![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sterlingsculptures.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Kagamibuta_Bowl_45.jpg\" "\\"Kagamibuta_Bowl_45\\"")
\n<\/a>Above is my double boiler contraption. \u00a0It is just a thrift store pot and a glass jar. \u00a0Do be smart here and NOT use the best pots and pans of She Who Must Be Obeyed, or you’ll end up in the doghouse. \u00a0Don’t ask how I know this. \u00a0I’ve warned you, so if Momma gets mad at you, it’s your own damn fault! \u00a0Also, potassium permanganate IS a powerful oxidiser, and you should not mix it with anything but water. \u00a0Don’t drink it. \u00a0Yes, it will stain damn near anything it gets on. \u00a0It will attack metal, so use a glass jar, not metal. \u00a0We are using it with boiling or near boiling water, so do not use plastic containers. \u00a0Things will be HOT, so don’t burn yourself.<\/p>\n
This is about 1\/24th of a teaspoon (approx. 1\/3 of a 1\/8th teaspoon measure) of potassium permanganate in 100 ml of water.<\/p>\n
I find I like using my Foredom flex shat grinder and ScotchBrite\u2122 pads to remove the outside layer of color (I like the purple colored stuff best for this), but really fine sandpaper followed by buffing with jeweler’s abrasive compounds will work. \u00a0I would NOT use colored polishing compounds since the grit will end up in the pores of the antler and undesirably tint the antler. \u00a0I have a white polishing compound that I like.<\/p>\n Now it’s time to color our antler kagamibuta bowl. \u00a0I’ll be soaking the antler first in a hot, but relatively weak solution of potassium permanganate (KMnO4), then polishing to remove much of the color. \u00a0I’ll repeat this a number of … Continue reading
\n<\/a>Here’s the antler bowl after about a minute of soaking in the hot potassium permanganate solution. \u00a0I’ve used a piece of string tied to a button for convenience so I can pull the bowl out of the solution periodically, dry it off, and polish most of the color away. \u00a0Obviously, the harder areas of the antler will absorb less of the solution (and be lighter in color), and the more porous areas will absorb more (and end up darker in color).<\/p>\n
\n<\/a>Above are a series of images of the antler bowl after soaking, along with a set after polishing so you can get an idea of how the coloring process goes. \u00a0Each set has the bowl as it appears right out of the hot solution (dry), followed by a set after polishing. \u00a0Each set is separated by a blue outline. \u00a0The last set in the blue box is after the hot yellow fabric dye. \u00a0All together, I did about six trips in the potassium permanganate (about 5 minutes each time), and one 5 minute soak in the yellow dye.<\/p>\n<\/a>The colored bowl with the lid. \u00a0Now to let it sit for several days to dry COMPLETELY, then I’ll apply a final finish. \u00a0Since I’m concerned about humidity changes (since the original ivory bowl cracked), I’ll apply a nitrocellulose lacquer finish in the hopes of eliminating at least some of the humidity sensitivity.<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nI’m going to use my incredibly “high tech” setup to help the nitrocellulose lacquer penetrate a bit better, at least into the more porous areas. \u00a0Above are the components I use – basically a large glass jar (that seals well), a hand vacuum pump, and a smaller glass jar holding the liquid lacquer. \u00a0I thinned the lacquer with lacquer thinner, somewhere between 2 parts lacquer to 1 part thinner and 1 to 1. \u00a0I just need the liquid to be a bit thinner than it comes from the can.<\/p>\n<\/a>
\n<\/a>Above I’ve sealed the unit (the bowl is in the liquid – make sure it submerges completely) and pumped a vacuum to about 20 inches of mercury. \u00a0I’ll leave the bowl in the liquid under vacuum for about an hour, then release the vacuum and leave the bowl in the lacquer for at least another hour. \u00a0The vacuum only removes air from the porous areas of the bowl, then ambient air pressure (about 30 inches of mercury positive pressure) will force the liquid in. \u00a0The removed air will help suck the liquid into the porous areas of the antler. \u00a0The vacuum is only PART of the equation…<\/p>\n
\n<\/a>Above, you can see a little foam on the surface of the liquid. \u00a0Some of this is air from the antler, and some is evolved air and vapor from the solvent. \u00a0 Since my system isn’t terribly tight, during the hour of vacuum I’ll pump from time to time to restore the vacuum to 20 inches of mercury.<\/p>\n<\/a>
\n<\/a>Above are top and bottom views of the finished kagamibuta netsuke bowl, after allowing the lacquer to cure for several days.<\/p>\n
\n<\/a>and here is the finished bowl with the lovely Katsunori shakudo (gold and copper Japanese art alloy) plate, installed at last. \u00a0You can see more of this netsuke here at Roger Rudolph’s web site: \u00a0http:\/\/ajiarchives.com\/pictures.aspx?category=Katsunori
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\nThanks for looking!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"