Tom Sterling Carving Netsuke Carving Netsuke The Miniature Sculpture of Japan Ancient Traditions, Modern Methods by Tom Sterling Second Edition 2006 Copyright © 2006 Tom Sterling Tom Sterling Carving Netsuke CARVING NETSUKE The Miniature Sculpture of Japan Ancient Traditions, Modern Methods Second Edition 2006 by Tom Sterling Copyright © 2006 Thomas J. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. The purchaser of this publication may, for personal use only, produce hardcopy output or otherwise reproduce the carving patterns contained herein for the purpose of personal and non-commercial carving of the subjects.
Persons conducting carving classes for the purpose of carving education may likewise reproduce the carving patterns for use only as class carving projects. Second Edition Published August 2006, First Edition Published March 1994 Foredom™ is a trademark of Foredom Corporation. Deft™ is a trademark of Deft Corporation. Adobe™ is a trademark of Adobe Corporation.
Note the netsuke and pouch worn by the attendant. My Old Office. Copyright © 2006 Tom Sterling Tom Sterling Carving Netsuke Table of Contents About the Author 6 Hair and Fiber 36 Introduction 6 Oblong cuts 36 What is a Netsuke? 8 Dimple Texture 37 WhySuch an Exciting Art Form? 9 Small Raised Dimples (Lizard Scales) 37 The netsuke “Formula” 9 Punch textures 39 Equipment 11 Short knife cuts 40 Power Carving Tools 11 Hair and Fiber Textures 41 Rotary Hand Pieces 11 Wire brush Texture 41 Rotary Cutters 11 Oblong cuts 41 Rotary Finishing 13 Combined Texture Techniques 41 Knives, Chisels and Scrapers 16 Shadow 41 Netsuke Carving Materials 20 Making and Inlaying Small Wood Eyes 42 Ivories and Ivory-like 20 Round Eye Inlay 45 Corals, Stones 20 Cat or Reptile Eye Inlay 47 Ceramics and Metals 20 Pitfalls to watch out for 49 Boxwood 21 Fitting Pieces Together 50 Ebony (Gabon) 22 Dental Amalgam Inlay 51 Desert Ironwood 22 Gold and Silver Leaf Inlay 52 Lignum Vitae 22 Making Barnacles 52 Holly 23 Ukibori Bumps and Warts 53 Hawthorn 23 Wood Ukibori Techniques 54 Fruit and Nut Woods 23 Ivory, Bone and Metal Ukibori 55 Basswood 23 Adding Elements to Carvings: Ladybugs 56 Ivory 24 Some other ladybugs 58 Elephant and Fossil Ivory 24 Carving the Spawning Sockeyes Netsuke 76 Hippopotamus teeth 25 Inlaying Thin Elements 123 Bone 25 Errors and Common Mistakes 142 Antler and Horn 26 Filling holes and correcting errors 142 Antler 26 Common Mistakes by Novice Carvers 143 Horn 30 Finishes 143 Ideas, Subjects, Research and Design 32 Polishing 143 Ideas and Subjects 32 Silver Nitrate 143 Research 32 Ivory Finishes 144 Design 33 Wood Finishes 144 How long do carvings take? 33 Mini-Project: Practice Cuts 146 General techniques of power carving 34 Project: Carving the Duck Decoy 147 Work Holding 34 Project: Carving the Sleeping Mouse 156 Texture and Shadow 36 Pyrography and Small Carvings 161 Dimples (holes) 36 Project: Carving the Baby Sparrow 177 Small Raised dimples 36 Netsuke Patterns 184 Punch textures 36 Snail on a Bucket Netsuke 184 Wire brush 36 Manju Netsuke 186 Short knife cuts 36 Crab in a Bucket 187 Copyright © 2006 Tom Sterling Tom Sterling Carving Netsuke Table of Contents Netsuke Patterns (continued) Netsuke: Siamese Fighting Fish 245 Crab in the Weeds 188 Netsuke: Spanish Dancer 247 Hatching Dragon 190 Netsuke: Twins 248 Octopus in Basket 192 Netsuke: Golden Orb Spider 249 Hermit Crab 193 Netsuke: Shrimp 250 Octopus on Broken Pot 195 Ojime: Cicada 251 Sometimes the Dragon Wins! 196 Ojime: Frog on Branch 252 Wasp in Gourd 197 Ojime: Fugu 253 Hatching Alligator 199 Ojime: Ladybugs 253 Assorted Patterns Yet to Carve 202 Ojime: Blackberries 256 Netsuke: First Night Out 206 Ojime: Sea Nettle 256 Netsuke: Chickadee and Pinecone 208 Ojime: Spider and Web 257 Netsuke: Cloud Dragon 208 Miscellaneous Carvings 257 Netsuke: Diving Helmet 209 Inspiration Pages 258 Netsuke: Haida Harvest 209 Ox, by Ryuun 258 Netsuke: Humpback Whale 210 Goat, unsigned 266 Netsuke: Sea Nettles 211 Rat on Lotus Root, unsigned 267 Netsuke: Praying Mantis 213 Monkey, u nsigned 271 Netsuke: "The Old Ones Gather Firewood" 214 Tiger and Monkey, by Ran 272 Netsuke: "Pitcher Thief" 215 Tiger, unsigned 273 Netsuke: Yin/Yang Stingrays 215 Tigers, unsigned 274 Netsuke: Fugu (Japanese Puffer Fish) 216 Sea Horse, unsigned 275 Netsuke: Box Turtle 217 Centipede on Rock, unsigned 275 Netsuke: Brother Cellarer 218 Snail Ryusa, unsigned 276 Netsuke: Bumblebee on Blackberry 219 Hawk Manju, unsigned 276 Netsuke: Calimari and Prawn 220 Blind Men on Plank, by Ikkosai 277 Netsuke: Chickadees in a Nest 221 Dancer, by Minkoku 278 Netsuke: Cicada on Curled Leaf 222 Robber on Log, unsigned 279 Netsuke: Crab Kagamibuta 224 Wise Man with Scroll, unsigned 280 Netsuke: Crab Kagamibuta 225 Gamma Sennin, unsigned 280 Netsuke: “Spring Phlox” in the Snow 226 Root netsuke, unsigned 281 Netsuke: Crab in an Oyster Shell 227 Pea Pods 282 Netsuke: Dead Duck Decoy 229 Frog and Basket 283 Netsuke: Entwined Fate 230 Okimono 284 Netsuke: Tree Frog on Mushrooms 231 Miscellaneous Items: 286 Netsuke: Wormy Garlic 232 Press Molds and Precious Metal Clay 286 Netsuke: Hermit Crab 233 Carving Porcelain Netsuke 292 Netsuke: Inro, Netsuke and Ojime Suite 234 Floating Treasures 310 Netsuke: Golden Crowned Kinglet 235 Elegant Display and Presentation Box 314 Netsuke: Woodworking Plane 238 Making a Buckskin Pouch 322 Netsuke: "Puget Sound Symphony" 240 Medicine Pouches 342 Netsuke: Washtub Pumpkins 241 Carving Bird Skulls 351 Netsuke: Pygmy Owl 242 How To Identify Different Kinds of Ivory 357 Netsuke: Seahorses 244 Copyright © 2006 Tom Sterling Tom Sterling Carving Netsuke Table of Contents Tools List 357 Bibliography and References 358 Contemporary Netsuke Carver Web Sites 359 Good Netsuke or Carving Web Sites 359 Sources of Supply 360 About This Book 361 Copyright © 2006 Tom Sterling Tom Sterling Carving Netsuke About the Author Tom Sterling was born in Texas and raised everywhere else. After many years of service with the US.
Air Force, he now carves wood full time as his excuse for not getting a real job. A member of the Dayton (Ohio) Carver’s Guild, Tom began carving as a Boy Scout at the age of 10, and with the exception of a 9th grade art class, is completely self taught. During his first assignment in the Air Force, he discovered Japanese netsuke at the DeYoung Art Museum in San Francisco. Subsequent assignments in England further advanced his interest in netsuke when, by constantly browsing antique shops, he was able to accumulate a small collection of his own.
