Mokume-Gane

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Mokume-Gane damask ring with elaborate pattern and seamless.

Mokume-Gane ( Japanese 木 目 金 ) is a forging technique that originated in Japan around 1600. Depending on the available source , a year around 1700 can also be named, based on the assumption that Denbei Shoami is the inventor of Mokume-Gane.

The name characterizes the typical appearance of the forgings. Mokume ( 木 目 , literally "wooden eyes") means "wood grain" and Kane ( 金 ) means "metal". Emerged parallel, are still Itame-Gane ( 板目金 , eye-shaped pattern) and Masame-Gane ( 正目金 parallel pattern). The supplemented designation Mokume-Gane-Damascus comes from the European-influenced, visible cross-pattern, but this is a European neologism .

The starting material, also known as a layered block , for these techniques is made from thin metal plates that are welded together by forging, as in the technique of making Damascus steel . Mokume-Gane prefers to combine metals and metal alloys, which then result in a pattern that is as high-contrast as possible. It is important that the metals used have similar physical properties such as hardness and melting temperature, since the welding of the metal plates takes place just below the melting temperature. Typical alloys in Japanese blacksmithing are e.g. B. Shakudō , Shibuichi and Kuromidō . Gold and silver were rarely used at first, as the alloys mentioned were preferred. Corinthium aes is a modern material, since it is of European origin . When the layer block is manufactured, it is given its individual pattern through various further processing with various forging, etching and engraving techniques.

Due to the highly developed forging technology and the good availability of colored metal alloys, the Mokume-Gane technique spread very widely in Japan . Nowadays this very elaborate and expensive forging technique is only used by a few gold and silversmiths to produce individual pieces of jewelry, although since 2004 Mokume-Gane has been increasingly (re) discovered and taken up in the German market.

Awareness

Subjective: beautiful and elegant letter opener from Mokume Gane. Intersubjective: useless as a knife because it does not hold the edge and is not firm.

Mokume Gane was practically unknown outside of Japan , although the reasons for this can generally be divided into “intra-Japanese” and “European” factors.

For one thing, Japan was an almost completely isolated island until 1853. The knowledge and skills of Japanese craftsmen and artists were among the best-kept secrets of the empire - especially from foreigners ( gaijin ). On the other hand, Mokume-Gane was closely linked to old traditions , especially forging traditions of the samurai swords, i.e. the katanas , wakizashis and tantōs , where the attractive metal patterns are used in the design of the tsuba , the hand protection (with tantos without tsuba), the decorative elements under the handle wrapping that Menuki and of course the handle end found.

Reasons without a Japanese context were the onset of industrialization in western countries , which also progressed in the jewelry sector , and which went hand in hand with a redefinition of production goals towards mass-produced goods , which meant that the production processes had to be fast, efficient and cheap. On the other hand, the West relied on Damascus steel (also: Damascus steel ) in the course of the general improvement of weapons . This is extremely strong and sharp, but also flexible and unbreakable. Mokume-Gane, which is made of non-ferrous metals, is neither suitable for blades nor for gun barrels .

Mokume-Gane (damask)

Cross damask - in the example from Mujodogane

The layering and welding of multi-colored layered non-ferrous metals is basically the same for the two techniques, but the subsequent processing differs.
With the technique of mokume-gane, these are created by breaking the surface and then forging sheets with irregular patterns , which are also known as eye patterns . In the technique of mokume damask , also known as mokume gane damask , after welding, twisting (twisting) and forging the layered metals, rods are first produced, which are then processed further. In contrast to Mokume-Gane, a regular pattern is created during further processing , similar to the grain of Damascus steel and the therefore well-known cross grain .

history

One of the aesthetic roots for the Mokume Gane technique is Tsuishi , a Chinese lacquer technique with line patterns ( Guri ) that is much older. With this lacquer technique, notches in thick layers of lacquer of different colors create patterns, often linear. In the 17th century, master swordsmith Denbei Shaomi (* 1651, † 1728) in the north-west Japanese prefecture of Akita ( Japan ) developed the first ornate fittings for sword handles that correspond to the technique of mokume-gane by making sheets of gold, silver, shakudo and copper connected by fire welding. The resulting patterns are similar to those of classic lacquer work and damascene steel. Denbei Shaomi is often named in articles and seminars as the inventor of Mokume-Gane, although verification by sources that he was actually the first and above all the namesake is still to be provided. In the essay “ Mokume Gane Damascus as an example of Japanese lines of development ” Denbei Shaomi is not characterized as the inventor, but rather as one of several men who embodied one of the final stages of development of the classic Japanese forging techniques during the entire development period of the Mokume-Gane.

