tools work for polishing fine powder metals and some of the finer graded metals. They are best for thin line polishing. If you try to polish wide areas it is more difficult to get a good, smooth finish.
Lacquer for pigment, traditional, lacquer based kintsugi
Kintsugi materials, lacquer for pigment. This lacquer. It is used as a base for adding colorants to get a specific colored lacquer. It is highly refined, much more so than basic lacquer and not as thick as nashiji.
Here is a slightly cheaper version, it isn’t as clear, more along the amber color line.
#10 silver and gold, traditional, lacquer based kintsugi
Number 10 silver and gold marufun are very rough and need a lot of filling in of the grains in order to be able to polish them to a smooth surface. As the graded metal numbers get larger the grains of metal get larger and the finished polish shows more visual texture. The texture comes from the lacquer that fills in between the grains of metal. The larger grains also provide a thicker layer of metal that is a lot more durable. They take longer to do the infil with lacquer and longer to polish back out to a finished surface. They are much more difficult to break through to black so it is less likely to mess up using grinds above #5
Mixing oil, traditional, lacquer based kintsugi
This is an oil that is mixed with either roiromigakiko or ishiko for final polishing of the metal. It is possible to use other oils but this one doesn’t gum up or heat up as much as others. You need very little so a bottle should last many years.
Kintsugi materials, mixing oil
Nashiji, traditional, lacquer based kintsugi
Kintsugi materials, nashiji lacquer. Nashiji is a thick lacquer that during processing is put into a centrifuge and the result is a very thick, strong, hard lacquer. It is used for filling large grained marufun metal.
Hemp fabric, traditional, lacquer based materials.
Kintsugi materials, hemp fabric
Hemp fabric can be used to strengthen large fill areas. It is embedded into the sabi mix and care must be taken so it is completely covered by sabi and the threads don’t stick out. It is best to use it in areas with some thickness as well as width. Not enough thickness will result in fibers being exposed which can’t be resolved easily without leaving a bump where the fill material will have to be used.
Roiro migakiko traditional, lacquer based kintsugi materials
Kintsugi materials, roiro mikagiko
Roiro migakiko is a fine powder that is mixed with oil to polish graded metal to a final finish. It is finer and more expensive than the other polishing powder, ishiko. You use it with oil and your finger.
