I learned it from my grandpa on my mom's side. He was in the Navy during Vietnam, and has some exceptional (read: exaggerated to the point of disbelief) stories about foreign lands. The crystal glass trick works, though; I've used it myself with excellent results! But mom didn't like me messing with her good glasses, and grandpa eventually got me a grindstone for my birthday so I don't do it anymore. But still, it's a neat trick if you're not handy with knives and don't have "proper equipment" lying around.

Hein, boet. So what i understand is that you have sorted the jin by taking the bark off and seperating the live wood to kill the branch? Now what you do is take a swiss army knife or some sort of sharpish knife and carve it. Then to get the rugged look you cut the branch so that there will be a peice that you can grab onto with a pair of pliers or for an ideal tool a leatherman and then you just... rip it. And if you really want to be hardcore you can burn it with one of those cooking meat torch things. To preserve the wood from cracking and rotting you then can paint it with lime sulfur if you really are worried. :)Cheers hope it helped

joncoh101 wrote: Hein, boet. So what i understand is that you have sorted the jin by taking the bark off and seperating the live wood to kill the branch?

You are correct. My jin is all ready to be carved and shaped. I am gonna attempt the jin this spring. Apparently I have to wait until summer, but with the bark already peeled, I don't see the use of waiting. Thanx for the tip johnco101. Have you ever read the magazine "Bonsai Focus"? I read one a while ago when they explained how to jin but gave the mag back to a friend thinking I will remember all the tips. Guess not. Can't even go back to borrow it again cause we moved back to Wellington. :S

Have you done some reading on Robert Steven yet?

No problem, yes i have read some of the things on his blog, his work is seriously amazing

Hi Hein,

I asked a member of our Bonsai club about creating jin and the importance of using *lime sulphur*. The purpose of painting the area to be jinned with lime sulphur is to create the look of "old, aged wood" and, as joncoh said, it "prevents rotting and acts as a wood preservative". The white paint look will gradually wear off leaving a natural, bleached appearance on the wood.

Just a word of caution when using the lime sulphur...it is quite caustic so take your time when applying it to the jin area and avoid getting it on your skin, face or eyes, clothing or on other parts of your tree. It is wise to wear goggles, old clothes and long sleeves. Good luck! I'm looking forward to seeing the results!

Its seems as if my initial jin idea has taken a turn for the not so good. The piece that was supposed to be jinned has split right in the middle. I wanted to take a picture to show you but at that moment I had other thoughts and words going through my mind.

Instead of making one jin I can probably turn it into a split lightning strike jin. When I can take a pic I will post it.do you guys know of any nice websites where I can see jin examples? I will start my google up and see what it delivers

Not sure if this is what you're looking for however, this fellow has an amazing bonsai collection with many photos. www.flickr.com/photos/norbury/sets/72157607802493717/

Have you also checked out the Empire's Gallery? See Main Menu in the upper left corner of your page and click on Gallery.

Hein, another quick point is to be careful when applying the lime sulfur to the tree. Rather do little by little and let it soak in than slap a whole lot on at once. Think of it like painting a wall

:huh: I practiced "jin" on my tree - only have one question. Do you need to dilute the lime sulfer before you put it on? I think I put the lime sulpher on a little too thick the first time.

I let it dry for 36 hours, it was pretty yellow. So I used the paint brush to water the branch a bit and dab off the lime sulpher.

looks a little better, I assume the yellowish tint will wear a bit with time.

Practice Makes Perfect

I have only had Celia, my juniper, since 9 November. I will give her about 3 more weeks to mature before I take new pics.

Changed my mind .. I can always use some advice.

... attached 2 pics for critique.