Development outside of Germany and Japan

Hiroko Sato and Gene Pijanowski have been working with layered metals in the USA since 1960, whereby it was still about sheet metal soldered in layers. Whether on purpose or by chance, both of them got to know the mokume-gane traditionally used there in Japan and acquired the necessary basic technical knowledge, which they further developed in the course of the process and extended the field of application of mokume-gane to equipment and jewelry. Around 1970, the American George Sayer developed bars made of soldered metal layers, a development that went well with the development of stampable bars by Steven D. Kretchmer, who also came from the USA and got to know the process from Hiroko Sato and Gene Pijanowski there in 1980 processing gold-mokume-gane alloys without solder. One of the first European mokume-gane forges was the specialist literature Alistar McCullum, England , who began dealing with mokume-gane in 1978, as well as the Dutch Birgit Laken, who learned the technique from Alistar McCullum and, above all, her own further developments in artistic operational point of view.

When heated in the Mujodogane block, the word "München" appears

Development in Germany

The integration of Asian elements is also carried out at many gold and silversmiths, on the one hand to open up new market segments, on the other hand through the return of mass-produced goods to high-quality individual items, partly out of passion for craftsmanship, partly for reasons of profit optimization. Due to the growing demand for prefabricated material, as of 2008 most institutions for precious metal semi-finished products are offering sheets, strips, tubes, wires, rods and cast materials in the mokume-gane segment.

The Mokume Gane trend among numerous blacksmiths in Germany has been largely triggered since 2004 by theschichtwerk company and promoted by C. Hafner and their presentation of theschichtwerk modules at Inhorgenta 2005, which can be clearly seen in the number of German Mokume Gane Damascus Blacksmiths can moor and the first associations to be formed.

Since 2003, foreign blacksmiths such as Chaix and Pijanowski have been offering various silver blocks for the low-price segments, something that some German suppliers took up at the time of rising precious metal prices. An independent German approach was implemented in 2007 by the new development of the Saarland goldsmith Markus Eckardt Mujodogane, despite the Japanese-sounding name, still with the aim of significantly reducing the costs in the area of layered blocks, with the additional focus on variable color contrast and security good manual workability due to the admixtures. With the silver-silver alloys, but especially with mujodogane, the much more expensive white jewelery metals such as white gold , palladium and platinum can be completely replaced visually without sacrificing the manual steps. Mokume blocks made of silver are only something new in the Mokume-Gane area, as the blacksmiths initially oriented themselves on the original Japanese tradition of metal-non-ferrous metal blocks. Due to the rising raw material prices in the area of ​​precious metals, however, a non-ferrous metal replacement for the low-price segment was inevitably necessary. In the case of snow gold, a white / gray gold alloy , the blocks may contain silver, but they belong to the medium to high price segment.

Using hydraulic presses and diffusion welding, German Mokume Gane artists began experimenting with the non-traditional metals iron and titanium for Mokume Gane in 2006 . The development has its origin in the USA with the Mokume Gane artists Binnion & Chaix, 2002. What speaks for titanium is that in many non-ferrous metals a shimmering effect can be created through the formation of a translucent oxide layer in conjunction with hot corrosion and thus through the refraction of light in These layers create different color glosses, for example a purple sheen in the case of copper. However, the resulting colors are not as differentiated as they are when anodizing titanium.

In 2015, the first scientific study by the Department of Materials Science (WKK) at the Technical University of Kaiserslautern was published, in which Mokume Gane examined the mode of operation of the production methods of fire and diffusion welding and their effects on the metal structure.

Chinese mokume gane

Since 2007 there have been some Chinese companies that have been selling Mokume shift blocks. However, these mostly do not correspond to the European ideas of Mokume-Gane, as solder is often used in the manufacturing process . Iron and / or almost pure copper is also used in the production . In the Yǎn-Jīng series ( Chinese  眼睛  - "eye"), Mokume-Gane-like structures are often only scratched and these lines are then filled with solder. The first production took place in a Sino-French joint venture in 2006. Today's main production site for Yǎn-Jīng jewelry (primarily rings, pendants) is near Shanghai . Further suppliers of Mokume-Gane semi-finished and finished products can be found, as of 2008, at several production sites throughout China .

The advantage of most Chinese products in the Mokume-Gane segment is the relatively low price, while the disadvantage - especially when it comes to further processing - is the basic material used. In addition to the above-mentioned deviations, there are of course a number of providers, mainly from Sino-Japanese and Sino-American joint ventures, who are of high quality (blocks and jewelry) and the final price, mainly due to the cheaper wages in the country of manufacture , are cheaper in comparison with European providers / manufacturers.

