Why These 5 Centuries-Old Crafts Are So Expensive | So Expensive | Business Insider
around the world people dedicate their lives to preserving the traditional crafts of their culture whether it be swords crafted from sheets of steel or two meter tall longbows made from filed raw bamboo these crafts have lasted hundreds of years join us as we take a look back at the intricate crafts some artisans have spent decades learning to master [Music] japanese sword making is a tradition that goes back centuries and one that's carried on to this day each sword requires dedication skill and can take over 18 months to create the resulting blades can be worth thousands of dollars so what makes them so expensive [Music] he was inspired by a sword crafted by the legendary 13th century swordsmith masamune and after a five-year apprenticeship and years of training he became one of the 180 swordsmiths working across japan japanese swords have always been more than just weapons they were artworks status symbols and throughout history held a huge spiritual importance [Music] [Music] my [Music] [Music] each sword is a unique artwork and one that is made to be admired as you would a painting as sheets of steel are folded into each other again and again wood grain-like patterns form and these patterns coupled with the skill of the swordmaster create a completely unique blade [Music] knowing what to look for in each sword is important characteristics like the angle and length of the blade or the way the metal is folded could give away the era in which it was made and even who made it [Music] within [Music] [Music] this [Music] looking at the months of work that go into creating each blade it's easy to see why these swords command such a high and as there are less and less swordmasters across japan these works of art are only going to become more valuable [Music] to you [Music] be [Music] seashell teapots are made by artisans like bocantang she had to study for 25 years to be considered a senior teapot maker which lets her sell a teapot like this for 20 to 30 thousand dollars [Music] but before tang ever touches the clay the process starts with a unique raw material that's disappearing so what does it take to make aziza teapot and why are they so expensive zisha teapots were one of the first teapots ever made dating back to 10th century china they're named after the rare clay that is made from 350 million year old ziza ore the oar can only be found in ding shusen primarily in huanglong mountain it's near the city of yeexing which is known as china's ceramics capital zika teapot experts have been using the same process for over 600 years the ore is powdered then folded and worked in a way to create small pockets that promote airflow in two directions throughout the pot this is known as dual porosity and seisha teapot makers and customers say this oxygen flow can intensify the flavor of tea just like with a finely aerated wine it's one of a few of zisa's special properties believed to enhance the taste of the tea scientific analysis shows that the mineral composition of zisha allows the temperatures to fluctuate less when these pots are put to heat fewer fluctuations means the flavor of the tea is more likely to be preserved [Music] making zisha teapots is a painstaking process [Music] each step is done by hand artists first smash the prepared zesha clay into very thin layers with a wooden mallet it can take a year to learn how to do this correctly for a round teapot the largest slice is formed into a tube on a revolving round plate locan will then pat the body using a thin wooden tool beading the clay into the desired shape for more intricate teapots make her scratch patterns onto the hardened clay and attach extra decor all of which can increase the final value zicha teapots are typically small and hold just a cup of water so they don't require much clay but getting that little bit of clay isn't simple or affordable the limited supply of zesha ore boosts the cost of the raw material to protect the resource china's government has banned mining in huanglong union uses clay her family has reserved since the 90s that's also the decade she officially began making these teapots to achieve her senior title bokeh needed 25 years of experience at least five gold awards for her creations and to pass a rigorous test the next level for boken to achieve which is also the highest is the title of master craftsman this requires at least 30 years of experience why because customers aren't paying for just the finite raw material but also for a high level of artistry channel for tea enthusiasts buying a senior or master zizha teapot is like buying functional art functional in that it's made for a great tea drinking experience and like art because drinkers appreciate the delicate work and skill required to make it [Music] so yes [Music] a telltale sign of just how well a teapot is crafted is how liquid pours from the neck the tea should pour out splatter free from a well-made seisha teapot in the end it's the importance tea making and tea drinking have in china that makes such expensive teapots worth what customers pay attention the most distinct aspect of a japanese bow is the length at over two meters tall these bows are difficult to handle and making them is just as challenging phone makers file raw bamboo and insert over 100 wedges to curve the bow depending on the materials these bows can cost over two thousand dollars so how are these bows made and why are they so expensive longbows have been used in japan for centuries but today you'll mostly find them in a martial art called kudo you know you can buy a synthetic bow for around four dollars archers prefer the feel of but hundred handmade bamboo bows kanjiro shibata's family has been making bows for over 450 years it all starts with raw bamboo kanjuro tries to obtain most of his bamboo locally from around kyoto but it has to dry for three years before it's ready to be used kanjuro shaves the dried bamboo down to a thickness of four to five millimeters this is one of the most physically demanding parts of the process because the bamboo is dense and fibrous [Music] a japanese bow consists of three main layers two pieces of bamboo and an inner core called nakauchi the nakauchi is made out of laminated bamboo and wax tree wood and it's much harder than the bamboo on the outside of [Music] conjoto glues filed bamboo on either side of the naka uchi to form the bow for some bows he uses a natural glue called nibe which is harder to work with making the final product more expensive than the bows that use synthetic glue but the hardest part is bending this straight bamboo into the shape of a bow kanjoto winds rope around the bamboo and inserts over 100 wedges while bending curves into the bow because of the bow's length this process is extremely tedious but it must be done quickly before the glue dries thanks to decades of practice it takes conjoto around 10 to 15 minutes a [Music] despite the importance of this step kindredo only shapes his bows by eye this is after the glue dries concerto removes the wedges and bends the bow into its final