Equipment Acquisition, Repair, and Maintenance
The Mackenzie Printery and Newspaper Museum in Queenston, Ontario has a small Albion press which needs a bit of work to get it into top form. The pull handle does not retract all the way when released, so it interferes… Read more ›
The Mackenzie Printery and Newspaper Museum in Queenston, Ontario has a small Albion press which needs a bit of work to get it into top form. The pull handle does not retract all the way when released, so it interferes with opening the frisket frame. Over the years this has chewed up the pull handle a bit. <img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-4668" class="wp-image-4668 size-large" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260808_detail-1024x591.jpg" alt="" width="605" height="349" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260808_detail-1024x591.jpg 1024w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260808_detail-300x173.jpg 300w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260808_detail-768x443.jpg 768w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260808_detail-1536x886.jpg 1536w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260808_detail-100x58.jpg 100w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260808_detail-150x87.jpg 150w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260808_detail-200x115.jpg 200w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260808_detail-450x260.jpg 450w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260808_detail-600x346.jpg 600w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260808_detail-900x519.jpg 900w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260808_detail.jpg 1645w" sizes="(max-width: 605px) 100vw, 605px" /> Pull handle damage from frisket frame. Bare wood is modern damage, but you can see older damage a bit to the left, though the latter might be due to not cranking the bed all the way out before opening the frisket The handle is not retracting all the way because the pivot end is striking one of the bolts that hold the platen to the column. The bottom of the column actually has a land cut into it to place the nut a bit lower so the handle clears it, but the pull handle is hitting the bolt that extends above the nut. I think that ultimately this bolt will have to be shortened so it is flush with the top of the nut. In the process of working on this problem I found that the spring mechanism that is supposed to hold the column and platen up (when the handle is released) was not up to the task. <img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-4669" class="wp-image-4669 size-large" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260808_detail2-436x1024.jpg" alt="" width="436" height="1024" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260808_detail2-436x1024.jpg 436w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260808_detail2-128x300.jpg 128w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260808_detail2-100x235.jpg 100w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260808_detail2-150x352.jpg 150w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260808_detail2-200x469.jpg 200w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260808_detail2-300x704.jpg 300w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260808_detail2-450x1056.jpg 450w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260808_detail2.jpg 527w" sizes="(max-width: 436px) 100vw, 436px" /> A spring and eye bolt in this brass tube pull up on the column At the top of the press there is a long eye bolt with a heavy spring and adjusting nut, all enclosed in a decorative brass tube, which pulls up on the column via the large pin seen in the lower part of the above photo. For reasons unknown (wear, lax original manufacturing tolerances?) the adjusting nut was no longer able to hold against the eye bolt. Disassembling things, I found that I could pretty much just slide the nut along the threaded shaft of the eye bolt. <img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-4670" class="wp-image-4670 size-large" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260716_142553-1024x485.jpg" alt="" width="605" height="287" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260716_142553-1024x485.jpg 1024w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260716_142553-300x142.jpg 300w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260716_142553-768x363.jpg 768w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260716_142553-1536x727.jpg 1536w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260716_142553-2048x969.jpg 2048w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260716_142553-100x47.jpg 100w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260716_142553-150x71.jpg 150w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260716_142553-200x95.jpg 200w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260716_142553-450x213.jpg 450w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260716_142553-600x284.jpg 600w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260716_142553-900x426.jpg 900w" sizes="(max-width: 605px) 100vw, 605px" /> The eye bolt and (L-R) the original nut, a test nut cut in HDPE, and a steel blank for the replacement nut The eye bolt is clearly forged. You can see how a bar was wrapped around a mandrel and forge-welded to itself to form the shank of the bolt. The forge-weld seam is visible extending partway down the shank from the eye. About half the length of the shank was then forged round, and a thread cut into it, probably using a threading die. Because of wear, and this predating modern standardized thread sizes, determining the actual thread size, especially its nominal diameter, was difficult. It has 11½ threads per inch, so the closest designation I could guess was 9/16-11½. Taps for this size just don’t exist. I considered making a new eye bolt to a modern size, but this is a historic artifact in a museum, so I wanted to use as many original parts as possible, which meant making a new nut to match this oddball thread. I had to cut the internal thread on the replacement nut using single-point threading on my lathe. At some point I mistakenly thought this was 12½ threads per inch, so I was working out how to set up special change gears on my lathe to get this, when a test measurement on the lathe revealed my confusion and that, amazingly, the lathe could actually do 11½TPI with the standard change gears!<img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-4671" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260716_142639-300x142.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="142" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260716_142639-300x142.jpg 300w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260716_142639-1024x485.jpg 1024w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260716_142639-768x363.jpg 768w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260716_142639-1536x727.jpg 1536w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260716_142639-2048x969.jpg 2048w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260716_142639-100x47.jpg 100w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260716_142639-150x71.jpg 150w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260716_142639-200x95.jpg 200w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260716_142639-450x213.jpg 450w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260716_142639-600x284.jpg 600w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260716_142639-900x426.jpg 900w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />For the lathe cutting tool, I started with a tap for ½NC13 (a modern standard thread) and ground off all but one tooth. I also ground down on either side of the remaining tooth because the thread I was cutting was a bit coarser than 13TPI so the tooth needed to be wider and cut deeper. <img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-4672" class="size-medium wp-image-4672" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260716_142615-300x142.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="142" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260716_142615-300x142.jpg 300w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260716_142615-1024x485.jpg 1024w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260716_142615-768x363.jpg 768w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260716_142615-1536x727.jpg 1536w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260716_142615-2048x969.jpg 2048w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260716_142615-100x47.jpg 100w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260716_142615-150x71.jpg 150w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260716_142615-200x95.jpg 200w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260716_142615-450x213.jpg 450w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260716_142615-600x284.jpg 600w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260716_142615-900x426.jpg 900w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /> The modified tap mounted as an internal threading tool on my lathe I did two test nuts, the first in HDPE, which is butter soft and easy to cut, and the second in aluminum, before tackling the final steel nut. I had already made the blank on the lathe, and used a rotary table on my mill to cut the hexagonal shape on the outside. The final cutting process involved successive passes, cutting a couple of thousandths of an inch deeper each time, until the eye bolt would thread into the nut. Normally when threading on the lathe one uses an angled compound feed so only one side of the V groove is being cut, but on my lathe this introduces more play and more opportunities for mistakes so I opted for straight feed. After each pass, I had to retract the carriage two inches (the least common multiple of the 11½ thread pitch and the 8TPI pitch of the lathe feed screw), so I spent a lot of time “cutting air”. I also took light cuts because I did not want to risk breaking my cutting tool, so overall the process was quite time-consuming. <img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-4673" class="size-medium wp-image-4673" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260719_155628-300x142.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="142" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260719_155628-300x142.jpg 300w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260719_155628-1024x485.jpg 1024w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260719_155628-768x363.jpg 768w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260719_155628-1536x727.jpg 1536w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260719_155628-2048x969.jpg 2048w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260719_155628-100x47.jpg 100w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260719_155628-150x71.jpg 150w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260719_155628-200x95.jpg 200w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260719_155628-450x213.jpg 450w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260719_155628-600x284.jpg 600w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260719_155628-900x426.jpg 900w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /> The new nut threaded onto the eye bolt The finished nut still had tight spots on the eye bolt (though not so tight as to need a wrench), and was probably a really sloppy fit in terms of normal machining tolerances, but it fit well enough to do the job. I also made a replacement for the plain washer that was between the nut and spring. The replacement has a shoulder to hold the spring centered, and a slight boss so the nut can be adjusted without scraping the top of the washer. <img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-4674" class="size-medium wp-image-4674" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Washer-300x120.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="120" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Washer-300x120.jpg 300w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Washer-1024x408.jpg 1024w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Washer-768x306.jpg 768w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Washer-1536x612.jpg 1536w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Washer-2048x816.jpg 2048w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Washer-100x40.jpg 100w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Washer-150x60.jpg 150w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Washer-200x80.jpg 200w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Washer-450x179.jpg 450w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Washer-600x239.jpg 600w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Washer-900x359.jpg 900w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /> Combined washer/spring seat (top and bottom views) I now have the column, pull handle, toggle mechanism, and platen all assembled on the press again. The original nut and washer have just been placed loosely on the top of the eye bolt to preserve them<img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-4675" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260808_122519-142x300.jpg" alt="" width="142" height="300" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260808_122519-142x300.jpg 142w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260808_122519-485x1024.jpg 485w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260808_122519-768x1623.jpg 768w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260808_122519-727x1536.jpg 727w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260808_122519-969x2048.jpg 969w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260808_122519-100x211.jpg 100w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260808_122519-150x317.jpg 150w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260808_122519-200x423.jpg 200w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260808_122519-300x634.jpg 300w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260808_122519-450x951.jpg 450w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260808_122519-600x1268.jpg 600w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260808_122519-900x1902.jpg 900w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260808_122519-scaled.jpg 1211w" sizes="(max-width: 142px) 100vw, 142px" /> The pull handle now retracts properly again, though it still strikes the platen bolt. There is still something uneven between the platen, bed, and frisket frame, and I want to take some careful measurement here before I actually shorten the one platen bolt to its final length.
The tororo-aoi plants I’m growing come from several seed sources, with one producing plants much obviously larger than the others. Up until now only the larger plants had bloomed, and they now have several very large seed pods on them.… Read more ›
The tororo-aoi plants I’m growing come from several seed sources, with one producing plants much obviously larger than the others. Up until now only the larger plants had bloomed, and they now have several very large seed pods on them. But finally, the smaller plants have started blooming, at least the ones seeded indoors, though the direct-seeded plants are still behind in development. This variety seems to produce numerous flower buds from a single spot at the growing tip of the plant, and the flowers are noticeably larger than the ones on the larger plant. <img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-4662" class="wp-image-4662 size-large" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260723_170037-574x1024.jpg" alt="" width="574" height="1024" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260723_170037-574x1024.jpg 574w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260723_170037-168x300.jpg 168w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260723_170037-768x1369.jpg 768w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260723_170037-862x1536.jpg 862w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260723_170037-1149x2048.jpg 1149w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260723_170037-100x178.jpg 100w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260723_170037-150x267.jpg 150w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260723_170037-200x356.jpg 200w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260723_170037-300x535.jpg 300w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260723_170037-450x802.jpg 450w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260723_170037-600x1069.jpg 600w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260723_170037-900x1604.jpg 900w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260723_170037-scaled.jpg 1436w" sizes="(max-width: 574px) 100vw, 574px" /> Buds on one of the smaller plants on July 23rd. I count at least ten buds here. <img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-4663" class="size-medium wp-image-4663" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260801_095726-249x300.jpg" alt="" width="249" height="300" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260801_095726-249x300.jpg 249w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260801_095726-850x1024.jpg 850w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260801_095726-768x925.jpg 768w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260801_095726-1276x1536.jpg 1276w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260801_095726-100x120.jpg 100w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260801_095726-150x181.jpg 150w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260801_095726-200x241.jpg 200w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260801_095726-300x361.jpg 300w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260801_095726-450x542.jpg 450w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260801_095726-600x723.jpg 600w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260801_095726-900x1084.jpg 900w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260801_095726.jpg 1381w" sizes="(max-width: 249px) 100vw, 249px" /> Large flower on small plant, August 1st. <img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-4664" class="size-medium wp-image-4664" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260806_105538-300x140.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="140" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260806_105538-300x140.jpg 300w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260806_105538-1024x477.jpg 1024w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260806_105538-768x358.jpg 768w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260806_105538-1536x715.jpg 1536w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260806_105538-2048x954.jpg 2048w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260806_105538-100x47.jpg 100w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260806_105538-150x70.jpg 150w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260806_105538-200x93.jpg 200w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260806_105538-450x210.jpg 450w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260806_105538-600x279.jpg 600w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260806_105538-900x419.jpg 900w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /> Most of the indoor-seeded small plants are now in bloom, August 6th. In order to avoid cross-pollination, I’m now removing any flower buds from the larger plants. These plants already have plenty of seed pods for me to collect when they ripen.
