Lacing

[johnb]

I deleted my post. And I've been musing over your comments for hours. (Although I think my lacing was pretty on the money).  I think there's another perspective. I read this a couple of months ago posted elsewhere by Dave Thatcher.

 

I think collectors need to understand that having an item restored traditionally is no longer their choice. Katchushi have not been supported enough over the years which has prevented younger people wanting to learn the profession. The result is that there are now less than a handful of competent katchushi remaining. The good ones are fully booked for many years in advance which only leaves the dross who will not be able to make such a good job. Skilled Katchushi also know that they can make more money from buying and repairing their own items for sale rather than take on commissions from others.

Discarding the cost of restoration even to have a skilled katchushi actually accept your item and work for you has now become a very luxury. My advice when buying is only to buy the best you can at whatever you can afford, or to buy something that has been restored. Katchu is designed to be maintained, with no maintenance it self destructs over the years and any investment you have goes with it.

 

So for most of us, having items restored professionally isn't an option so people will continue to do it themselves. Rather than frightening them off and turning them into closet restorers, going for a can of automotive filler and black two pack spray gloss, isn't it better to give advice and help? If it's the wrong advice I'm sure someone  like Ian B that knows better will jump in pretty fast.  Stef's lacing is pretty ordinary and people have been quick to tell him. he says he's going to give it another go and hopefully with advice, he'll do a better job. And at least he's consolidated all the parts of his kabuto!.

 

Just food for thought. 

 

JB

 

And at least he's consolidated all the parts of his kabuto!.

 

Although, I wonder if the top band is missing from the shikoro? I'm by no means and expert.

[Steffieeee]

It is interesting. From a museum background as I am, the idea of ripping off original lacquer from an item and relacquering it with new stuff sends shivers down my spine, whereas it seems commonplace practise here. But the reaction to some easily reversed slightly naff overtight binding seems slightly out of proportion. Personally I would much prefer to see stabilised old original lacquer with a bit of damage and history, than pristine shiny new lac

[IanB]

As someone with a museum background myself, I take the point. It is the age old dilemma of restore or conserve to which there is no clear black and white answer. Do you have a rusty blade polished? Do you get a tsuka rebound when the original silk is falling off? Do you have a blade put into shirasaya and dispose of the koshirae? Do you get a damaged saya re-lacquered? I think many here would say yes to some at least of these actions.

In the case of armour I once bought one that arrived in a supermarket carrier bag as almost all the original lacing having turned to dust. Ok, I relaced it with new silk. Was that wrong? should I have tied the bits that had separated to the rest with string? Sadly, silk is a material with a limited life. True, if kept in darkness at a low temperature its life will be extended considerably, but sadly few armours have had such an existence. Similarly, lacquer can flake if the substrate is rawhide that expands and contracts with changes in humidity. To a lesser extent the same is true of lacquer on iron, which it has no affinity for whatsoever and has to have the initial coat burnt on to make it adhere at all. I too would much rather live with a piece with a few cracks and chips in the lacquer, and indeed have such pieces, but sometimes, the damage is so great and disfiguring that re-lacquering is really the only option. I have a zunari kabuto that had lost a chunk of lacquer on the brow about the size of a playing card. You cannot really fill such a patch so I had it totally relacquered. It is now looking as it should and I can live with that.

Ian Bottomley

[Steffieeee]

And so a lot of this is about wanting an item to look as it might have done originally, and about aesthetics. Which is fair enough. But not necessarily the same as best preservation of the item for future generations. Which in the extreme would be keeping the bits of armour with degraded silk in a dark dry box for future generations to decide what to do with. I would suggest removing entire original lacquer because of one unsightly bit is a personal preference, it's wholly irreversible, which is generally the museum tenet of preserving original items in their original condition. It's a balance I suppose. I would never have any interest in buying armor which has new lacquer on it however authentically it had been done personally. Relacing old silk, sure why not if it's compromising the condition of the rest of the piece... Generally it's because we want to handle these items and that doesn't really work with loose bits of old silk.

[Luc T]

a difficult question. But the patina of the years , even small damages have their value.

It is important to keep the soul of an item intact.

[Steffieeee]

That's exactly right. I see relacquered items as having no soul. If I wanted something that looked like a helmet did 509 years ago I'd buy one on fantastic condition or get a repro. Yes relacquering and relacing were done when the item was in use for practical reasons. That's not the case now they are historic items

[Jon Masutatsu]

Allow me to interject the following three principles according to David Thatcher's Katchushi Koubou about preservation,restoration and replacement wich I myself abide to,using this Kabuto Dave recently did,as an example of the first step any restorer should take.

 

 

Step 1) Preservation.

             Conservation work includes cleaning,repairing and consolidation of Urushi laquer.

 

Step 2)  Restoration.

              Where damage has exceeded any preservation process,thethe item can be restored,for example,rebuilding damaged Urushi,or in this case restoring the Odoshi.

 

Step 3)   Replacement.

 

               When an item has parts that are either missing or too severely damaged to repair,they can be replaced.This is the case with silk lacing and the silks used 

               on armoured sleeves and thigh guards.Often with helmets,the original liners and cords are missing.Vintage materials or authentically produced substitutes

               can be sourced for missing components.

 

I think this Kabuto is an excellent example of history being preserved.With the Hachi having it's Urushi carefully consolidated to prevent further damage from 

occuring,yet the Odoshi has been symphathetically replaced and aged to look in keeping. I totally agree with Dave's approach and adopt the same priniples.

I also believe we have to use restoration procedures that are correct and unique to Japan.Not the West.This again reflects the skill of the sword polisher,

or the Katchushi,it only becomes a form of vandalism when the untrained attempt such things.

[Guido]

If I have a rotten tooth, I can either

 

a) have a root canal done

 

or

 

b) keep it as it is and have it preserved, because it’s part of my body’s history, and future forensic dentists can learn a great deal from it. Also, an implant would be completely inappropriate, because it has no soul.

[Steffieeee]

My point entirely. A tooth in your body is a working thing with no intrinsic value. Obviously you'd fix it. Just like changing part of a car. When the armour etc was used it would have been the same,obviously with value and craftsmanship considered. You can apply the same thing to anything historical. It's only in Japanese tradition it's acceptable it seems to renew based on condition rather than age. Personally I'd prefer to keep the historic stuff as it is without imposing my personal tastes on it. Totally different things to compare. If you were running around fighting in it you'd have a point

 

If I have a rotten tooth, I can either

 

a) have a root canal done

 

or

 

b) keep it as it is and have it preserved, because it’s part of my body’s history, and future forensic dentists can learn a great deal from it. Also, an implant would be completely inappropriate, because it has no soul.