shape [Music] cost anywhere from 900 to around 2200. depending on the materials used but bows made for display can cost a lot more [Music] money you know his family's clients include everyone from local kyoto practitioners to the imperial family but conjoto wants his bows to be accessible to more people as long as it doesn't affect the final quality he tries to make the process as efficient as he can hello despite the high price using a well-made bow that feels good is essential for archers us [Music] japanese chefs knives are world renowned for their unique design and durability and just one can cost you over nine hundred dollars from heating and hammering the metal to sharpening the knife's edge and polishing the final blade these are only a few of the skills a japanese artisan spends a lifetime learning to master so what makes these knives so coveted and why are they so expensive [Applause] has spent 37 years crafting chef's knives at his family's factory in echizen each one goes through 100 production stages it's a process that requires over 10 years of practice compared to popular european chef's knives japanese blades are lighter and sharper allowing for more precise cuts on the low end most takamura blades cost a couple hundred dollars but custom made pieces can sell for 15 times that one of the most expensive knives produced by the shop sold for 6 900 dollars was one of the first knife makers to use a certain kind of stainless steel called high speed powdered steel it was originally designed for power tools like saws and drills because of its durability and strength two qualities japanese chef's knives are known for today [Music] once the metal is cut it's heated in an electric oven to harden and strengthen the blade then the hammering begins at this point the artisan relies on experience and instinct to guide them in producing a blade of ideal strength and thinness hammering leaves behind circular indents something knife makers in the past typically polished away but 60 years ago terokazu's father and his colleagues discovered the benefit of knives with a textured surface like this [Music] one [Music] this hammered finish called tuchime allowed chefs to chop ingredients quickly and more efficiently it also added a beautiful aesthetic to each blade another element highly valued in japanese knives [Music] but a japanese chef's knife wouldn't be nearly as valuable without a supremely sharp edge an artisan presses the blade against a rough grindstone made of natural rock a sharpening material you'll only see used in japan this step distinguishes an artisan's skill and ultimately sets a knife's final value [Music] today [Music] it takes one full day to sharpen the blade and another full day to secure and polish the handle the final knife is totally unique each with its own distinct balance thickness and design [Music] several of the world's best chefs used tagamora's knives from renee redzepi at noma to massimo botora at austeria francescana another one of those chefs is masakazu fuji he uses takamoto's knives to prepare fish at his restaurant in fukuo [Music] sabudai foreign [Music] [Music] has been the center of high quality knife making since blacksmiths began crafting chef's knives here 700 years ago and today the city is internationally recognized for its cutlery production but before knives artisans made swords another valuable trade in japanese culture [Music] [Music] my despite dedicating decades to this craft terekazu and his brothers weren't always set on becoming master knife makers [Music] or not getting your hands on one of takamoto's knives could take years with that kind of wait time coupled with the decades of training required to master this craft it's likely these pieces will remain costly for years to come [Music] home my the unmistakable sound of the gong has held spiritual significance in southeast asia for centuries hand beaten from sheep materials the labour intensive shaping and delicate paintwork result in beautiful percussive instruments souvenir gongs can be bought for just a few dollars but large finely tuned gongs made from the best materials can fetch tens of thousands of dollars so what are gongs actually used for and why are they so expensive this is thailand's gong highway a 21 mile stretch of road that is home to more than 50 family-owned gong companies who collectively produce roughly seven thousand gongs each year in the heart of the gong highway is bunrak sis workshop as a third generation gong maker bunlak has been studying and practicing gong making for almost 50 years old [Music] the process begins by cutting the sheet material into a circle no materials go to waste here even the offcuts are used to make the largest shape possible it's at this early stage where the eventual cost of each gong is determined today once the edges have been smoothed a welder attaches the sides this flat dish is then ready to be hammered into shape the gongs made here in thailand over the bost variety where a center knob is surrounded by smaller nipples this design is stenciled on the back of the gong with a homemade compass and bangers begin to hammer out the shape the bangers use templates engraved into tree stumps that allow the knob and nipples to be hammered out fully and evenly then comes the hardest part the tuning [Music] tuners observe and train for years to master their skill he strikes the gong in different places and listens for acoustic imperfections using a mallet to make slight alterations he continues this process hoping to reduce dissonance in the sound frequencies emitted from the goal [Music] [Music] [Music] once satisfied with the sound the gong is coated in enamel ready for intricate artworks to be hand-painted bunlax workshop produces gongs of all different shapes and designs including specially made gongs which can sell for up to one million bat [Music] [Music] the cultural significance of gongs is clear to see in uban ratchatani a major city at one end of the gong highway where the world's largest gong towers stand proudly next to the watam kua sawan temple the use of gongs is deeply ingrained in buddhism and according to the tourism authority of thailand the gong highway is responsible for supplying most of the country's 30 000 buddhist temples with their gongs so what about the rest of the world in the west gongs have become commonplace not only in popular culture but also in meditation studios and symphony orchestras the largest non-asian gong manufacturer is paiste based in germany it's been producing gong since 1906 and its largest gong an 80 inch symphonic model retails for around 27 000. this type of flat face gong sometimes referred to as a tam tam gives more of a crash sound which is different from the tuned tones of a bossed gong [Music] paiste's method for producing gongs are more scientific than those on the gong highway with acoustic testing equipment used to evaluate the gong's frequency but the quality and traditional craftsmanship at bunlax workshop is clear to see and the historical importance of the gong is felt throughout southeast asia sometimes foreign [Music]
2022-06-07 18:40
