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SCRC Virtual Museum at Southern Illinois University's Morris Library

Tools Used in Woodblock Prints

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The Carving Tools

The carving tools were made by those who had knowlege of metalworking; often times this was someone who made samurai swords. The blades for these chisels were made from different grades of steel, so that different ones would have different amounts of give and flexibility, while still all remaining strong.

 

 

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The Ink

The black ink traditionally used for all of the oulining was made from soot and deer horn glue. This mixture was set into sticks that could be ground down with water on an ink stone. Japanese artists could get anywhere from a pitch black to a pale grey with this ink.

 

 

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The Baren

A baren is a tool used to rub the ink from the wood onto the paper for the print. It is made by taking a disk of laminated and/or lacqured paper, backed with closely twisted bamboo fiber. That was then wrapped in a large bamboo leaf.