Preparation of Tools and Materials

A visit to Intaglio Printmaker (Figure 2), the specialist that supplies a range of printmaking equipment located in Central London sometime in early March 2013 has given the writer a chance to explore the varieties of tools and materials for different types of printmaking methods. A number of products can be found online but the first hand experience has exposed the writer to an exploration of various grades of materials. The personal help from Karyn White has provided the direction for this research and guided the writer in choosing the proper types of tools and materials. Hence, a visit to the shop has led to a discovery of several types of assorted chisel, knife, mallet and whetstone that have been used since the development of ukiyo-e. Apart from receiving a lot of advice from experienced staff, the writer was also given the opportunity to sample and test products first hand. To get the finest materials, the writer ended up spending many hours in the shop.

Figure 2: Intaglio Printmaker

According to Karyn White, each of the carving tools was handmade and has been labeled by their own specific name (Figure 3). All of them have been imported from Japan and they are sold based on the size of the blades. Throughout history, the process of blade and chisel making employed by the sword-smiths has been similar to the process of making a Japanese sword. Based on Yoshida T., and Yuki R., 1966), the cutters in the former days used a kozuka (a small knife attached to a Japanese sword) by converting it into a knife for cutting lines, but today a special tool called a tō or a hangi-tō is used for the purpose. As mentioned by April V.  (1998), the sharp steel tools consist of seven shapes and many sizes, mainly variations of the tō knife, u-gouge and a flat chisel with an arced bevel. They are designed especially for cutting flat wood in horizontal position. They are called by the name of tō (hangi-tō), aisuki, sōainomi, marunomi, komasuki, sankakutō, kentōnomi and sashiki-nokogiri.

Figure 3 : Various carving tools

The knife and chisel are to be considered as the most important tool for cutting lines on the block. Based on the writer's observation, the grip is made out of wood and is about three inches long and square-shaped. The blade is inserted in a slit until the end of the grip and is held tightly by a brass ring. Besides holding the blade, the other purposes of the brass ring is to loosen the permit extension of the blade as it becomes worn down through grinding. According to Yoshida T., and Yuki R., (1966), a good blade is difficult to find, since only about one in ten produced by even a good knife maker proves to be satisfactory. As shown in Figure 4, only three types of Japanese chisels can be found in the shop, and they are called komasuki, sankakutō and aisuki.

Figure 4: Komasuki, Sankakutō and Aisuki 

Figure 5: Tō

Komasuki is a semicircular chisel that is much smaller than marunomi. According to history, ukiyo-e artisans in general did not use this type of chisel for carving. On the other hand, sankakutō is the V-shaped chisel that was seldom used by ukiyo-e artisans. The third knife is called aisuki or known as the flat scraper which is used for cutting away unnecessary parts of the block by pushing them forward. This type of scraper is created in different sizes based on the width of the part to be cut. Although the shop did not sell the complete set of Japanese wood carving, they provide other alternative tools that are sold cheaper. Another important tool that should be highlighted is the tō knife (Figure 5). Based on past experience, the most useful tool in getting a sharp and precise image is by using the tō. Since the shop did not provide any tō, the writer decided to use her own personal old set of tools with a mix of English knife and a couple of new sankakutōs. In addition, every printmaker needs to have a whetstone or known as toishi in Japanese for sharpening the tools and smoothing the surface of repaired parts of the block. As mentioned by Yoshida T., and Yuki R., (1966), there are three main types of whetstone called arato, chūdo and shiageto, each with a different grade of surface with coarse, medium and smooth surfaces respectively. These whetstones are made of aqueous rock, oblong in shape and are placed in a wooden basin of water on a small bench when used. Another whetstone called the awasedo is used for flattening the surfaces of the whetstones that have been concavely worn. Since the only whetstones available are made from artificial stones, such as axolite, carborundum or India, the writer has no other choice but to purchase them.