My last post, from four days ago, only showed details of some of the plants. Here is what the tororo-aoi patch looks like overall: The difference between the four larger plants, the smaller indoor-sprouted medium plants, and the smallest direct-seeded… Read more ›
My last post, from four days ago, only showed details of some of the plants. Here is what the tororo-aoi patch looks like overall: <img class="aligncenter wp-image-4657 size-large" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260715_115346-1024x361.jpg" alt="" width="605" height="213" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260715_115346-1024x361.jpg 1024w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260715_115346-300x106.jpg 300w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260715_115346-768x271.jpg 768w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260715_115346-1536x542.jpg 1536w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260715_115346-2048x722.jpg 2048w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260715_115346-100x35.jpg 100w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260715_115346-150x53.jpg 150w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260715_115346-200x71.jpg 200w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260715_115346-450x159.jpg 450w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260715_115346-600x212.jpg 600w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260715_115346-900x317.jpg 900w" sizes="(max-width: 605px) 100vw, 605px" />The difference between the four larger plants, the smaller indoor-sprouted medium plants, and the smallest direct-seeded plants is evident. I’m also managing an uncharacteristically (for me) good job of controlling the weeds. The largest plant in the centre has a pod about 15cm long: <img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-4658" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260715_115407-180x300.jpg" alt="" width="180" height="300" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260715_115407-180x300.jpg 180w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260715_115407-615x1024.jpg 615w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260715_115407-768x1280.jpg 768w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260715_115407-922x1536.jpg 922w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260715_115407-1229x2048.jpg 1229w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260715_115407-100x167.jpg 100w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260715_115407-150x250.jpg 150w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260715_115407-200x333.jpg 200w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260715_115407-300x500.jpg 300w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260715_115407-450x750.jpg 450w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260715_115407-600x1000.jpg 600w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260715_115407-900x1500.jpg 900w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260715_115407-scaled.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 180px) 100vw, 180px" />This is the same plant that was in the third photo in the previous post. The smaller plants are just developing flower buds, and it looks like the flowers will be smaller, but more numerous, occurring in clusters of about three. Both these photos, especially the second one, show a strange yellow colour cast. This is due to smoke from wildfires (I don’t know why they stopped calling them “forest fires”) in northern Ontario, beyond Thunder Bay. This made for other strange visual effects because the colour is often what the sky looks like when it is about to start raining. It also made the (normally white) instruments on the car’s instrument panel look very purple.
Some of my tororo-aoi plants are already producing flowers, about 3 weeks after transplanting into the garden. The flowers don’t last long so I don’t have a photo of one in full bloom yet, but in one of the photos… Read more ›
Some of my tororo-aoi plants are already producing flowers, about 3 weeks after transplanting into the garden. The flowers don’t last long so I don’t have a photo of one in full bloom yet, but in one of the photos you can see the dropped blossom with the young seed pod on the plant.<img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-4649" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154337-210x300.jpg" alt="" width="210" height="300" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154337-210x300.jpg 210w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154337-715x1024.jpg 715w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154337-768x1100.jpg 768w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154337-1073x1536.jpg 1073w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154337-1430x2048.jpg 1430w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154337-100x143.jpg 100w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154337-150x215.jpg 150w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154337-200x286.jpg 200w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154337-300x430.jpg 300w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154337-450x644.jpg 450w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154337-600x859.jpg 600w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154337-900x1289.jpg 900w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154337-scaled.jpg 1788w" sizes="(max-width: 210px) 100vw, 210px" /><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-4650" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154409-238x300.jpg" alt="" width="238" height="300" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154409-238x300.jpg 238w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154409-814x1024.jpg 814w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154409-768x966.jpg 768w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154409-1221x1536.jpg 1221w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154409-1627x2048.jpg 1627w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154409-100x126.jpg 100w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154409-150x189.jpg 150w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154409-200x252.jpg 200w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154409-300x378.jpg 300w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154409-450x566.jpg 450w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154409-600x755.jpg 600w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154409-900x1133.jpg 900w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154409.jpg 1908w" sizes="(max-width: 238px) 100vw, 238px" /><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-4653" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154345-205x300.jpg" alt="" width="205" height="300" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154345-205x300.jpg 205w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154345-700x1024.jpg 700w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154345-768x1124.jpg 768w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154345-1049x1536.jpg 1049w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154345-1399x2048.jpg 1399w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154345-100x146.jpg 100w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154345-150x220.jpg 150w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154345-200x293.jpg 200w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154345-300x439.jpg 300w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154345-450x659.jpg 450w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154345-600x878.jpg 600w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154345-900x1317.jpg 900w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154345-scaled.jpg 1749w" sizes="(max-width: 205px) 100vw, 205px" />These flowers are all on the four of the plants that are by far outgrowing the others, and I believe these are the ones sprouted from the old seeds I had purchased from Richter’s. All the plants are the same species, but I expect it comes in different varietals (just as tomato plants come in different varietals to produce different tomatoes), and this particular one is bred for big plants with showy flowers. The other seeds would be bred to produce larger roots, since that is the part used for making neri. Once the smaller plants start to produce flowers and pods, I’ll leave all the flowers to coexist for a while, then I’ll start removing the flower buds from these larger plants. As a result I should get large-plant seeds from the early pods on the large plants, small-plant seeds from the later pods on the small plants, and various hybrids from the pods produced when all plants were in bloom. I may also start trimming back some of the large plants so I can see in the fall if this makes them produce larger roots.
This year, after my encouraging results in workshops both at Bishop’s University last August and in Japan this March, I wanted to try growing my own tororo-aoi plants again. The roots of this plant are used to produce neri, a… Read more ›
This year, after my encouraging results in workshops both at Bishop’s University last August and in Japan this March, I wanted to try growing my own tororo-aoi plants again. The roots of this plant are used to produce neri, a slimy formation aid used in Japanese-style papermaking. I had previously grown some in 2007 in my vegetable garden with moderate success, using seeds I obtained from Tim Barrett at the IAPMA conference in Banff, and also in 2017 in my front garden using seeds from various sources. The 2007 effort gave me several good roots, some of which I’ve used and some of which are still in the freezer. I have yet to thaw them to see if they still produce good neri after 19 years frozen. The more recent crop yielded almost no useful roots, but I don’t know if the problem was growing conditions, soil quality, or plant variety. This time, I have seeds from at least four sources: From the 2017 season I had seeds left over from Richter’s and from AliExpress. From the workshop at Bishop’s University, I had seeds provided by Alex (the workshop lead) and seeds that we had gathered from the 2025 crop during the workshop. I planted the seeds in a covered tray under grow lights on May 6th, and by the 14th they had pretty much all sprouted. I had thought the seed coats would need nicking so I cut a chunk of the seed coat on half the seeds, but it appears this was unnecessary, and perhaps even detrimental as some of the sprouts pushed themselves up instead of pushing their root into the soil. <img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-4640" class="wp-image-4640 size-medium" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260516_110225-300x224.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="224" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260516_110225-300x224.jpg 300w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260516_110225-1024x766.jpg 1024w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260516_110225-768x575.jpg 768w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260516_110225-1536x1149.jpg 1536w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260516_110225-2048x1532.jpg 2048w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260516_110225-100x75.jpg 100w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260516_110225-150x112.jpg 150w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260516_110225-200x150.jpg 200w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260516_110225-450x337.jpg 450w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260516_110225-600x449.jpg 600w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260516_110225-900x673.jpg 900w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /> May 16th, 10 days after seeding: Sprouts from 10 seeds each, left-to-right, gathered at the workshop, from Alex at the workshop, from Richter’s, and from AliExpress The seeds from Richter’s were two or three times larger diameter than the other seeds but the seedlings did not seem much different once they started to grow. These plants produce a strong taproot so I wanted to get them out of this tray into deeper soil as soon as possible. I also wanted to be able to transplant them into the garden with minimal root disturbance (it was still too early in spring to put them out). To this end, I used cardboard toilet-paper rolls, split lengthwise, held closed with a couple of elastic bands, and filled with potting soil. I put one plant in each tube and kept them well-watered until transplanting outside.<img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-4641" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260516_141915-300x215.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="215" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260516_141915-300x215.jpg 300w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260516_141915-1024x735.jpg 1024w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260516_141915-768x552.jpg 768w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260516_141915-1536x1103.jpg 1536w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260516_141915-2048x1471.jpg 2048w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260516_141915-100x72.jpg 100w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260516_141915-150x108.jpg 150w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260516_141915-200x144.jpg 200w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260516_141915-450x323.jpg 450w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260516_141915-600x431.jpg 600w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260516_141915-900x646.jpg 900w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />I still had old seeds left over so I seeded them back into the tray, and they sprouted within five days: <img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-4642" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260521_120300-173x300.jpg" alt="" width="173" height="300" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260521_120300-173x300.jpg 173w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260521_120300-589x1024.jpg 589w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260521_120300-768x1334.jpg 768w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260521_120300-884x1536.jpg 884w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260521_120300-1179x2048.jpg 1179w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260521_120300-100x174.jpg 100w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260521_120300-150x261.jpg 150w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260521_120300-200x347.jpg 200w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260521_120300-300x521.jpg 300w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260521_120300-450x782.jpg 450w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260521_120300-600x1042.jpg 600w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260521_120300-900x1564.jpg 900w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260521_120300-scaled.jpg 1473w" sizes="(max-width: 173px) 100vw, 173px" />On May 31st, when we were sure of no frost, I transplanted these all into our front garden. I had placed them outside a few days ahead to harden off a bit in the windy weather. Unfortunately most of the plants from the second round did not survive the handling during transplanting: the stems are still crisp and easy to snap, and at one point the wind blew the tray over, damaging many of the plants. The ones in the cardboard tubes went in fine, though, and after a couple of days to see what survived I direct-seeded into the gaps. <img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-4643" class="size-medium wp-image-4643" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260615_114458-300x142.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="142" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260615_114458-300x142.jpg 300w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260615_114458-1024x484.jpg 1024w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260615_114458-768x363.jpg 768w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260615_114458-1536x727.jpg 1536w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260615_114458-2048x969.jpg 2048w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260615_114458-100x47.jpg 100w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260615_114458-150x71.jpg 150w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260615_114458-200x95.jpg 200w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260615_114458-450x213.jpg 450w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260615_114458-600x284.jpg 600w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260615_114458-900x426.jpg 900w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /> Some of the direct-seeded plants, about 7 days after seeding In the end I have 30 plants growing. The 11 direct-seeded ones are of course smaller than the 19 transplanted ones, but also there are three or four transplanted ones that are clearly larger than the rest. In the process of all the transplanting I did not keep track of which plants came from which seeds, but these may have come from the larger seeds from Richter’s. Once the plants set fruit and the pods ripen I can see if these plants also produce larger seeds. The first pods on the first-flowering plant will be pure-bred but most of the pods will be hybrids between the plants. <img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-4644" class="size-medium wp-image-4644" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260624_164300-297x300.jpg" alt="" width="297" height="300" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260624_164300-297x300.jpg 297w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260624_164300-1015x1024.jpg 1015w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260624_164300-768x775.jpg 768w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260624_164300-1522x1536.jpg 1522w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260624_164300-100x101.jpg 100w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260624_164300-150x151.jpg 150w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260624_164300-200x202.jpg 200w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260624_164300-300x303.jpg 300w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260624_164300-450x454.jpg 450w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260624_164300-600x605.jpg 600w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260624_164300-900x908.jpg 900w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260624_164300.jpg 1908w" sizes="(max-width: 297px) 100vw, 297px" /> The front garden on June 24th The goal is, of course, not larger seeds but larger roots. Come harvest time I will be weighing the plants and the roots to see if there is any correlation between the source of the seed (as well as I can determine that) and the yield, and keeping seeds from the plants that produced the best roots. The one conclusion so far is that these seeds will keep for many years and still give excellent germination rates. Their main requirement is sufficiently warm soil. The direct-seeded plants showed about 80% germination rate, similar to the seeds planted indoors. The transplanting took its toll, though, giving an overall 50% survival rate from seed to live plant (not including the total loss of the second indoor planting). On the other hand, the transplants have several weeks’ additional growth and so I would assume will result in larger plants and larger roots.
