Kintsugi 7 - How to make and use Kokuso (Putty)

Like barley lacquer and rust, Kokuso (Putty) is very important for kintsugi, and it is no exaggeration to say that it is the basic key. Wheat flour is kneaded with water and then mixed with raw lacquer to create barley lacquer, which is then kneaded with wood flour, cotton, and Sanpenji powder (diatomaceous earth). This putty is used to fill in the missing parts of the vessel.

Material

The materials needed to make Kokuso (Putty) are as follows. I'll include links to the items I use for your convenience when purchasing.

Mugi lacquer materials

• Flour

• Water

• Raw lacquer（Amazon）

Ingredients added to barley lacquer

• Wood flour (thin)（Amazon）

• Sanpenji powder (diatomaceous earth)）（Amazon）

You will also need the following tools:

• Surface plate（Amazon）

• Hinoki spatula（Amazon）

• Ethanol （Amazon）

The following explanation is the same as for Mugi lacquer.

A surface plate is a workbench. Anything can be used, for example a clear file can be used as a surface plate.

The hinoki spatula is used for kneading. You can also use plastic instead of cypress, but I personally think wood is easier to use.

Ethanol is used to clean the surface plate and hinoki spatula. Ethanol is also used to wipe off dirt from dishes, so it is one of the tools you should have on hand.

How to make

1. Make barley lacquer. Click here to learn how to make barley lacquer.

2. Mix barley lacquer with fine wood flour and knead it. Depending on the style and preference, cotton may be used.

3. Mix and knead diatomaceous earth.

4. Mix in coarse wood flour and knead.

5. When the grains of wood flour are no longer visible and the color is black like in the photo, it is complete.

How to use

Kokuso is used as putty to fill in missing parts. There are two steps to how to use it. First, he applies the Kokuso to the surface of the area to be filled in to make it easier for the Kokuso to settle. This is called preparatory Kokuso. After this dries, use putty to fill in the area.

I would like to explain the detailed method in the chip repair method.

Useful Information

I use this when I need a lot of tools and materials and need to organize them.