Figure 6: Movement and position in whetting a tool

Every tool needs to be kept in readiness for use at any time by using the whetstones to prevent them from getting blunt or broken. There are ways in whetting a tool. The tool must be held in the correct position, either slanting or with the flat side of the edge coming closely in contact with the surface of the whetstone. Next, the tool is moved to and fro lengthwise along the stone in order to whet the edge with perfect evenness (Figure 6). To keep it constantly wet, water is applied to the surface of the whetstone. Each of the tools requires different ways of whetting. According to Rothenstein M. (1970), gouge and V tool need both care and practice to maintain. Sharpening tools require some experience in which the difficulty lies in keeping the tool at a constant angle as it is passed over the stone. The edge of the tool needs to be whetted absolutely flat by moving it exactly parallel with the surface of the stone. The same process is repeated until the edge becomes sharp and glittering. As for tō, to prevent the point from breaking off, the pointed part needs to be whet in the last few strokes after both sides have been whetted. The tō should be held against the whetstone instead of bringing the slanting side in contact with its surface (Figure 7). For aisuki and sōainomi, the slanting side should be whetted slightly round rather than flat. In contrast, the outside edge of sankakutō, according to Justin Sander, should be whetted in the same manner as the tō and aisuki, as illustrated in the video of "Whetting Sankakutō" below. When not in use, the tools should be oiled and kept in a dry place.

Figure 7: Last strokes in whetting tō

The next step is to choose the right type of blocks for printing. In considering the selection of blocks, the wood must be fine, contain fine line of texture and solidity. It is also important that the block has a certain degree of absorbency to retain water-based pigments during the printing process. In Japan, the type of wood that has been used for centuries for woodblock printing is from the species of wild cherry called yamazakura. Blocks were mainly cut from a section of the trunk. They were then set aside to season for several years until they have dried or shrunk. The blocks were then smoothen with kanna, a Japanese style plane. As mentioned by Yoshida T., and Yuki R., (1966), it is believed that if good wood is used and the pigment is not too hard, a block should be good for over ten thousand impressions. With the help from the writer's tutor, Professor Andrew Kulman, two cherry woodblocks were found in Gosta Green workshop; however, since it cannot be cut down easily, the blocks remained untouched. As there was no luck in the search for cherry woodblocks, three types of plywood, namely economy plywood, Japanese side grain woodblock and professional plywood were found being sold at Intaglio Printmaker. After testing the samples of woodblocks, the Japanese side grain was found to have the finest line of texture and solidity; hence,  4 woodblocks were purchased to produce 7 layers of coloured woodblock print. 

Figure 8: Cherry woodblock

Figure 9: Testing sample of woodblocks

Another important material to consider is the paper. A variety of Japanese paper can be found. According to Karyn White, each paper is produced in different textures depending on the fibre. Some artist prefers lines of the fibre to appear on the paper while some prefer it with flat surface. To get the best result, the writer purchased different types of Japanese paper, such as Shoji, Kozo, Hosho and Tosa Washi to experiment with (Figure 10). According to Yoshida T., and Yuki R., (1966), the handmade paper, namely Hosho, possesses the qualities of soft, strong paper, and allows pigments to be driven into it, enabling the printer to rub it many times which is essential for ukiyo-e prints. 

Figure 10: A variety of Japanese paper

Figure 11: Baren

In the early period of ukiyo-e, pigments were made from vegetal and mineral sources. It was then gradually improved with the existence of lightfast pigments straight from the tube. Basic colours such as blue, yellow and red were purchased since the only water-based inks available for relief ink printing in Birmingham is from Daler Rowney Block Printing Ink. Baren on the other hand is another important tool that a printmaker should have. Baren is a circular pressing pad indispensable for woodblock printing (Figure 11). Although it is physically simple in appearance, its function is important to produce an ideal impression from the block printing. It is known to be introduced into Japan during the Muromachi period. As a substitute, some amateurs can use a spoon as baren but the efficiency or quality might differ between the two. Brushes were also used in traditional ukiyo-e prints to apply pigments to the block based on Figure 12. The large brushes are generally used to apply pigments over large spaces while the small ones are used for small spaces. Each of the brushes is made in various sizes. They are made of horsehair, wood and bamboo. It is advisable to use different brushes for different colours. A special type of brush made out of goat hair called mizubake (Figure 13) is used to moisture the paper. It can absorb large quantities of water and spread it over the sheets with minimum number of strokes. 

Figure 12: Brush

Figure 13: Paper brush

Other tools and accessories such as maebako (front box), suridai (printing bench) and yokobako (side cabinet) were also available during the ukiyo-e period. These tools were created to make sure that every tool was in place. Unfortunately, these are not available in the United Kingdom.