This
tree goes under many different names according to where it grows,
hiba trees from the interior region of Japan are simply
called hiba, trees from Aomori Prefecture are called hinoki-asunaro,
there is also an American variety among others. In order of ease
of carving, Aomori hiba is easiest to carve, followed
by ﾒinteriorﾓ hiba and American hiba. What these
varieties all have in common is that there grain is very durable
and difficult to breakﾑwhen carved against the grain, they tend
to ﾒslice apart.ﾓ This tree contains a lot of sap and makes a
pleasant sound when carved, much like the sound of cutting a
crisp apple. But it is considerably harder than hime-komatsu.
For the time being, you shouldn`t try to carve against the grain.
Also, because it withstands water and insects, it is suitable
for use in constructing the foundations of buildings (with the
exception of American hiba). The skin of the tree is beige
with a tint of yellow. As time passes it turns slightly more
brown. It is a beautiful and refined wood, excellent for carving
buddhist figures. However, hiba will become discolored
if it gets wet, and it has extremely high contractility causing
boards to warp and corners to crack offﾑit`s best to keep this
in mind when carving this wood.
Lumbering
and Carving
If you cut off the shirata (the white sapwood
of the tree) when you take wood, its quality will be more consistentﾑin
other words, it is best not to use the sapwood. If you cut a
piece of wood a little too large, the surface and the ends (koguchi)
will split immediately. Hiba falls between hime-komatsu
and hinokiﾑit is sufficiently easy to carve. But if you
carve a lot all at once hiba is very easy to crack or split,
so it is best to carve a little at a time. It is safe to carve
the koguchiﾑi.e. along surfaces perpendicular to the grain.
As with hinoki, you must keep your tools sharp to carve
hiba.
Finishing
Hiba does not require
any finishing, but it will discolor if it gets wet. As a precaution
it is best to coat it with a thin coat of wax or lacquer.
This
tree goes under many different names according to where it grows,
hiba trees from the interior region of Japan are simply
called hiba, trees from Aomori Prefecture are called hinoki-asunaro,
there is also an American variety among others. In order of ease
of carving, Aomori hiba is easiest to carve, followed
by ﾒinteriorﾓ hiba and American hiba. What these
varieties all have in common is that there grain is very durable
and difficult to breakﾑwhen carved against the grain, they tend
to ﾒslice apart.ﾓ This tree contains a lot of sap and makes a
pleasant sound when carved, much like the sound of cutting a
crisp apple. But it is considerably harder than hime-komatsu.
For the time being, you shouldn`t try to carve against the grain.
Also, because it withstands water and insects, it is suitable
for use in constructing the foundations of buildings (with the
exception of American hiba). The skin of the tree is beige
with a tint of yellow. As time passes it turns slightly more
brown. It is a beautiful and refined wood, excellent for carving
buddhist figures. However, hiba will become discolored
if it gets wet, and it has extremely high contractility causing
boards to warp and corners to crack offﾑit`s best to keep this
in mind when carving this wood.
Lumbering
and Carving