Rustic Keyaki Carved Tray

The wood for this tray came from a special piece of keyaki that I picked up at a local wood dealer here in Tokyo.  The owner graciously took the time to dig out and show me a variety of boards that he thought I would find interesting, all the while patiently chatting with me in my broken Japanese.  Then he pulled out a board full of natural splits, holes and some really gnarly grain.  It was a rare piece of wood.

Another tray from the same board is available here.

The color of this keyaki is particularly rich and warm and the porous grain is really striking.  After turning on the lathe, I used a gouge to give a scalloped texture to the bottom surface.

Natural Urushi Lacquer Finish

This tray is part of a small batch of bowls and trays that have been finished with natural urushi lacquer.

Urushi is a finish that comes from the sap of urushi trees.  Urushi sap contains a chemical compound called urushiol; the same chemical that gives poison ivy it’s bad reputation.  In a liquid state urushi lacquer can cause severe reactions in people allergic to urushiol.  However once fully cured, the urushiol becomes inert and safe to handle.

Once applied to the wood’s surface, urushi requires a humid environment to properly cure.  We place our urushi ware in a muro; a temperature and humidity controlled box.  After a few days the urushi dries and becomes safe to handle.

Urushi is strong against acids, alkali, alcohol, and has a high temperature resistance.  These strengths have made urushi lacquer a traditional finish for daily use on soup bowls, spoons, cups, etc. in Japan and China for hundreds of years.