What kind of technique is “Jin Shan”?
Do you throw away your broken glass? You now can stop doing that because “Jin Shan” is a technique where it uses gold to repair defective or broken ceramics and glass products. Isn’t that a good news? Sure it is. In the modern era of material surplus, when ceramics of glass products are damaged or broken, the general method is to “throw it away and buy a new one”. But in the age when the material is not so sufficient, it is like “repair it before continuing to use” is the most basic idea. The exquisite craftsmanship known as “Jin Shan” was created by the Japanese idea of cherishing things. This traditional approach has a long history, despite being rarely heard in recent years. It is said that tools were restored using methods identical to “Jin Shan” as early as in the Jomon period cultural relics. In actuality, “Jin Shan” is a conventional technique that, provided one has the necessary knowledge, even a layperson can perform with ease. You might use it if your preferred utensil breaks.Introduction of “Jin Shan” Restoration
What needs to be done to make “Jin Shan” restoration?
This is some introduction to the specific approach:
• The cup breaks into large pieces
• The bowls & utensils are slightly chipped
Let’s read on to find out about these two situations.
The “Jin Shan” method when the cup breaks into large pieces.
If you accidentally break the cup, it is normal for it to split into two large pieces.
In this scenario, you can follow these 3 steps to repair it:
1. Collect the fragments and join them one by one with the adhesive made of paint
2. Prepare paint paste to fill the gap after rejoined.
3. Remove the excess paint, and carefully paint along the cracks.
4. Sprinkle gold powder while the paint is not completely dry.
Can you imagine your cracked cup finally coming back together? Attached tightly with adhesives made of lacquer and then decorated with gold powder. Awesome! The cracks of your cup will turn into beautiful golden lines, giving the appliance a unique charm like being reborn.
The “Jin Shan” method when the bowls & utensil slightly chipped
Having glass or ceramic dishes needs to be well taken care of. It will make you miserable if it breaks and scatters in large pieces or it will probably break down a little. But feel much loss to throw away because it’s expensive? In that case, you can use the “Jin Shan” method to solve your problem.
The following steps as for references:
1. Protect the area around the defect with paper tape.
2. Prepare paint paste to fill the missing parts.
3. Paint the filled part and sprinkle with gold powder while it is not dry.
Ingeniously use lacquer to fill in the defects, so that the utensils can be used safely. When your beloved utensil is unfortunately damaged, you can try to repair it by the above steps.
“Jin Shan” use only gold powder
Actually, when people hear “Jin Shan”, many think that it is “repairing an appliance with gold”, and they think that the repair cost must be expensive because it is gold. But in fact, the most important adhesive is lacquer when doing “Jin Shan” repairs, and gold can be plastered for decoration to beautify the appearance, and because it uses gold powder, there is no need to worry about the cost.
Recently, there are also many “Jin Shan” tool sets suitable for novices on the Internet. With such a tool set, novices can easily try “Jin Shan” repair.
Jin Shan is also Japanese art
Many people think “Jin Shan” is just a method for repairing utensils but for the Japanese it is also an art that brings Japan’s unique aesthetics to the international stage. It is such a beautiful culture.
After the restoration is completed, the gold pattern will extend along the cracks of the utensil. Using this stripe path, new patterns can be drawn on the utensil and add value to it. This can be said to be the unique advantage of “Jin Shan”.
The beauty of “Jin Shan” craftsmanship was actually established in the Muromachi period, when a popular tea ceremony took place in Japan and used a lot of equipment. In addition to the concept of appreciating something even if it is broken or not as original, many people are very fascinated by the beauty of “Jin Shan”, which makes “Jin Shan” crafts very popular and in demand. Unfortunately, in recent years, fewer and fewer people want to repair their damaged items before continuing to use them. This cause “Jin Shan’s” traditional healing techniques are becoming less and less known.Although “Jin Shan” is easy to get started, but one still needs a lot of knowledge and skill to sublimate the works to the field of art. Expertise in “Jin Shan” crafts are dying day by day, and it has been regarded as a problem that must be faced in passing on traditional skills.
