Don,
Pretty much most of my restoration work over the last 10 years or so has been exactly that, I`m sure you can imagine the state that some of these rather delicate objects end up in. Often at the hands of well meaning owners or worse, careless restorers!
It`s always a relief to be presented with an object that has not been touched. Then it`s only a matter of removing 100 or so years of grime and unwanted tarnish etc. I`ve learnt so much this way from some of the greatest metal artists who`ve ever lived. I have been exceptionally lucky in this way. Probably a unique training. Obviously I try to retain some feeling of age in the finish but generally these particular objects are quite loud, if you know what I mean. Both Jim and i agree that technically they are remarkable but subtle they are not.
Having very demanding and knowledgeable clients has meant that I have had to become extremely precise in my assesment and restoration of alloys, colour and finishes etc. I could tell you many stories of efforts lasting literally day and night which often ended in tears of frustration, thankfully those days are a distant memory now, although I`m continually surprised by the inventiveness of the Japanese craftsman ( or woman, Sorry Janel ).
Of course coming back from Japan with a pretty good grasp of how to make new stuff was`nt really enough to deal with the damage that these antiques often suffer, also metals can change a lot over time, generally as a result of very fine surface corrosion. The result being that the surface composition is different to the underlying metal, serious problem if local areas need filing , polishing etc. In effect I`ve had to create a technology to deal with the ravages of time. This is not really something that is addressed in Japan, which is why I`m occasionally in the odd position of doing work for collectors in Japan, not always directly though. A matter of face,
perhaps.
As for secrets, there are probably loads of things I do as a matter of course but I`m sure you well know it`s very difficult to pick out one thing that makes your work effective. I find that with traditional work there is just so much background that imparting specific "bits" is very hard to do effectively. This is why I think I`ve ended up working solely in this manner. It is very much a complete and quite different operating system ( to borrow a computing term ) if you like.
Certainly where relevent, I`ll be posting bits of info such as chisel shapes, use of scrapers on metal etc. perhaps I can get round to doing a tutorial or some such. I certainly intend to do that when/if I ever get a site up. Though I`m still inclined to producing a workshop manual. Still, I`ll have to create the photo`s so this forum could be a useful testing ground.
Well, must get back to the bench, my mistress calls.
Ford
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