We will be holding our Introductory Papermaking workshop on Saturday, August 15th, 2026. The workshop runs from 9am to 4pm with a 1-hour lunch break, at our shop in New Dundee, Ontario. The cost for the workshop is $80 plus… Read more ›
We will be holding our Introductory Papermaking workshop on Saturday, August 15th, 2026. The workshop runs from 9am to 4pm with a 1-hour lunch break, at our shop in New Dundee, Ontario. The cost for the workshop is $80 plus HST, for a total of $90.40, including materials.
Monotype Computer Interface—Complete at last!
After far too long the computer interface for my Monotype Composition Caster is complete. In this case, “complete” means that it is a single self-contained unit with no straggling wires. My last step was to add a housing/support bracket for… Read more ›
After far too long the computer interface for my Monotype Composition Caster is complete. In this case, “complete” means that it is a single self-contained unit with no straggling wires. My last step was to add a housing/support bracket for the power plug connector and 24 volt power supply. The design for this had to be adjusted so the entire unit would still fit on the caster. <img class="size-medium wp-image-4620 alignleft" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152023-150x300.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="300" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152023-150x300.jpg 150w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152023-511x1024.jpg 511w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152023-768x1538.jpg 768w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152023-767x1536.jpg 767w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152023-1022x2048.jpg 1022w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152023-100x200.jpg 100w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152023-200x401.jpg 200w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152023-300x601.jpg 300w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152023-450x901.jpg 450w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152023-600x1202.jpg 600w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152023-900x1803.jpg 900w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152023-scaled.jpg 1278w" sizes="(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" /> <img class="size-medium wp-image-4621 alignright" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152031-162x300.jpg" alt="" width="162" height="300" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152031-162x300.jpg 162w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152031-553x1024.jpg 553w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152031-768x1421.jpg 768w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152031-830x1536.jpg 830w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152031-1107x2048.jpg 1107w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152031-100x185.jpg 100w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152031-150x278.jpg 150w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152031-200x370.jpg 200w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152031-300x555.jpg 300w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152031-450x833.jpg 450w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152031-600x1110.jpg 600w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152031-900x1666.jpg 900w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152031-scaled.jpg 1383w" sizes="(max-width: 162px) 100vw, 162px" /> <img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-4622" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152039-201x300.jpg" alt="" width="201" height="300" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152039-201x300.jpg 201w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152039-685x1024.jpg 685w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152039-768x1149.jpg 768w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152039-1027x1536.jpg 1027w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152039-1369x2048.jpg 1369w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152039-100x150.jpg 100w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152039-150x224.jpg 150w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152039-200x299.jpg 200w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152039-300x449.jpg 300w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152039-450x673.jpg 450w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152039-600x897.jpg 600w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152039-900x1346.jpg 900w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152039-scaled.jpg 1712w" sizes="(max-width: 201px) 100vw, 201px" /> Click on any photo for a larger version. Here’s how it looks on the caster with the air regulator, filter, and pressure gauge installed: <img class="alignright wp-image-4624" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152411-261x300.jpg" alt="" width="180" height="207" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152411-261x300.jpg 261w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152411-892x1024.jpg 892w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152411-768x882.jpg 768w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152411-1338x1536.jpg 1338w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152411-1783x2048.jpg 1783w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152411-100x115.jpg 100w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152411-150x172.jpg 150w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152411-200x230.jpg 200w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152411-300x345.jpg 300w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152411-450x517.jpg 450w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152411-600x689.jpg 600w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152411-900x1034.jpg 900w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152411.jpg 1793w" sizes="(max-width: 180px) 100vw, 180px" /> <img class="alignleft wp-image-4626" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152422-266x300.jpg" alt="" width="180" height="203" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152422-266x300.jpg 266w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152422-909x1024.jpg 909w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152422-768x865.jpg 768w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152422-1364x1536.jpg 1364w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152422-1818x2048.jpg 1818w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152422-100x113.jpg 100w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152422-150x169.jpg 150w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152422-200x225.jpg 200w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152422-300x338.jpg 300w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152422-450x507.jpg 450w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152422-600x676.jpg 600w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152422-900x1014.jpg 900w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152422.jpg 1908w" sizes="(max-width: 180px) 100vw, 180px" /><img class="aligncenter wp-image-4625" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152404-236x300.jpg" alt="" width="180" height="229" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152404-236x300.jpg 236w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152404-804x1024.jpg 804w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152404-768x978.jpg 768w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152404-1206x1536.jpg 1206w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152404-1608x2048.jpg 1608w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152404-100x127.jpg 100w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152404-150x191.jpg 150w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152404-200x255.jpg 200w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152404-300x382.jpg 300w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152404-450x573.jpg 450w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152404-600x764.jpg 600w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152404-900x1146.jpg 900w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260527_152404.jpg 1790w" sizes="(max-width: 180px) 100vw, 180px" />I guess this now qualifies as a finished prototype. I will be updating my drawing files to match how this was made, since as the work progressed I deviated from the original design where the changes seemed like an improvement. The updated design will have some other changes on the internal parts to accommodate a proper case, to replace some of the obsolete components on the PCB, and to relocate the internal cycle sensor. I should also change the pneumatics on my caster so this filter/regulator unit feeds the entire caster, and a flexible hose tapping off this would connect to the computer interface. This would mean that features like Unit Shift would work, and also that there would be less weight hanging off the front of the interface.
