Thread: Lacquer for a Jnat

.... i want to lacquer the sides of a small JNAT that i have....

.... does anyone know what i should use?

.......i understand that the japanese lacquer normally used is expensive and hard to come by...

....thank you for your assistance.....

I just used exterior polyurethane from the hardware store and it worked just fine.

.........thank you, rmalak

rmalak is correct. If you use the Urushi be careful of rash. urushi Japanese lacquer/ urushi-kobo in Europe or HyperCafe Japanese Sword Shop, providing the supplies and fittings for various Nihonto swords, as Shinken, Katana, Iaito, Nihonto,Gendaito,Samurai Swords, Tachi,Tanto, Wakizashi, and Antique Swords for martial arts for the practice of Japanese sword
Mike

I have lacquered all my naturals with a Shellac.
Easy to apply and quite durable.

...thank you, Modine and Birnando........

You should not drink liquor while you are honing, you might slice off your finger !!

I do the edges on all of my Japanese natural stones with clear brushing laquer. Dries in about 15 minutes.

what is the point of doing this? Should I be doing it with my Jnat?

The Japanese like to put their natural water stones outside to completely dry after use. If it’s hot outside the stones can get brittle, if it’s freezing outside moisture can freeze and crack the stone. The sides of the Japanese natural soak up water faster than the top. If the water is not removed properly, it can cause the layers in the stone to start separating.
These are the reasons people will choose to coat and seal the sides of the stones. You want to preserve the skin on the bottom of a J-nat. This can add to the value. Traditionally Japanese lacquer is used. Other coating materials can be used as well. If hones develop cracks or get damaged, rice paper can be placed over the cracks and coated to reinforce the stone. Hope this helps.
Mike