It starts with me drawing a blueprint. I take the rough hand-drawn drawing, put it into the computer, make a few adjustments, actually cut the wood, and try it out on the fishing grounds until I am satisfied with it.
The basic raw material is imported “Ayusu” wood from West Africa, which is used as the raw wood for the lure. Sorting of ayous wood (ayous wood is characterized by its strong screw and heaton effects and light specific gravity, making it easy to adjust the weight according to the type of lure).
Start cutting on a wood lathe. First, the position of the grain is checked. The annual rings of the wood are called “winter grain” and “summer grain,” and the difference in growth speed causes differences in the position of the weight and hardness of the wood. If the wood is to be painted with the grain, the beauty of the wood will be affected, so position the front, left, right, top, and bottom of the piece one by one according to the grain.
Drilling of eye holes, screw holes, and holes for weights.
The forms of living creatures are abstractly carved.
The scales of the fish are carefully carved one by one with a carving knife.
Start the base preparation, waterproofing the lure blank with urethane paint diluted 50% with environmentally friendly thinner that does not contain toluene or xylene and does not contain any PRTR Law applicable substances.
Inject urethane paint into all screw holes and eye holes with a syringe. The above waterproofing process is completed when the wood is free of excess air bubbles after a total of three times over a period of three days.
Start coating the substrate. From this point on, the 10 percent diluted urethane coating is sprayed on. After the first spraying, the second spraying is done two hours later.
On the second day, the third coat was sprayed before it was completely dry. Two hours later, the fourth coat was sprayed. On the third day, before it was completely dry, the fifth coat was sprayed. 2 hours later, the final coat was sprayed to complete the spraying of the base coat.
The base coat is completely dried in a drying room at 60°C for 5 days.
After drying, the coating film is almost 1mm thick, which completes the waterproofing process. Polishing begins with No. 180 sandpaper, followed by No. 320 and No. 600 sandpaper, so as not to damage the fine modeling and the area around the eye, which is the most important work as well as molding.
Next, base color is sprayed twice as a pre-treatment before the coloring wor
After drying, the surface is sanded with an 800-grit sandpaper, and the paint is applied. This process prevents the paint from peeling off and increases the strength and adhesion of the paint film.
Start painting. After painting one color, a 10 percent diluted urethane topcoat is applied to stop the color.
If there are 5 layers, it will be 5 clear coats before complete drying, and the thickness of the coating film will be 1 layer of strong glass-like coating film, which will be strong.
After the painting is completed, three top coats are applied every two hours.
The coating is dried in a drying room at 60°C for 2 days. After drying, the coating is thinned, so it is sanded again with No. 600 and No. 800 sandpaper to completely remove any unevenness.
After blower and degreasing, the final coating is applied three times.
The surface is again dried in a drying room at 60°C for 2 days. From the base coat to the final coating, a total of 13 to 15 coats of urethane are applied to the lure to prevent the lure from being damaged when cast.
The coating does not peel off easily even if the lure is hit against bedrock or concrete blocks, and the waterproof function can be maintained.
The original 3-layer eye and hook installation process.
Final swim test. Confirmation of the action of each piece in the actual field, including confirmation of individual differences due to the wood.
After about 1 to 2 months, the product is completed.
In addition to the above 20 process steps, there is the flagship model Carving Scale, which is decorated with the company’s original three-dimensional design. Craftsmen carve the gills, girth, and scales of the fish one by one, a process that only selected craftsmen with the necessary skills can perform.
Another flagship model, STICK SCALE, is completed by pasting painted and designed scales together. This technique also requires time and effort, as only three pieces can be completed in a day, and the scales are hardened with solvent in key areas to ensure durability so that they can be used for many years.
In the painting process, the craftsman himself begins by visiting the natural environment and fishing, and by using motifs from nature such as fish, insects, flowers and grasses, color schemes, and the sense of the season, etc., he creates designs mainly using Japanese native species, which gives birth to the craftsman’s individuality and uniqueness that can only be created at that particular time.
The CARVING SCALE, which is a three-dimensional design carved by hand one by one, and the STICK SCALE, which is a painted scaly design laminated on one piece, are the beginning of a new style of “game fishing,” a unique fusion of lures born in America with a sense of “Japanese” in this technology.