Other notes This is a bit of a wrap-up along with some reference links shared during the workshop Part 1: Introduction Part 2: Travel and sightseeing Part 3: Extracurricular activities Part 4: The actual papermaking workshop A book on tool… Read more ›
Other notes This is a bit of a wrap-up along with some reference links shared during the workshop Part 1: Introduction Part 2: Travel and sightseeing Part 3: Extracurricular activities Part 4: The actual papermaking workshop A book on tool making One book available to us during breaks was the a report on traditional Japanese papermaking tools. We had a printed copy to look through, but it is also available as a PDF file through the above link. The PDF file has text in it (rather than just page images) but I’ve been unable to get translations so far, as the PDF file is locked to prevent content copying or even printing. All I can do is take screen shots in the PDF viewer, and translate the screen shots of a page at a time. While at the workshop I was using Google Lens on my phone to get the gist of some of the contents. The title page reads: Record of Techniques for Making Handmade Washi Paper Tools National Handmade Washi Paper Tools Manufacturing Technology Preservation Society 40th Anniversary Commemorative Publication Two of the introductory pages read: Chapter 1: A Note on Publication I. A Greeting on the Publication (Keiko Ihara, Chairperson, National Association for the Preservation of Traditional Handmade Washi Paper Making Techniques) The National Association for the Preservation of Handmade Washi Paper Tools was designated a nationally selected organization for the preservation of traditional techniques in 1976, and this year marks its 40th anniversary. It is with great joy that all members of the association can publish the “Record of Handmade Washi Paper Tools Production Techniques” to coincide with this momentous occasion. Our preservation society has so far played a role in the field of handmade Japanese paper by creating tools, but as we commemorate our 40th anniversary, we would like to make even greater efforts to contribute to the preservation and development of handmade Japanese paper, a traditional craft. Handmade washi paper from all over Japan embodies the wisdom and spirit of people’s lives in the past, and the fundamental techniques behind it are important skills that are still relevant today. However, today, the techniques of handmade Japanese paper are being forced to change with the times, and in many cases, their continuation is at risk due to a lack of successors. In light of these realities, we sincerely hope that the precious local handmade washi paper will be preserved and passed down to future generations. Therefore, the members of this preservation society will dedicate themselves to refining their respective tool-making techniques and training successors. Our preservation society publishes an annual journal, “Bamboo, Wood, Thread, and the Immersion of Bamboo Baskets” (the cover of the inaugural issue is shown on the next page), which records the status of technical exchanges and skill transfer activities at training sessions, as well as the training of successors. Including these contents, we have created a technical record book that also includes valuable photographs and technical records from our predecessors, as well as the “Field Survey Report” by Professor Yanagibashi, who made significant contributions to the establishment of our preservation society. Although this is a very modest commemorative publication, we hope that it will be of some small help in the future inheritance and development of handmade Japanese paper and the tools that support it, and we pray that the history of handmade Japanese paper and tool making in each region will be preserved and passed down for generations to come. Lastly, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all those involved who provided various forms of cooperation in the publication of the “Record of Techniques for Making Handmade Washi Paper Tools.” II. On the Publication of the Technical Record of the Selected Preservation Technique “Manufacturing of Handmade Washi Paper Tools” (Cultural Properties Department, Agency for Cultural Affairs, Traditional Arts) (Toyoko Kondo, Chief Cultural Property Investigator, Crafts and Technology Division, Cultural Affairs Section) I would like to offer my heartfelt congratulations on the publication of the “Record of Handmade Washi Paper Making Techniques” by the National Association for the Preservation of Handmade Washi Paper Making Techniques, the organization that preserves this technique, as it marks the 40th anniversary of the designation of the “Handmade Washi Paper Making Tools” technique as a nationally designated preserved technique. Selected preservation techniques are those techniques selected by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology under the Cultural Properties Protection Law as “traditional techniques or skills indispensable for the preservation of cultural properties that require preservation measures.” Along with the selection, the holders and preservation organizations (organizations that carry out preservation work) of these techniques are also certified. When this system was established by the amendment of the Cultural Properties Protection Law in 1975, the technique of “making tools for handmade Japanese paper” was selected the following year, 1976, along with 15 other techniques, and was quickly positioned as a technique that should be preserved by the nation. The organization certified as the preservation organization for this technique is the National Association for the Preservation of Handmade Japanese Paper Tool Making Techniques. We express our deepest respect to the members of the Preservation Association for their efforts in refining and improving the techniques for making high-quality tools and training successors, amidst the continuing difficult situation of declining demand for tools due to the decrease in handmade Japanese paper technicians and the difficulty in obtaining high-quality raw materials. In 2014, “Sekishu Hanshi” and “Hon Mino Shi” were designated as Important Intangible Cultural Properties by the Japanese government (certified by the preserving organization). Three techniques related to “Hosokawa paper” have been inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity under the Convention for the Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage, as “Washi: Traditional Japanese Handmade Paper Techniques.” “Perhaps as a result of these efforts, the art of handmade Japanese paper is being re-recognized as a regional traditional culture, and initiatives to establish a foundation for its transmission are being seen in various places. One of the factors that gives Japanese handmade Japanese paper its beauty, folding resistance, and water resistance is the precisely and robustly crafted papermaking tools. We hope that this “Record of Handmade Japanese Paper Tool Manufacturing Techniques” will be used and contribute to the preservation and transmission of handmade Japanese paper tool manufacturing techniques in the future.” For clarity, the organization was founded in 1976 and this is their 40th year, with the publication coming out in 2016. The document includes historical photos of toolmakers many of whom had passed away before publication. One somewhat amusing thing I found using Google Lens was part of making brushes for transferring the damp paper from the post to the drying surface. There was a recipe for the glue used to hold the bristles which called for “glue, pine tar, and gold dust”. Neither Paul nor Imai-san knew what this “gold dust” referred to. After much Google searching I’ve concluded that this is a brand name of pastry flour that was available back in the day. Perhaps if we had asked an old Japanese baker they would have instantly known what this was. I found one possibly stale B2B web page listing this product and brand name, describing it as having about 8% protein and made from Canadian wheat. So the term “glue” likely refers to gelatin-based hide glue, and the “gold dust” refers to a starch paste or low-protein wheat paste, and the whole witch’s brew must have been quite a sticky mess. Unfortunately no proportions are given, nor the effects of altering proportions. Photos of this particular brush-making process show that the glue is made up in advance as hard sticks, which are rubbed onto a hotplate to melt the required amount of glue, with the glue being applied to the bristles by dipping and spreading with a stick or spatula. Bibliography for conservation Clara supplied this link to a list of publications which provide specialized vocabulary for various fields one might encounter while doing conservation work. Oguni Washi Calendar 2026 Oguni Washi produced a broadsheet calendar for 2026, and we each received a copy, on the same size paper as we were making.<img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-4617" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/calendar-illustration-300x180.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="180" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/calendar-illustration-300x180.jpg 300w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/calendar-illustration-1024x615.jpg 1024w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/calendar-illustration-768x461.jpg 768w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/calendar-illustration-1536x922.jpg 1536w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/calendar-illustration-2048x1229.jpg 2048w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/calendar-illustration-100x60.jpg 100w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/calendar-illustration-150x90.jpg 150w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/calendar-illustration-200x120.jpg 200w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/calendar-illustration-450x270.jpg 450w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/calendar-illustration-600x360.jpg 600w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/calendar-illustration-900x540.jpg 900w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />I’m not sure who actually made the illustration, but the calendar came with a sheet giving the folk tale that inspired it. One side of the sheet seems to be some translation of the other, though both sides seem to be in Japanese. Google Translate provides the following English version of the first page: 2026 Oguni Washi Original Calendar “Tochio Horse Market” There was a story about a wealthy man who employed a young man. And so the master kept horses. Every morning before breakfast, the young man would go to a mountain called Kannondo to cut grass for his horses. There lived two foxes, Sansuke and Gonsuke, on Kannondo mountain. One morning, as the young man went to Kannondo mountain to cut grass as usual, he overheard the two foxes consulting with each other. “Gonsuke, Gonsuke. It’s alright. You and I should team up and make some money. Tomorrow is the horse market in Tochio, so I’ll transform into a horse, and you transform into the young man and drag me there to sell me at the horse market,” they said. Then Gonsuke the fox said, “Yes, that sounds interesting.” “If I turn into a horse and get bought, I’ll run away in the middle of the night, so you take the money and come back here right away. We’ll split it.” And so they were making arrangements. The young man who overheard them thought, “That’s a good idea. Tomorrow I’ll go early and lead Sansuke the fox away.” So the next morning the young man went to where Sansuke the fox was on the mountain of Kannondo and said, “Hey, Sansuke, I’ve come to pick you up. Hurry up and turn into a horse.” “Hey, Gonsuke, you’re quick again. You’ve transformed into a young man so well again. From your voice to your appearance, you really are just like one of the young men of my master. Alright, I’ll transform into a horse too,” he said, and he flipped over and turned into a magnificent horse. The young man led the horse and trotted along to the horse market in Tochio, where he lined it up amongst a crowd of horses. There, a merchant named Nigoro came along and said, “This is a fine horse. How much is it?” “Well, I’d say about five or six ryo,” the young man replied. “Good, then if you sell it for five ryo, I’ll buy it,” the merchant said. “Yes, that’s fine,” the young man replied, and sold the horse for five ryo. The young man took the five ryo and went home, saying, “Mother, mother. The foxes are going to come and say something tomorrow, so please make them some red bean rice and kenchin soup.” Meanwhile, Sansuke the fox, who had been sold as a horse, returned to the mountain of Kannondo in the middle of the night, crying “kon kon kai kai” as he transformed back into his original fox form. “Hey Gonsuke, come here now.” “Yes, Sansuke, where have you been?” “What are you talking about? Where have I been? You took me to the horse market in Tochio yesterday, sold me, and brought the money back, didn’t you?” To which he replied, “No, it wasn’t me. You weren’t there when I went to pick you up.” “I see, in that case, one of the master’s young men must have heard what I was saying and dragged me out. In that case, I’ll transform into the master, and you come with me. Let’s go and get that money back.” And so the two foxes went down the mountain with the master. “I’m sorry. I’m a porter who bought a horse from the young men here, but the horse ran away last night, so I’d like to have it back. If you don’t have the horse, I’d like my money back,” he said. “Is that so? Well, come on in and have breakfast,” the mother said, so the foxes went up and sat down. Then they were served a big feast of red bean rice, kenchin soup and sake, and the foxes ate until they were full, and the sake took effect, and they fell fast asleep. And when the sun came up, it had turned back into a fox with its big tail sticking out. “Oh, look, a fox has come out here,” everyone said, and tried to rip it off, but the foxes said, “Oh dear, we can’t win against humans,” and timidly ran back to the mountain where Kankando Temple is located. Strawberry popped open. From “Tochio Horse Market” Material cooperation Goze Song Network (Translation on the back) The “translation” on the back appears to also be Japanese, but with different characters, for which Google provides the slightly different English translation: Once upon a time, there was a nobleman who had a young man working as his servant. The nobleman kept horses, and every morning before breakfast, the young man would go to a mountain called “Kannon-do” to cut grass to feed the horses. Two foxes, Sansuke and Gonsuke, lived on the mountain where the Kannon Hall stood. One morning, as the young man went to cut grass as usual, he overheard the foxes consulting with each other. “Gonsuke-don, Gonsuke-don. How about we team up and make some money? Tomorrow is the horse market in Tochio, so I’ll transform into a horse. You transform into a young man, lead me there, and sell me at the horse market.” Then Gonsuke the fox said, “That sounds good, it would be fun.” “If I’m bought as a horse, I’ll run away in the middle of the night and come back, so you bring the money and come back here right away. We’ll split it.” That’s what they were talking about. The young man who heard this thought, “That’s good to know. I’ll go early tomorrow and bring Sansuke the fox.” The next morning, the young man went early to the mountain where the Kannon Hall was located and headed towards Sansuke the fox. “Hey, Sansuke, I’ve come to pick you up. Hurry up and turn into a horse.” Then Sansuke the fox said, “Oh, Gonsuke, you’re pretty quick. You’ve managed to transform into a young man again. Your voice and appearance are just like the young man from your master’s household. Alright, I’ll transform into a horse too.” Saying that, he flipped over and transformed into a magnificent horse. The young man led the horse, trotting along, to the horse market in Tochio. I placed it in a spot where there were many other items lined up. Then the master of a place called Nigoro came along, “This is a good horse. How much is it?” “Well, I’d say about five or six carriages.” When the young man said that, the master replied, “Alright, then I’ll buy it for five ryo.” “Yes, that’s fine.” Thus the young man sold the horse for five ryo. He took the five ryo home and asked his mother, “Mother, mother, the foxes might come and say something tomorrow, so please make them some red bean rice and kenchin soup to treat them.” Meanwhile, Sansuke the fox, who had been sold as a horse, returned to his original form in the middle of the night, crying “Kon kon kai kai” as he went back to the mountain where the Kannon Hall was located. “Hey, Gonsuke, I’m home now.” “Hey, Sansuke, where have you been?” “What are you talking about? Where have you been? You took me to the horse market in Tochio yesterday, sold me, and brought the money back, didn’t you?” “No, it wasn’t me. You were already gone when I went to pick you up.” “I see, so that young man of the master must have heard our story and taken me with him. In that case, I’ll disguise myself as the master of the luggage, and you come with me. We’ll go and get that money back.” With that, the two foxes transformed into the master and his attendant and descended the He said, “Excuse me. I’m the man who bought a horse from the young man here, the porter’s husband. The horse ran away last night, so I’d like to have it back. If you don’t have the horse, I’d like my money back.” “I see. Well, come on in and have breakfast.” “That’s what the mother said, and the foxes came inside and sat down. Then, a feast of red bean rice, kenchin soup, and sake was served, and the foxes ate until they were full, and the sake took effect, causing them to fall into a deep sleep. Then, as the sun rose, a large tail appeared, and it transformed back into its original fox form. “Oh, a fox has come out here!” When everyone tried to catch them, the foxes “Ah, we are no match for humans.” “Here it comes,” he said, and then, with great fear, he finally managed to flee back to the mountain where the Kannon Hall was located. It’s over. Picture pattern flower production Oguni Washi Production Cooperative 145 Oguriyama, Oguni-machi, Nagaoka City, Niigata Prefecture Phone 0258 (41) 9770 Supplier links We also passed around a few links to suppliers of some materials: Kaki-shibu <img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-4608" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/kakishibu-300x149.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="149" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/kakishibu-300x149.jpg 300w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/kakishibu-100x50.jpg 100w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/kakishibu-150x74.jpg 150w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/kakishibu-200x99.jpg 200w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/kakishibu.jpg 377w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Mimasa Yoshishichi Shoten Co., Ltd. is a supplier of kaki-shibu in various forms, both liquid concentrate and powder. Although they sell by mail-order I don’t know if they ship outside of Japan. Their online order forms only support Japanese shipping destinations. Silk sewing thread <img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-4607" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/thread-235x300.jpg" alt="" width="235" height="300" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/thread-235x300.jpg 235w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/thread-100x128.jpg 100w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/thread-150x192.jpg 150w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/thread-200x256.jpg 200w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/thread-300x384.jpg 300w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/thread.jpg 391w" sizes="(max-width: 235px) 100vw, 235px" />Yuzawaya Shoji Co., Ltd is a general craft supplier which was recommended as a supplier of the silk thread we used to create our wa-toji books. They have several retail locations throughout Japan, and also sell through various online shops. The thread we were using came on small 20m cards branded KNK, from Kanagawa Co. Ltd., and based on a Google Lens translation, is labeled Oritsuru No. 16 “silk buttonhole thread”. This thread does not appear to be available through Yuzawaya’s “world” shop, but using the company’s own shopping cart system you can find this thread in 145 colours, costing ¥407 (about CAD4.00) for a 20m card. This seems to be a different ordering system than Yuzawaya’s “Online store for everyone living overseas” shopping site, and uses a forwarding service called WorldShopping, so there are additional shipping and handling fees to be considered. Items going to Canada are shipped DDU (duties unpaid) so the courier company used may have their hand out for duties and their own customs processing fees before they’ll give you the parcel.
