Making a bamboo knife A bamboo knife is used for cutting thin foil. With an adequate amount of oil content, bamboo is relatively free from static electricity. This characteristic makes it an ideal material for cutting thin foil. To make a knife, Shino-take (bamboo grass) that has been seasoned for five to ten years is split, the skin portion of the split piece is whittled using a small knife to form a cutting edge, and the shape of the cutting edge is adjusted. Making a foil layer Four to six sheets of gold foil are stacked one-by-one by hand using foil tweezers. The corners of one sheet are aligned with those of the others, and the layer is welded to make the sheets closely adhere to each other. This treatment provides the gold foil with adequate thickness and toughness while maintaining its rich gold color, even when the foil is cut into a fine strip less than 1 mm wide. Thus, the foil becomes ready for the kirikane stage. Cutting gold foil The welded foil is put on the leather-covered foil platform and cut with a bamboo knife. The technique of sliding the bamboo knife millimeter-by-millimeter to produce fine strips of a constant thickness is the result of the kirikane artisan’s skill and experience. Affixing gold strips A finely cut piece of a gold strip less than 1 mm wide is taken at the point of a picking-up brush held in the left hand, and affixed to the surface of a wooden base using a kirikane brush, held in the right hand, to create a pattern. Nikawa glue is used as an adhesive agent. Even the slightest vibration or wind affects the work, so extreme concentration is required to affix each strip. It is a process so sensitive that even the artisan’s own breath can spoil the result.