sumitsubo parts

[ernest dubois]

Are there places selling parts for a sumitsubo? I have lost the crank for the line spoel and am not having any luck finding its replacement. I like the little icon stamped into it so would rather not go the route of improvising something when there is an alternative.

[Stanley Covington]

Are there places selling parts for a sumitsubo? I have lost the crank for the line spoel and am not having any luck finding its replacement. I like the little icon stamped into it so would rather not go the route of improvising something when there is an alternative.

There are places in Tokyo, and probably online. Problem is making sure it will fit your tool without a test fit.

[ernest dubois]

There are places in Tokyo, and probably online. Problem is making sure it will fit your tool without a test fit.
I have occasionally tried making direct with shops out of Japan that I have randomly looked up on internet, so far without responses, which, as unsatisfying as it is, I can understand.
I wonder if anyone has found one there ready to put up with the extra effort of dealing with foreign customers, and if so who are these helpful people ready & willing to "do business."

[Jim Koepke]

Have you tried Tools From Japan?

http://www.toolsfromjapan.com/store/

Stuart is pretty good at helping Americans obtain their needs.

jtk

[Stanley Covington]

I have occasionally tried making direct with shops out of Japan that I have randomly looked up on internet, so far without responses, which, as unsatisfying as it is, I can understand.
I wonder if anyone has found one there ready to put up with the extra effort of dealing with foreign customers, and if so who are these helpful people ready & willing to "do business."

If you will send me details and precise dimensions of the parts you need, I will see what I can find for you,

[Frederick Skelly]

As usual Stan, you are too kind!

Ernest, Stan is an American who lives in Tokyo and works in the trades. He is very knowlegable about Japanese tools and always tries to help. (Search the archives here for his name. For example, IIRC, he authored a post her a year or so back on Sumitsubo.)

Fred

[Stanley Covington]

As usual Stan, you are too kind!

Ernest, Stan is an American who lives in Tokyo and works in the trades. He is very knowlegable about Japanese tools and always tries to help. (Search the archives here for his name. For example, IIRC, he authored a post her a year or so back on Sumitsubo.)

Fred

I will try to help Ernest, but it will not be easy since wooden sumitsubo are not mass-produced items and industry standards and parts interchangeability are irrelevant.

Stan

[ernest dubois]

Sincere thanks to Stan.

[Howard Pollack]

I would try Hida tools in Berkeley CA.
-Howard

[ernest dubois]

Yes, I seem to remember when you actually walk in, rather than on the webshop, there are many non-standard and at the same time practical items. Interesting that the sumitsubo they have operates crank-less. I just wonder, when rewinding in this way if there is one wind direction that is preferred over the other. Either way it would be slower.

[Stanley Covington]

Yes, I seem to remember when you actually walk in, rather than on the webshop, there are many non-standard and at the same time practical items. Interesting that the sumitsubo they have operates crank-less. I just wonder, when rewinding in this way if there is one wind direction that is preferred over the other. Either way it would be slower.

The guys that use the crankless style of sumitsubo are every bit as quick as the boys that use cranks. Maybe quicker. It is a matter of practice.

There is a metal rod the line passes over before it enters the pond that serves to align the line with the hole reducing friction and preventing the line from cutting a slot in the pond's wall. Either the top edge or the bottom edge of this rod is aligned with the hole. In the Eastern- style (Kanto) sumitsubo I have seen, the top edge is aligned with the hole, and the string winds from the bottom of the spool. This allows the pond to be deeper by the thickness of the rod. I don't know if this is universal, but I suspect it is.

Craftsmen traditionally made their own sumitsubo. This lead to some wild and fantastical designs, some more practical than others. Standard sumitsubo are a recent development. The style most people are familiar with is the Kanto style with the large pond that works so well with the sumisashi (bamboo ink-pen), the spool surrounded by waves, and the turtle (10,000 years) and the stork (1000 years) carving. This is a relatively recent design, perhaps less than 300 years. It is lightweight, has a waist that makes it easy to hold and operate one-handed without fumbling and dropping (not as easy with all designs), with a wide/deep pond, and good ventilation to keep the line from rotting. The curved surfaces just beg to be carved, unlike the flatter surfaces of the much older ichimonji and warishiri (split butt) design pictured below. I think you can kind of see the progression from the pics below.