The actual papermaking workshop At last, on to the actual workshop! Please also see the other parts of this series: Part 1: Introduction Part 2: Travel and sightseeing Part 3: Extracurricular activities Part 5: Other Notes Monday: Fibre Preparation We… Read more ›
The actual papermaking workshop At last, on to the actual workshop! Please also see the other parts of this series: Part 1: Introduction Part 2: Travel and sightseeing Part 3: Extracurricular activities Part 5: Other Notes Monday: Fibre Preparation We were using fibre from previous years’ kozo harvests, when the stems had been steamed and the bark stripped off and dried. We started with this raw bark, which had been soaked to soften it up again, and spent a good chunk of the morning scraping off the “black bark”, which is the outermost bark layer that you see on the surface of the live stems. This bark is a fairly thin, almost flimsy, non-fibrous layer which was scraped off by dragging the bark strips against large kitchen knives with a scrap of carpeting as a backer. <img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-4540" class="wp-image-4540 size-large" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/010BD6DF-1120-408F-B51D-9868CEA10A22Shrunk-2-768x1024.jpg" alt="" width="605" height="807" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/010BD6DF-1120-408F-B51D-9868CEA10A22Shrunk-2-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/010BD6DF-1120-408F-B51D-9868CEA10A22Shrunk-2-225x300.jpg 225w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/010BD6DF-1120-408F-B51D-9868CEA10A22Shrunk-2-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/010BD6DF-1120-408F-B51D-9868CEA10A22Shrunk-2-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/010BD6DF-1120-408F-B51D-9868CEA10A22Shrunk-2-100x133.jpg 100w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/010BD6DF-1120-408F-B51D-9868CEA10A22Shrunk-2-150x200.jpg 150w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/010BD6DF-1120-408F-B51D-9868CEA10A22Shrunk-2-200x267.jpg 200w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/010BD6DF-1120-408F-B51D-9868CEA10A22Shrunk-2-300x400.jpg 300w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/010BD6DF-1120-408F-B51D-9868CEA10A22Shrunk-2-450x600.jpg 450w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/010BD6DF-1120-408F-B51D-9868CEA10A22Shrunk-2-600x800.jpg 600w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/010BD6DF-1120-408F-B51D-9868CEA10A22Shrunk-2-900x1200.jpg 900w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/010BD6DF-1120-408F-B51D-9868CEA10A22Shrunk-2-scaled.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 605px) 100vw, 605px" /> Scraping off some of the green bark. Bits of the black bark, already all removed, are visible on the table By adjusting the blade angle, you could control how much of the next layer, the “green bark”, is also scraped off, leaving the inner “white bark”. The white bark is the thickest layer and the cleanest fibre, producing the whitest paper, while the green bark provides better inter-fibre bonding but contributes a yellow-green colour to the finished paper, which eventually ages to a pale brown. Removing as much green bark as possible will give the whitest paper but will reduce yield because of the fibres of the green bark being lost. After scraping, the bark strips were given a quick swish in clean water to rinse away any remaining loosened bits of outer bark After lunch, we loaded a cooking pot with the fibre we had scraped. The pot contained water which had been leached through wood ashes, making it alkaline. This was left to cook through the day; the original plan was for us to do draining and rinsing as well, but the cook started late, so Imai-san did the draining and rinsing after supper once we were all back in Nagaoka. While this was cooking, we worked on snow-bleaching. After a short discussion on the process, we each put out a few strips of the bark we had scraped to bleach on the snow for a few days. <img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-4541" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/F3C5707A-9771-434F-BA45-6C6B4C2A2153-1024x985.jpg" alt="" width="605" height="582" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/F3C5707A-9771-434F-BA45-6C6B4C2A2153-1024x985.jpg 1024w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/F3C5707A-9771-434F-BA45-6C6B4C2A2153-300x289.jpg 300w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/F3C5707A-9771-434F-BA45-6C6B4C2A2153-768x739.jpg 768w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/F3C5707A-9771-434F-BA45-6C6B4C2A2153-100x96.jpg 100w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/F3C5707A-9771-434F-BA45-6C6B4C2A2153-150x144.jpg 150w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/F3C5707A-9771-434F-BA45-6C6B4C2A2153-200x192.jpg 200w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/F3C5707A-9771-434F-BA45-6C6B4C2A2153-450x433.jpg 450w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/F3C5707A-9771-434F-BA45-6C6B4C2A2153-600x577.jpg 600w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/F3C5707A-9771-434F-BA45-6C6B4C2A2153-900x866.jpg 900w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/F3C5707A-9771-434F-BA45-6C6B4C2A2153.jpg 1423w" sizes="(max-width: 605px) 100vw, 605px" /> We also prepared for bleaching a batch of scraped bark Imai-san had; this had been dried for storage and had to be soaked before bleaching. We put up the soaked fibres in small bundles using zip-ties for easy handling in the bleaching process, but by then the day was warming enough that the crust on the snow could not support us reliably, so we had to wait until morning to put them out. We left the bundles hanging on pipes overnight; they would dry out a bit but not enough to interfere with bleaching. <img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-4552" class="size-large wp-image-4552" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/39CAB271-3D33-447B-A5EB-058869490336Smaller-1024x768.jpg" alt="" width="605" height="454" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/39CAB271-3D33-447B-A5EB-058869490336Smaller-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/39CAB271-3D33-447B-A5EB-058869490336Smaller-300x225.jpg 300w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/39CAB271-3D33-447B-A5EB-058869490336Smaller-768x576.jpg 768w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/39CAB271-3D33-447B-A5EB-058869490336Smaller-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/39CAB271-3D33-447B-A5EB-058869490336Smaller-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/39CAB271-3D33-447B-A5EB-058869490336Smaller-100x75.jpg 100w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/39CAB271-3D33-447B-A5EB-058869490336Smaller-150x113.jpg 150w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/39CAB271-3D33-447B-A5EB-058869490336Smaller-200x150.jpg 200w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/39CAB271-3D33-447B-A5EB-058869490336Smaller-450x338.jpg 450w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/39CAB271-3D33-447B-A5EB-058869490336Smaller-600x450.jpg 600w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/39CAB271-3D33-447B-A5EB-058869490336Smaller-900x675.jpg 900w" sizes="(max-width: 605px) 100vw, 605px" /> Soaked bark strips, in bundles, ready for tomorrow’s bleaching Tuesday: Making the pulp In the morning, we laid out Imai-san’s fibre prepared the day before onto the snow for bleaching. The snow is still quite deep here, over 1 metre, so morning is be best time to do this because the snow has a crust to support our weight. As the day warms up, the crust softens and it is much more likely that you might sink up to your hip into the snow. <img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-4542" class="size-large wp-image-4542" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260316_141804-1024x975.jpg" alt="" width="605" height="576" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260316_141804-1024x975.jpg 1024w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260316_141804-300x286.jpg 300w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260316_141804-768x731.jpg 768w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260316_141804-1536x1462.jpg 1536w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260316_141804-100x95.jpg 100w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260316_141804-150x143.jpg 150w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260316_141804-200x190.jpg 200w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260316_141804-450x428.jpg 450w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260316_141804-600x571.jpg 600w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260316_141804-900x857.jpg 900w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260316_141804.jpg 1908w" sizes="(max-width: 605px) 100vw, 605px" /> Imai-san’s snowshoes for when the snow is too soft <img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-4543" class="size-large wp-image-4543" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/A75F5B7A-E6DB-4A7A-9551-A3DCEF1749D7-919x1024.jpg" alt="" width="605" height="674" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/A75F5B7A-E6DB-4A7A-9551-A3DCEF1749D7-919x1024.jpg 919w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/A75F5B7A-E6DB-4A7A-9551-A3DCEF1749D7-269x300.jpg 269w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/A75F5B7A-E6DB-4A7A-9551-A3DCEF1749D7-768x856.jpg 768w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/A75F5B7A-E6DB-4A7A-9551-A3DCEF1749D7-1379x1536.jpg 1379w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/A75F5B7A-E6DB-4A7A-9551-A3DCEF1749D7-100x111.jpg 100w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/A75F5B7A-E6DB-4A7A-9551-A3DCEF1749D7-150x167.jpg 150w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/A75F5B7A-E6DB-4A7A-9551-A3DCEF1749D7-200x223.jpg 200w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/A75F5B7A-E6DB-4A7A-9551-A3DCEF1749D7-300x334.jpg 300w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/A75F5B7A-E6DB-4A7A-9551-A3DCEF1749D7-450x501.jpg 450w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/A75F5B7A-E6DB-4A7A-9551-A3DCEF1749D7-600x669.jpg 600w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/A75F5B7A-E6DB-4A7A-9551-A3DCEF1749D7-900x1003.jpg 900w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/A75F5B7A-E6DB-4A7A-9551-A3DCEF1749D7.jpg 1838w" sizes="(max-width: 605px) 100vw, 605px" /> Contrast between the fibre we put out and what had been bleaching for a few days. The stake shows the date, March 12th, so the whiter stuff has been out for 5 or 6 days. Note the brown flecks and cut ends on the fibre <img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-4544" class="size-large wp-image-4544" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260317_100402-485x1024.jpg" alt="" width="485" height="1024" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260317_100402-485x1024.jpg 485w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260317_100402-142x300.jpg 142w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260317_100402-768x1623.jpg 768w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260317_100402-727x1536.jpg 727w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260317_100402-969x2048.jpg 969w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260317_100402-100x211.jpg 100w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260317_100402-150x317.jpg 150w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260317_100402-200x423.jpg 200w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260317_100402-300x634.jpg 300w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260317_100402-450x951.jpg 450w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260317_100402-600x1268.jpg 600w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260317_100402-900x1902.jpg 900w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260317_100402-scaled.jpg 1211w" sizes="(max-width: 485px) 100vw, 485px" /> Some of the fibre we set out to bleach. The bundles should really be smaller The evening before, Imai-san had drained and rinsed the cooked unbleached fibre, and for us, after lunch, it was on to the tedious task of chiri-tori, removing any small dark flecks that would disfigure the finished paper. This involves carefully examining each strip of cooked bark while it is floating in water, and picking out any dark bits. These come from the cut ends of the strips, stumps of side branches, and insect or other damage to the plant while it was growing. You can see these on the close-up of bleaching fibre, above. <img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-4545" class="size-large wp-image-4545" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/02D7E04A-C7ED-4BFF-9EB0-314CA1EC549A-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="605" height="340" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/02D7E04A-C7ED-4BFF-9EB0-314CA1EC549A-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/02D7E04A-C7ED-4BFF-9EB0-314CA1EC549A-300x169.jpg 300w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/02D7E04A-C7ED-4BFF-9EB0-314CA1EC549A-768x432.jpg 768w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/02D7E04A-C7ED-4BFF-9EB0-314CA1EC549A-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/02D7E04A-C7ED-4BFF-9EB0-314CA1EC549A-2048x1152.jpg 2048w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/02D7E04A-C7ED-4BFF-9EB0-314CA1EC549A-100x56.jpg 