I have been practicing making Mokume gane both using solders and fusing technique. I have found out some points about the properties of Mokume gane which will be summarised below.
- Because many efforts ended in failure, well prepared plates for soldering is essential. Once I failed making a laminated billet, it would be a block of rubbish.
- The question ‘how scraps of Mokume gane would be reused’- Normally each scrap of metal can be melted down and recycled again, but Mokume gane cannot, because it already has fused together.
- There is a great risk that solder will run out from soldered Mokume gane and will lose its pattern or itself, if it is heated again.
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Each metal combination has each property of ductility and malleable.
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Normally the edge of a Mokume gane is ragged and some parts are peeled off. Therefore using the edge is highly risky even though it looks soldered or fused.
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There is a possibility that a specific pattern can be planed.