http://daikuhamono.sakura.ne.jp/wasuretubo2.jpghttp://daikuhamono.sakura.ne.jp/wasuretubo4.jpg
http://shop-kawai.g.dgdg.jp/image6/sumi/ko_syami.jpghttp://shop-kawai.g.dgdg.jp/image6/sumi/isiya.jpghttp://shop-kawai.g.dgdg.jp/image6/sumi/sakan.jpghttps://scontent-sea1-1.cdninstagram.com/t51.2885-15/e35/13355660_543149085867139_1644359088_n.jpg?ig_cache _key=MTI2NzMxMTY0NDA1NTM5MzgxNA%3D%3D.2&se=7

http://www5e.biglobe.ne.jp/~ttoishi/sumiturukames.jpg

[ernest dubois]

One thing I rely on the crank for and that is a hidden implication in the, (perhaps hasty), claim about rewind efficiency, is to apply some tension on the line as it's wound in. This in turn implies that my practice is leaving the pin stuck in the end until the line is nearly all on the spool, with the idea of keeping slack out of the wound-up line. It would be difficult to maintain consistent tension when you were releasing the thumb on the wind-up. I will have to try and develop more thumb dexterity to wind crank-less but it is important to me, often, that this action goes quickly. I'm not really seeing the function of this metal rod so clearly. Is it also to aid inking? In the later model you describe I am using sumisashi to squeeze ink out of the wadding into the line and cannot see any advantage of this rod arrangement.

[Frederick Skelly]

Man, those are pretty. Thanks for another lesson Stan!
Merry Christmas,
Fred

[Stanley Covington]

Man, those are pretty. Thanks for another lesson Stan!
Merry Christmas,
Fred


Welcome, Fred.

Merry Christmas!

Stan

[Stanley Covington]

I'm not really seeing the function of this metal rod so clearly. Is it also to aid inking? In the later model you describe I am using sumisashi to squeeze ink out of the wadding into the line and cannot see any advantage of this rod arrangement.

The purpose of the rod I mentioned is not to aid inking. Let me try to explain it better.

It is inserted into the body perpendicular to the line, and between the spool and the opening of the hole into the ink pond. Lower quality sumitsubo may not have this rod, but it is essential to smooth operation and longevity.

The line extends from the bottom of the spool at a point equal to or even below the pond's bottom, and angles up to the hole into the pond. But as the line is played out, this angle becomes shallower. As the line is reeled back in, the line becomes greater. If the line went directly from spool to hole, it would gradually cut a slot in the pond's wall at an angle down from the mouth of the hole. Besides compromising the pond's wall, this slot would increase friction and wear on the line and even cause the line to bind.

The rod (usually brass) ensures that, regardless of the angle, the line always goes straight into the hole.

Better quality sumitsubo have a brass insert at this hole, and another where the line exits the front of the pond. Glass inserts are better, and ceramic is probably best.

i hope this helps.

Stan

[ernest dubois]

Yes, I see the brass insert at the hole nearest the spool in the one elaborately carved sumitsubo you picture, a nice accessory, and you have clarified the purpose of the rod for me now and I can see how this would definitely improve feeding through the line, something of a flaw I have always noticed in my less than deluxe model.

[Stanley Covington]

Here is a pictures of the ceramic insert that the line passes through when entering the pond from the spool side.

http://shop-kawai.g.dgdg.jp/image6/sumi/etc/tubo-nakakuti.jpg

Here is a picture of the insert that the line passes through as it exits the pond at the front of the sumitsubo. This picture shows stainless steel and ceramic. Brass is also an option, and glass used to be available, but ceramic is best IMO.

http://shop-kawai.g.dgdg.jp/image6/sumi/etc/tobokuti.jpg

These are different from the brass rod we were talking about above. If you are going to make a sumitsubo, you definitely want these hard-to-find but critical parts, at least if the susmitsubo will be more than just decoration.

Stan

[ernest dubois]

Indeed, with the suggestion of the ceramic or glass material I see now more clearly the insert at the back of the bowl is not brass at all. I guess a skilled turner with the right set-up could even make such parts from bone. That is a tricky hole at the back of the bowl though.