In 1986, as netsuke prices began skyrocketing and rapidly became a rich man’s game, he began carving his own. With few books available to help, he experimented for several years to reproduce many of the techniques of the ancient netsuke masters, and has updated many to modern methods and tools. This book is his first attempt to pass on his skills to those who wish to take up this fascinating and unusual hobby. Introduction This book is not intended to teach you to carve; rather, it is intended to teach you to carve netsuke.
If you are a beginning carver, please refer to one of the many good books on basic carving techniques to learn how to properly use and sharpen your power tools, knives, and chisels. We will be exploring the techniques I have used successfully after several years of experimentation and self-teaching, as well as techniques from the Japanese masters themselves, albeit somewhat altered for modern tools and materials. Some of these techniques are fairly advanced, but I have no doubt that even a beginning carver can master them with some practice. Not every netsuke requires them all, so the beginner can produce good carvings without having to master all the advanced techniques.
We will be using power tools for the majority of our work, but will also revert to knives and chisels for some tasks, especially in the finishing stages. Once you’ve mastered the techniques presented here, you’ll be able to apply them to any type of carving. Besides netsuke, I’ve used them to produce necklaces, decorated jewelry boxes, and carved walking sticks. There’s no end of eye-catching sculptural and decorative items you can produce.
Copyright © 2006 Tom Sterling Tom Sterling Carving Netsuke SAFETY FIRST, SAFETY ALWAYS! Please read, understand and use all the safety procedures that the manufacturer recommends for your power tools. There is no more important safety procedure than ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS wearing safety glasses or goggles! Rotary carv- ing tools operate at speeds up to 20,000 rpm, and some of the newer ones operate at 35,000 and even 70,000 rpm. Pieces of cut material or disintegrated bits leave the grinder at extremely high speeds, and can easily do permanent damage to your eyes. The quickest way I can think of to spoil a great hobby is to be seriously injured by it! Also, for use with knives and chisels, I strongly recommend using one of the cut- resistant gloves available on the market today, made with Kevlar™ or steel wires.
However, I recommend you do not wear these gloves while operating your rotary grinder using the common small rotary bits and burrs. The weave of the cut-re- sistant gloves is likely to snag the bits, causing them to wind up into the material, yanking the tool out of your carving hand, and possibly doing more damage than without the gloves. Many of the bits are small enough to get between the weaves and contact your skin beneath. If you wish to wear gloves while using the rotary carving tools, I recommend sturdy leather work gloves; they won’t snag as badly, Many exotic woods and materials are toxic if their dust is inhaled, so be sure to wear a well fitting and effective dust mask, especially when using the rotary carving tools.
A dust collector is also useful. Materials like ivory have been known to transmit dis- eases like anthrax, and while this is quite rare, at least be forewarned and wear a dust mask. Other animal materials like horn, bone, and antler may have similar hazards. Some of the finishing methods I’ll describe use materials or procedures that are very flammable, and have toxic or noxious vapor properties.
Be sure to use them only in well-ventilated areas, with proper fire extinguishing equipment immediately at hand, and according to the manufacturer’s safety recommendations. Also, linseed oil, contained in many of my primary finishes, is subject to spontaneous combus- tion if you leave oily rags lying around. Please dispose of them properly --- I burn them in a safe manner immediately after use. SAFETY FIRST, SAFETY ALWAYS! Copyright © 2006 Tom Sterling Tom Sterling Carving Netsuke What is a Netsuke? Netsuke (pronounced “net-ski” or “net-skay”) are an ancient Japanese art form, of tiny size and incredible beauty and detail.
Netsuke wearing was popular from 1603 to 1912. Netsuke wear gradually declined as the Japanese began adopting western-style dress after Commodore Perry’s “visit” in 1853 ended Japan’s self-imposed centuries of isolation. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the dress of the day lacking pockets, people carried a small box consisting of several sliding drawers, called an inro, to contain their sundries. The inro was the Japanese version of a wallet.
These drawers were strung on a loop of cord and slid up under the sash of the kimono. A decorated bead called an ojime was strung on the cord to snug up the inro drawers and keep them closed. A large button or toggle was fastened at the end of the cord to keep the cord from sliding out from under the sash. It was this button that eventually developed into the lovely netsuke we see today.
Each netsuke is characterized by holes or openings (the “himotoshi”) in the design for the cord to pass through.