100w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/02D7E04A-C7ED-4BFF-9EB0-314CA1EC549A-150x84.jpg 150w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/02D7E04A-C7ED-4BFF-9EB0-314CA1EC549A-200x113.jpg 200w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/02D7E04A-C7ED-4BFF-9EB0-314CA1EC549A-450x253.jpg 450w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/02D7E04A-C7ED-4BFF-9EB0-314CA1EC549A-600x338.jpg 600w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/02D7E04A-C7ED-4BFF-9EB0-314CA1EC549A-900x506.jpg 900w" sizes="(max-width: 605px) 100vw, 605px" /> Chiri-tori. Some of us sat down for this but I found this put me at an awkward height, so I just stood <img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-4546" class="size-large wp-image-4546" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/S__61595677_0-768x1024.jpg" alt="" width="605" height="807" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/S__61595677_0-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/S__61595677_0-225x300.jpg 225w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/S__61595677_0-100x133.jpg 100w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/S__61595677_0-150x200.jpg 150w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/S__61595677_0-200x267.jpg 200w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/S__61595677_0-300x400.jpg 300w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/S__61595677_0-450x600.jpg 450w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/S__61595677_0-600x800.jpg 600w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/S__61595677_0-900x1200.jpg 900w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/S__61595677_0.jpg 1108w" sizes="(max-width: 605px) 100vw, 605px" /> Close-up of the process, with me trying the seated position. Unprocessed fibre is draped over the side of the tub. Cleaned fibre is piled loose on the plank, and dark bits are rinsed off our fingers into water in the smaller tub These dark bits, along with some of the black and green bark removed Monday, were collected to use as a decorative feature in some of the paper we will make. This stuff is considered a flaw in what should be a plain white sheet, but is a feature when used deliberately to decorate the paper. Once the cooked fibre was cleaned of flecks, it was time for beating. We beat some of the fibre by hand using a couple of styles of beating tool, but we loaded most of the fibre into the studio’s naginata for mechanical beating, so we would have enough pulp ready for the next day. <!--[if lt IE 9]> <![endif]--> https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/313ee9b7-7b8e-4bc8-9a75-87b49bfacfde.mp4 <img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-4548" class="size-large wp-image-4548" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260317_143129-485x1024.jpg" alt="" width="485" height="1024" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260317_143129-485x1024.jpg 485w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260317_143129-142x300.jpg 142w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260317_143129-768x1620.jpg 768w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260317_143129-728x1536.jpg 728w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260317_143129-971x2048.jpg 971w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260317_143129-100x211.jpg 100w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260317_143129-150x316.jpg 150w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260317_143129-200x422.jpg 200w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260317_143129-300x633.jpg 300w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260317_143129-450x949.jpg 450w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260317_143129-600x1266.jpg 600w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260317_143129-900x1899.jpg 900w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260317_143129-scaled.jpg 1213w" sizes="(max-width: 485px) 100vw, 485px" /> The naginata beater. The shaft rotates clockwise seen from this end, and for size reference, the channel under the blades is about 40cm (16″) wide. The blades are not very sharp, so the effect is mostly to tease the fibres apart by dragging them rapidly through the water While we were beating our fibre, Imai-san was busy preparing neri, the slimy formation aid made from tororo-aoi roots. He goes through a lot of this in his own papermaking, and so prepares it in large batches. Rather than growing the plants himself, he buys the tororo-aoi roots; I’m not sure if this is because the plant grows better further south, or if this is just another complication he wants to avoid. He smashes the roots on the floor using a heavy wooden post as a stamper, and places the roots into a tub of water. After soaking for a while, the water, now very slimy, is decanted off, and the roots are put into a sieve to continue draining. The drained roots are usually given a second soak and drain to extract more neri. <img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-4575" class="size-large wp-image-4575" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/4EBF62EF-98BE-4649-8F51-A7B030791822-2-768x1024.jpg" alt="" width="605" height="807" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/4EBF62EF-98BE-4649-8F51-A7B030791822-2-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/4EBF62EF-98BE-4649-8F51-A7B030791822-2-225x300.jpg 225w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/4EBF62EF-98BE-4649-8F51-A7B030791822-2-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/4EBF62EF-98BE-4649-8F51-A7B030791822-2-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/4EBF62EF-98BE-4649-8F51-A7B030791822-2-100x133.jpg 100w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/4EBF62EF-98BE-4649-8F51-A7B030791822-2-150x200.jpg 150w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/4EBF62EF-98BE-4649-8F51-A7B030791822-2-200x267.jpg 200w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/4EBF62EF-98BE-4649-8F51-A7B030791822-2-300x400.jpg 300w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/4EBF62EF-98BE-4649-8F51-A7B030791822-2-450x600.jpg 450w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/4EBF62EF-98BE-4649-8F51-A7B030791822-2-600x800.jpg 600w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/4EBF62EF-98BE-4649-8F51-A7B030791822-2-900x1200.jpg 900w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/4EBF62EF-98BE-4649-8F51-A7B030791822-2-scaled.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 605px) 100vw, 605px" /> The neri formation aid draining off the crushed and soaked tororo-aoi roots To remove the finer dirt from the formation aid, the liquid is poured into a pillowcase and hung up to drain. <img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-4576" class="size-large wp-image-4576" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/C6D58301-BD7D-4E84-A1FD-832ED2031B6A-490x1024.jpg" alt="" width="490" height="1024" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/C6D58301-BD7D-4E84-A1FD-832ED2031B6A-490x1024.jpg 490w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/C6D58301-BD7D-4E84-A1FD-832ED2031B6A-144x300.jpg 144w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/C6D58301-BD7D-4E84-A1FD-832ED2031B6A-768x1605.jpg 768w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/C6D58301-BD7D-4E84-A1FD-832ED2031B6A-735x1536.jpg 735w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/C6D58301-BD7D-4E84-A1FD-832ED2031B6A-980x2048.jpg 980w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/C6D58301-BD7D-4E84-A1FD-832ED2031B6A-100x209.jpg 100w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/C6D58301-BD7D-4E84-A1FD-832ED2031B6A-150x313.jpg 150w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/C6D58301-BD7D-4E84-A1FD-832ED2031B6A-200x418.jpg 200w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/C6D58301-BD7D-4E84-A1FD-832ED2031B6A-300x627.jpg 300w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/C6D58301-BD7D-4E84-A1FD-832ED2031B6A-450x940.jpg 450w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/C6D58301-BD7D-4E84-A1FD-832ED2031B6A-600x1254.jpg 600w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/C6D58301-BD7D-4E84-A1FD-832ED2031B6A-900x1881.jpg 900w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/C6D58301-BD7D-4E84-A1FD-832ED2031B6A-scaled.jpg 1225w" sizes="(max-width: 490px) 100vw, 490px" /> Filtering the neri using a pillowcase Mid-afternoon, we learned how to charge the vat, add neri, and get everything sufficiently dispersed. The vats are fitted with a maze (pronounced mah-zay), a frame with several teeth submerged in the vat water, pivoted horizontally above, which is vigourously pulled back and forth to break up the clumps of added fibre and help disperse the neri. <img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-4553" class="size-large wp-image-4553" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/61780D3B-6567-4CEA-BC55-83702D9022CD-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="605" height="340" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/61780D3B-6567-4CEA-BC55-83702D9022CD-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/61780D3B-6567-4CEA-BC55-83702D9022CD-300x169.jpg 300w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/61780D3B-6567-4CEA-BC55-83702D9022CD-768x432.jpg 768w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/61780D3B-6567-4CEA-BC55-83702D9022CD-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/61780D3B-6567-4CEA-BC55-83702D9022CD-2048x1152.jpg 2048w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/61780D3B-6567-4CEA-BC55-83702D9022CD-100x56.jpg 100w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/61780D3B-6567-4CEA-BC55-83702D9022CD-150x84.jpg 150w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/61780D3B-6567-4CEA-BC55-83702D9022CD-200x113.jpg 200w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/61780D3B-6567-4CEA-BC55-83702D9022CD-450x253.jpg 450w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/61780D3B-6567-4CEA-BC55-83702D9022CD-600x338.jpg 600w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/61780D3B-6567-4CEA-BC55-83702D9022CD-900x506.jpg 900w" sizes="(max-width: 605px) 100vw, 605px" /> Michele using the maze on his vat on Wednesday The maze usually leaves some smaller soft fibre lumps, from the fibres that drape onto its teeth, so the final dispersion is done with a pole, again very vigourously run through the vat water. Here is Imai-san showing the final stirring technique on our vat. That tearing “shoomph” sound means you’re doing it right. It seems that, unlike the maze teeth, the pole does not accumulate fibres. This is likely partly because of its larger diameter, slicker surface, and the circular motion used. https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/978f50e9-024e-44c1-940a-f7891daa061d.mp4 We then learned how to actually form and couch the sheets. Our su (screen, pronounced “soo”) had thin bamboo strips at the top and bottom edges, and our keta (support frame and deckle, pronounced “kay-tah”) consisted of two separate flat frames, the lower one having two ribs to support the central area of the su. Before making each sheet we had to position the su on the lower frame of the keta, place the upper frame lined up on top, and hold tightly while making the paper so nothing shifted. When Imai-san is making his paper, he uses a su with larger wooden sticks top and bottom, and a keta with a hinged top and cutouts to hold the wooden sticks of the su in position. We each made a few sheets from a shared vat for practice, and couched them all onto a shared post with coloured Post-It tabs identifying which sheets were whose. The opening in the keta is 29×40cm, so most of our sheets are this size as well. Normally, paper made this way is couched with no separators between the sheets, just a ribbon or thread along one edge to help to start parting the sheets after pressing. For us beginners, though, we had some very light spun-bonded polyester interfacing sheets to separate the paper. After forming each sheet and removing the upper half of the keta, we would lay the interfacing onto the sheet, then transfer the su, paper, and interfacing together to the post, interfacing side down, and remove the su. There were various steps (su placement on keta, placing the interfacing, and laying the su/paper/interfacing onto the post) providing inaccurate positioning, so our posts we made the next day were, at least at first, not very straight stacks. I eventually got the knack of ignoring the position of the interfacing, and positioning the starter strip of the su relative to the board under the post which gave a neater post. Imai-san’s setup has alignment blocks so he can easily get the sheets stacked neatly, which is much more important because he is not using separators between the sheets, just an edge ribbon. Wednesday: Making paper We started the day by each preparing our own vat for papermaking: Adding fibre, breaking it up with the maze, adding neri (usually done by either Paul or Imai-san so we get a suitable amount), and final mixing with a pole. We then spent the morning making paper. Every papermaker has their own technique for actually forming the sheets; the method Imai-san showed us was to start with three quick dips, just picking up a bit of vat water on the near edge of the sugeta (su and keta together) and tipping it back to run to the far edge where it is tossed back into the vat. This forms a thin starting layer of fibre