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Lou Metcalf


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Urushi is applied with a slightly rounded stick, typically made of birch. A small amount of urushi is applied to the stick and then the stick is used much like an artist's palette knife to apply and spread the urushi. Urushi cures through a combination of heat and humidity. The lacquered blanks are set into a specially-built humidor to cure. The curing process takes aapproximately 1 week per coat. The surface is then polished with charcoal made from birch wood. The preceding steps are repeated as many times as is necessary to achieve the depth and lustre desired. In some cases this is as few as seven layers while other cases may require a dozen or more layers. This particular pen has 8 layers of finish.

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