Artisans revive the polissoir, a nearly-forgotten woodworking tool

[boingboing]

Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2016/12/30/artisans-revive-the-polissoir.html

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[nichtganzfalsch]

I love the quintessentially “old craftsman” style of humor of saying something completely deadpan while doing the exact opposite.

[FGD135]

Pretty sure my granddad used something like this. He was trained as a piano maker and used to work a lot with wood in his spare time too, and after he retired. Still got marquetry he made.

[Hellokitty]

They use them in Japan too. They are called Uzukuri.
http://www.kanna-ya.net/uzukuri/

[exluddite]

They use a technique known as french polish on some pianos. There is a similar tool that is used that is a tightly rolled cloth. Similar form different materials. Of course it may well have been a polliseur.

[Bobo]

So, great for gently raising grain while polishing it?

These would probably work wonders on woods with vast difference in grain hardness like Wenge…

[d_r]

French polish is a technique for applying thin coats of shellac. The reason the application pad is so tight (I use cheesecloth drawn tight around a balled-up rag) is to make the application thin and even. The polishing comes from added abrasives, like pumice.

[MelG]

Horsetail was also bundled and used in a similar manner to polish wood, bone, metal, and stone. It has a very high silica content and apparently gives a very smooth finish.

[Hellokitty]

In Japan the horsetail is opened out, the rear (inside) scraped away and then it is pasted onto a piece of wood and used like sandpaper.
You can see it done in the photographs that go with this article (in Japanese unfortunately)

[anotherone]

glad to see burnishing getting some new respect.