on the su. Then the main body of the sheet is formed by taking full dips in the vat, more or less filling the upper half of the keta frame, and moving/rocking the sugeta to and fro to keep the water moving on the su, and once maybe half or two thirds of the water had drained through the su, tossing the remaining water back into the vat. The rocking motion aligns the fibres and also prevents larger fibre clumps from settling on the su; these get thrown back into the vat, leaving a sheet made of fine fibres. You could also rock the sugeta side-to-side to produce a paper with more cross-grain. Once you felt your sheet was thick enough, one more quick dip (like the starting dip) produced a uniform surface and it was time to couch off the sheet. As beginners we judge the sheet is finished by essentially counting how many dips and how long each is kept on the su, but as fibre is used up in the vat this will make the sheets thinner and thinner. The proper way is to visually evaluate how much fibre has accumulated on the su, but that requires a lot more experience. I don’t have a video of any of us making a sheet on our sugeta, but further down there is one of me making a sheet on Imai-san’s larger setup. We would then remove the upper keta frame, and hold the su and lower keta frame tilted for a few second to allow some water to drip off. Then we cover the su and paper with a sheet of interfacing, and pick up the su, paper, and interfacing all together from the near edge of the su, holding the su vertically, interfacing/paper away from us, with our other hand holding what was the far edge. We would then simultaneously turn around (our posts were behind us) and also flip the su top-to-bottom. We place what was the far edge of the su onto the top of the post, trying to get the new sheet lined up with ones already there, and lower our second hand so the su and paper roll onto the top of the post, until what was the near edge when on the keta is laid down at the far edge of the post. The goal is to not trap any air pockets between the sheet and the top of the post. A quick outward rub on the back of the su can be used to try to expel any bubbles and get good contact between the sheets. We seemed to have our own preferred hand choices for the transfer process; I picked up the near edge with my right (dominant) hand, and that hand then ends up rolling the sheet onto the post, with my left hand having positioned the starting edge. Based on photos, it looks like Michele did the same but Clara did the opposite, and Alex, who is left-handed, also used reversed hands but it was still his dominant (left) hand picking up the near edge. Now it is time for the trickiest part, removing the su (and leaving the sheet on the post undamaged). Imai-san and Chihiro-san showed us two different techniques for this: Imai-san’s method is to lift the edges of the su, about halfway down either side, separating the su from the sheet along two tip-to-tip wedge-shaped areas, then sliding our lifting fingers towards us moving these separated wedges towards us as well. Once we reached the edge strip of the su (which was as flexible in this orientation as the splints of the su) this would leave us with the near edge of the sheet mostly separated. We continue moving our lifting fingers around the corners of the su and towards each other and then press down on the ends of the edge strip. This would flex the center of the strip upwards lifting it off the sheet. Then the entire su could be peeled off the sheet away from us. This method only works when the su has thin flexible edge strips. Chihiro-san’s method is the more usual one, used when the su has rigid sticks along its edges. You essentially lightly press down on the stick and immediately tip it up and away from you and quickly lift it a bit, maybe only a centimetre or half an inch, checking if the su has separated from the sheet along the entire edge. If it hasn’t, you put the stick back down and try again, making sure in particular that the spot that did not separate gets pressed down. Once the edge has separated cleanly, you peel off the su as in the other method. I don’t have a video of the entire process in sequence, but in this clip you see Clara removing the upper keta frame, draining the sheet a bit, and reaching for a piece of interfacing, Alex laying his su and sheet on his post, and me lifting off the su using Chihoro-san’s method. https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/795654382.799928.mp4 This is actually from our Thursday session and Michele is doing water-drop paper, a special decorative technique. And yes, once we got into it, the room was very quiet. When we returned from the Shimenawa workshop after lunch, we spent the rest of the afternoon making more sheets. We also each got a try using the large mould and vat which Imai-san had set up for making his own paper. Because he already had several sheets of his own paper in the post, he did the couching for us so we would not destroy his work. During the day, in addition to working on some of his own paper production, Imai-san also pressed and dried our shared post from Tuesday so we got to see our first finished sheets. https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/795530745.439132.mp4 Throughout Wednesday, Imai-san was also preparing some bleached pulp for us to use Thursday. We were partway back to Nagaoka when he realized he had left the heat on the cooking pot and we had to turn back so he could turn that off. By Thursday morning he had this fibre drained, rinsed, chiri-tori’d and beaten in the naginata, and had also pressed his own post that contained our large sheets. Thursday: More paper, and pressing and drying On Thursday morning, we made paper using snow-bleached pulp which Imai-san had prepared for us. Our posts from the day before were also placed in the press and the water was slowly pressed out. For our paper, the press is just a small screw-press, which we occasionally tightened using just a single finger on the bar to avoid pressing too fast. If you press too fast the outward movement of the water will drag fibres with it, giving the sheets a bulgy shape and making them hard to separate. As pressing neared completion we would use a short pipe on the bar to get a bit more force. <img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-4564" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260319_093805-776x1024.jpg" alt="" width="605" height="798" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260319_093805-776x1024.jpg 776w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260319_093805-227x300.jpg 227w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260319_093805-768x1014.jpg 768w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260319_093805-1163x1536.jpg 1163w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260319_093805-1551x2048.jpg 1551w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260319_093805-100x132.jpg 100w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260319_093805-150x198.jpg 150w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260319_093805-200x264.jpg 200w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260319_093805-300x396.jpg 300w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260319_093805-450x594.jpg 450w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260319_093805-600x792.jpg 600w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260319_093805-900x1188.jpg 900w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260319_093805.jpg 1898w" sizes="(max-width: 605px) 100vw, 605px" /> In the afternoon, we re-loaded our vats, with one vat of bleached pulp from the morning, one with the “chiri” pulp which included black and green bark and chiri flecks from earlier in the week, one with the unbleached pulp, and one with a varying blend of bleached and unbleached. We used the various vats to make decorated paper in various styles, mostly by combining a sheet of the white pulp with a layer of either the chiri or unbleached pulp. Chiri sheets were just sheets made from unbleached pulp that included the chiri flecks and some black bark. <img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-4584" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171545-300x217.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="217" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171545-300x217.jpg 300w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171545-1024x742.jpg 1024w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171545-768x556.jpg 768w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171545-1536x1113.jpg 1536w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171545-2048x1483.jpg 2048w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171545-100x72.jpg 100w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171545-150x109.jpg 150w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171545-200x145.jpg 200w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171545-450x326.jpg 450w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171545-600x435.jpg 600w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171545-900x652.jpg 900w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /> Stencil sheets were made by combining a sheet made with a stencil on the su surface with a full sheet made with a contrasting pulp. These elements were either made separately and couched onto each other, or formed on top of each other on the su and couched together. Our stencils were supported on full sheets of fine mesh so we had to use the double-couching method, but if using a stencil whose open areas are fully open and with good control of the sheet forming, you could remove the stencil from the su leaving the stenciled sheet behind and form the backing sheet right on top of the stencil sheet. I couched them onto each other and had a bit of trouble both while peeling off the su and also later when separating the pressed paper, because the two layers did not bond very well. I also did not get the two layers aligned well, so the sheet is a couple of centimetres oversize. <img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-4585" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171623-300x213.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="213" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171623-300x213.jpg 300w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171623-1024x726.jpg 1024w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171623-768x545.jpg 768w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171623-1536x1089.jpg 1536w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171623-2048x1453.jpg 2048w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171623-100x71.jpg 100w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171623-150x106.jpg 150w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171623-200x142.jpg 200w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171623-450x319.jpg 450w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171623-600x426.jpg 600w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171623-900x638.jpg 900w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /> By holding a thread between both hands, and dipping it in the vat, it comes out draped in fibre. This fibre can then be applied to the top sheet on the post or on the su and the thread slipped out the end, leaving a line of fibre on the base sheet. I did this with threads of chiri pulp on a bleached background sheet, but even done with the same pulp as the base sheet, the line reveals itself with a different sheen because the fibres on the thread are all aligned. <img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-4586" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171434-300x216.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="216" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171434-300x216.jpg 300w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171434-1024x737.jpg 1024w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171434-768x553.jpg 768w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171434-1536x1105.jpg 1536w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171434-2048x1473.jpg 2048w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171434-100x72.jpg 100w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171434-150x108.jpg 150w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171434-200x144.jpg 200w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171434-450x324.jpg 450w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171434-600x432.jpg 600w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171434-900x648.jpg 900w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /> <img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-4587" class="size-medium wp-image-4587" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171507-142x300.jpg" alt="" width="142" height="300" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171507-142x300.jpg 142w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171507-485x1024.jpg 485w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171507-768x1623.jpg 768w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171507-727x1536.jpg 727w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171507-969x2048.jpg 969w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171507-100x211.jpg 100w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171507-150x317.jpg 150w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171507-200x423.jpg 200w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171507-300x634.jpg 300w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171507-450x951.jpg 450w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171507-600x1268.jpg 600w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171507-900x1902.jpg 900w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171507-scaled.jpg 1211w" sizes="(max-width: 142px) 100vw, 142px" /> Close-up angled shot shows a bit of the fibre sheen on the upper edge of the lines Water-drop sheets are made by sprinkling water onto the sheet on the su from a suitable height to form a pattern of small circles on the paper. This can be done either with a single-colour sheet, producing a pattern seen mostly as a watermark, or you can have two pulps laminated on the su, and the craters wash away the top colour revealing the colour of the lower layer of the sheet, as shown here. <img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-4588" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171410-300x215.