For buyers from Germany, however, the purchase of these goods is usually of no interest, since due to customs and the fees to be paid, the prices in the low segment are adjusted to the prices of German goldsmiths and the Chinese joint ventures have almost no Mokume-Gane jewelry on average. and offer high price segment.

See also

literature

  • Steve Midgett, Jürgen Brust: Mokume Gane - Theory and Practice of Japanese Metal Compounds . Wieland Verlag, 2005, ISBN 978-3-9808709-8-6 .
  • Steve Midgett: Mokume Gane in the Small Shop - The Complete Guide to Diffusion Welded Mokume . Earthshine, 1996, ISBN 978-0-9651650-8-2 .

Web links

Commons : Mokume-Gane  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ More detailed information and sources can be found in the Wikipedia article Damascus steel .
  2. ↑ a b Publisher: The Japanese Technique of Mokume Gane . In: GZ Goldschmiede Zeitung, page 75, 7/2004 . Rühle-Diebener-Verlag and Agency GmbH & Co. KG.
  3. ↑ Example of new alloys for this area: GZ: New alloy for Mokume Gane . In: Goldschmiedezeitung . 2008.
  4. ^ Leon Kapp, Hiroko Kapp, Yoshindo Yoshihara: The Craft of the Japanese Sword . Kodansha International, Tokyo 1987, ISBN 0-87011-798-X .
  5. ↑ Steve Midgett: Mokume Gane. Theory and practice of Japanese metal compounds (German edition) . 1st edition. Wieland, 2005, ISBN 978-3-9808709-8-6 .
  6. ↑ Dr. Andreas Neumann: Mokume Gane Damast as an example of Japanese lines of development . In: Open abstract and essay collection of the All Asian Society 2000–2007 . Astarte Publishing House.
  7. ^ HS and Pijanowski: Wood Grained Metal: Mokume-Gane; New edition: 2007-01-26 . GM, 2001.
  8. ^ Jan Ferguson: Mokume Gane . In: Jewelery Handbooks . A & C Black, London 2003, ISBN 0-7136-6156-9 .
  9. ↑ Birgit Laken: metal in motion; Works in Mokumé Gane . In: catalog edition . Lark Books, 1990.
  10. ↑ Custom work instead of mass-produced goods. Germany in global structural change (paperback) . Deutscher Instituts-Verlag, 2004, ISBN 978-3-602-14682-6 .
  11. ^ GZ Internationales Journal für Schmuck und Uhren, July / August 2004 issue, page 75. Online version as PDF
  12. ↑ GZ art & design International Jewelry Magazine July / August 2004 issue, page 77. Online version as PDF
  13. ↑ Dr. Andreas Neumann: Mokume Gane Damast as an example of Japanese lines of development. In: Open abstract and essay collection of the All Asian Society 2000–2007. Pages 84-87. Astarte Publishing House.
  14. ↑ E.g. Mokume Gane artists since 2006
  15. ↑ Stamping: 無上 道 金 (German: “best way of metal”), designation of the silver block patent DE 102009010149 A1 / U1, Mokume block, 2008 of the goldsmith Markus Eckardt; awarded the Federal Prize for Innovative Achievements for the Crafts 2009.
  16. ^ Report of the DHZ
  17. ↑ a b Name suggestions by Dr. Andreas Neumann All Asian Society 2007 a. 2009. Fax this exhibitor Japan in the museum. academia wadegotia.
  18. ↑ Also "mas · shiro-gane", 'snow-white metal'. Developed by Markus Eckardt. Composition chosen so that the gray-white color is preserved when heated.
  19. ↑ JE Binnion, B. Chaix: Old Process, New Technology: Modern Mokume Gane . 2002.
  20. ↑ Mokume Gane Damast Ensdorf: First scientific investigation into fire-welded and diffusion-welded Mokume Gane layer material. January 2015, accessed November 13, 2018 .
  21. ↑ a b Doussier: category Jewelery productions . In: Doussier Outsourcing Prospectus 02/2007 .
  22. ↑ Example - product catalog 07/08 of the company: Yiwu Yueyang Handicrafts Art Co., Ltd., 36, Duqing North Road, Fotang Town; Yiwu; Zhejiang Province; Pages 39-41; Production facilities
  23. ↑ Dr. Peter Bach: Outsourcing in Asia . In: Report All Asian Society 4/2007 . Astarte Publishing House.