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="215" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171410-300x215.jpg 300w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171410-1024x734.jpg 1024w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171410-768x551.jpg 768w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171410-1536x1101.jpg 1536w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171410-2048x1468.jpg 2048w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171410-100x72.jpg 100w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171410-150x108.jpg 150w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171410-200x143.jpg 200w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171410-450x323.jpg 450w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171410-600x430.jpg 600w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171410-900x645.jpg 900w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /> I also made a sort of ombré sheet, by starting the sheet with just a quick dip in the chiri pulp along the top and bottom edges, backing it up by forming a full sheet of white on top of that. <img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-4589" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171324-300x219.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="219" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171324-300x219.jpg 300w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171324-1024x746.jpg 1024w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171324-768x560.jpg 768w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171324-1536x1120.jpg 1536w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171324-2048x1493.jpg 2048w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171324-100x73.jpg 100w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171324-150x109.jpg 150w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171324-200x146.jpg 200w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171324-450x328.jpg 450w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171324-600x437.jpg 600w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260514_171324-900x656.jpg 900w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /> By lunch our posts from Wednesday were pressed, so during the afternoon, we took a break from making paper to learn how to dry the paper. The studio has two heated paper driers, which are stainless steel boxes standing on edge about 20cm thick and maybe 2m wide and tall, heated by hot water flowing inside. The sheets are peeled off the post one at a time and applied to the heated surface, using a horse-hair brush to help support the paper and smooth it onto the drier. At first we transferred the paper with its underlying interfacing to the drier, applied it to the heated surface, and peeled off the interfacing, but I found it easier to transfer the sheet by itself (which one would do anyway if the post contained no separators). It is easier to get the sheet wrinkle-free using the interfacing, but I found that peeling the interfacing from the drying surface often lifted the sheet away, making wrinkles anyway. https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/795740127.100369.mp4 I didn’t always have to fiddle that much to avoid wrinkles. After only a minute or two, the paper would be dry and could be peeled off to make room to dry more. We also each dried our own large sheet we had made an Imai-san’s vat; being a larger sheet, the pattern of brush strokes to get it wrinkle-free was quite different. Imai-san makes it look easy… https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/f0849917-3414-4354-98c5-7bdeba448553.mp4 https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/795740126.872996.mp4 Friday: More pressing and drying, and paper projects Some of our posts from Thursday had been pressed overnight, and Friday morning we were pressing the rest of them and drying our paper. After lunch we tried a couple of paper treatments. One of these is a starch-like substance called konnyaku. This comes as a powder, which is a ground-up tuber of the konjac plant, amorphophallus konjac, which is dissolved in water. The liquid has to be left to stand for a while while the starchy powder swells and dissolves, producing a thick, somewhat gelatinous liquid. This is applied to the dried paper, usually by dipping, but also by brushing. The paper is then dried, and the result is a paper which is much more resistant to tearing with a sort of leathery feel to it, and although not waterproof, it has great wet strength once the konnyakyu has been set. Konnyaku as applied here is not water-resistant but it can be set, making it permanent, by placing it for a minute or two in boiling-hot lime water (that is, calcium hydroxide, not the citrus fruit). I’m not quite sure whether it is the alkalinity of the lime water, or the calcium ions, or perhaps a combination of the two, that actually makes the konnyaku permanent. The other treatment is called kaki-shibu, which is a dark reddish-brown tannin-rich product made from the juice of underripe persimmons. This is generally brushed onto the paper, as dipping in this runny, staining, liquid would be a messy process. Again the paper is dried, and over a few days, the tannins in the juice form a permanent bond with the fibres. This gives the paper a bit of a reddish-brown colour (which will darken as it ages), and a very crisp, crackly texture. As with the konnyaku it adds to the paper strength but also helps it repel water. Several coats can be applied in succession to make an almost completely waterproof paper. <img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-4571" class="size-large wp-image-4571" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260320_134040-1024x631.jpg" alt="" width="605" height="373" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260320_134040-1024x631.jpg 1024w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260320_134040-300x185.jpg 300w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260320_134040-768x473.jpg 768w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260320_134040-1536x946.jpg 1536w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260320_134040-2048x1261.jpg 2048w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260320_134040-100x62.jpg 100w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260320_134040-150x92.jpg 150w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260320_134040-200x123.jpg 200w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260320_134040-450x277.jpg 450w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260320_134040-600x370.jpg 600w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260320_134040-900x554.jpg 900w" sizes="(max-width: 605px) 100vw, 605px" /> On the left are my treated sheets drying in the loft. The front three are treated with kaki-shibu, and the other two with konnyaku One thing we also did with our sheets was to make momogami. This is paper which has been repeatedly crumpled to give it a permanent wrinkled texture. Many people believe that momogami requires konnyaku-treated paper but that is not the case. Although konnyaku-treated paper may hold the crumpling better, especially if crumpled while applying and setting the konnyaku, any paper can be crumpled in this manner to make momogami. Our final project in the afternoon was using some of our paper to make a small blank stab-bound book, a traditional style known as wa-toji. By this time our treated papers were dry, so I used one of my kaki-shibu momogami sheets for the covers. The inside of the book was made with five sheets of paper cut in two, so contained ten leaves. As it traditional with these books, the paper was folded back on itself, good side out, with the crease at the outside edge, producing a book about a quarter of the size of the original sheets. Because there is some paste drying involved, we left our partially-finished books to dry under a weight overnight. Saturday: Finishing the books, and workshop wrap-up The books had been bound already with internal structural sewing of the pages, but Saturday morning we did the decorative outer sewing, which also holds the covers in place, and added a label for a title.<img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-4572" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260321_120216-1024x718.jpg" alt="" width="605" height="424" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260321_120216-1024x718.jpg 1024w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260321_120216-300x210.jpg 300w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260321_120216-768x539.jpg 768w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260321_120216-1536x1077.jpg 1536w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260321_120216-2048x1436.jpg 2048w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260321_120216-100x70.jpg 100w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260321_120216-150x105.jpg 150w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260321_120216-200x140.jpg 200w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260321_120216-450x316.jpg 450w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260321_120216-600x421.jpg 600w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260321_120216-900x631.jpg 900w" sizes="(max-width: 605px) 100vw, 605px" />
I was casting some type this week when I noticed an oddity on the font schemes listed in the back of the The Monotype Casting Machine Manual, which is the basis for my usual casting font schemes. The font scheme… Read more ›
I was casting some type this week when I noticed an oddity on the font schemes listed in the back of the The Monotype Casting Machine Manual, which is the basis for my usual casting font schemes. The font scheme gives the count of how many of each sort are cast to make up a font, and these were based on English text from around the early twentieth century. Although some foundries would sell type with uppercase, lowercase, points (punctuation), and figures each being packaged separately, allowing the customer to make their own upper-/lowercase balance, the Monotype schemes are for a complete set including both upper- and lowercase as well as figures and points. There are two basic schemes: The ‘body’ scheme represents the letter frequencies encountered when composing running text in full sentences and paragraphs. The ‘jobber’ scheme represents the frequencies encountered when composing titles, headings, point-form lists, and other such items which generally require many more uppercase letters. If you compare the two classes of schemes, it is generally the case that the counts of lowercase are the same, but in the Jobber schemes, the uppercase count if increased by about 2 less than 0.28 times the count of the corresponding lowercase. So, for instance with the letter ‘e’, either scheme has 118 lowercase, the body scheme has 12 uppercase, and the jobber scheme has 44 uppercase, which is close to 12+0.28×118-2 (equaling about 43). That 0.28 figure is very vaguely in the ballpark of the reciprocal of the average word length (5 letters), and so what you would expect for titles, where pretty much every word is capitalized. For the rarer letters, this formula gets fudged a bit, with uppercase ‘Z’ having 4 sorts in either case, and ‘F’ having 6 in body and 10 in jobber, but with 24 lowercase, the formula yields 13. Some other letters are one or two extra uppercase away from the formula as well. The real outlier, though, is M, where the jobber scheme actually has 4 fewer than the body scheme, 14 in jobber, 18 in body. It seems that the inconsistency is in the count in the body scheme, where, for instance M far outnumbers L, C, or U (6, 8, and 6 respectively) which have similar lowercase counts (14 or 16). It is not clear if this is a typo in the table itself, showing 18 instead of 8, or whether they did not, in fact use general English text as their sample, but instead their own books and literature, which would be peppered with the capitalized “Monotype” trademark throughout! As an aside, my earlier remark about using “early twentieth century” text as a sample is reflected in the figure frequencies, where 1 and 9 are heavily represented, as one would expect when usually referring to years in the 20th century. I should probably modify the schemes I use to add more 2’s and 0’s to better reflect the years one might now be mentioning.