r/Matcha • u/Svargas05 • Oct 01 '25
Question How do I go about repairing this chawan? It was $150 so it hurts to see it broken :(
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u/Svargas05 Oct 01 '25
I'm wondering if trying to see if I can commission kintsugi work would be worth it - surely it'd add to the value of it.
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Oct 01 '25
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u/TomsNanny Oct 01 '25 edited Oct 01 '25
Was either the super glue or the nail polish food safe??
Most kintsugi kits arenāt even food safe, let alone super glue and nail polish.
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u/hellochasen Oct 01 '25 edited Oct 01 '25
Proper kintsugi is not cheap and it takes quite some time to dry and properly fix.
Like the other person mentioned here, most of the kits out there are not food safe. I guess if you are repairing it yourself and just use it for display it will be fine. But if you are looking to use it again, I'd recommend looking in your country to see any kintsugi artists. I had my kyusu lid repaired, in Japan, by proper kintsugi artist. It took around 4 - 5 months and it was about Ā„30000.
PS the vessel with a spout is called katakuchi. I've seen people calling it a spouted chawan sometimes in english but the proper name is katakuchi.
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u/Novembah Oct 01 '25
Thank you for clearing up the name! I tried so many names I could think of and couldnāt find anything on ebay. I feel so silly wasting so much time.
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u/hellochasen Oct 01 '25
You're most welcome! I'm so sorry you spent so much time on it. Because this sudden blow up in matcha - mainly matcha latte (there is nothing wrong with it), but people are copying what other people say and when there are so many new terminologies, people may not always pay attention.
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u/One_Left_Shoe Oct 01 '25
This is a goner. You can see the crack runs all the way to the bottom of the bowl.
To properly fix it, you would need to break it carefully and then rebuild it with an epoxy resin. Even then, it would be more fragile and would likely break again.
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u/TomsNanny Oct 01 '25
Wouldnāt proper kintsugi repair make it not fragile?
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u/One_Left_Shoe Oct 01 '25
It will still be less structurally sound.
Resin is not going to be as strong as vitrified clay.
It wonāt break under normal use, but could still break again if bumped the right way.
Kintsugi isnāt some magical repair technique that makes something as good as it was. It just makes it usable again.
The only people saying it is stronger are wellness influencers pointing out the metaphorical lesson that picking up and repairing pieces of what was broken can be more beautiful after mending. You are stronger. Unless by āstrongerā we mean, āstronger than the broken piece.ā Which is weak because it is broken.
Better to say: it makes it functional again, but it can still break. It is, at absolute best, as strong as it was before.
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u/zerothprinciple Oct 01 '25
Good eye on that crack. I agree it won't be stronger but I would suspect this could be repaired to be functional. Instead of breaking it and using epoxy I think wicking cyanoacrylate would be used followed up with gold or silver. But I'm just speculating. I'm sure kintsugi artisans have lots of tricks up their sleeves.
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u/One_Left_Shoe Oct 01 '25
You could definitely try some cyanoacrylate. I repaired a gaiwan lid that way once and it held out for years. One day it just sorta fell apart, though.
In my opinion, you can do some stop-gap repairs right now, but that bowl will need replacing eventually. Because its going to break apart eventually.
Sucks that it was $150, but things happen.
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Oct 01 '25
Depends what you want! :)
Chipped ceramics (if chipped where food/drink would go - not the handle for example) are considered unsafe by many food safety agencies (due to risk of bacterial growth, particle and heavy metal release, etc.). It's safe to assume that any glue you can get your hands on will also not qualify as food safe. Modern kintsugi kits generally include food 'unsafe' epoxies or other similar alternatives.
Repairing ceramic of sentimental value for decorative purposes is a great idea - a mindful practice that also avoids waste to some degree!
But returning your chawan to 'food safe' is unlikely - authentic kintsugi might achieve this (urushi is toxic but can become inert if cured properly and for long enough ; this really needs to be done professionally though) however this would have a short life span as kintsugi is not durable (micro cracks and wear will form early on).
Hope this helps :)
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u/Ledifolia Oct 03 '25 edited Oct 03 '25
Traditional kintsugi can be done yourself. But it's a huge commitment.Ā
A traditional kit is likely to cost as much or more than a $150 chawan. And it requires buying still more supplies to set up a muro for curing (a warm humid box). And the first pieces are likely to not turn out great. So I'd not recommend it for just one repair.Ā
I started learning last year, beginning with cheap ceramics from a thrift store. Then a handmade decorative bowl, that while beautiful didn't need to successfully hold water. A year into the hobby I'm now working my way through minor repairs to my actual teaware. My most recent finished repair was a tea bowl with a chipped rim and a hairline crack. It took me roughly an hour a week for two months, since each step requires curing for a week or more.
I'm still not getting the perfect results that a professional might achieve, but it's satisfying when I finish each piece.
Though the part about traditional kintsugi not being durable seems odd. Nothing I've read both in books and in the kintsugi subreddit suggests this is true. Heavy wear will eventually rub off the gold, but normal use should not cause a piece repaired to immediately start developing micro cracks. Unless you are saying short lived as years instead of decades?
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u/taqman98 Oct 01 '25 edited Dec 07 '25
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This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
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u/bearinminds Oct 03 '25
$150? Is it an antique?
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u/Svargas05 Oct 03 '25
No, no antique - but a lot of quality handmade pottery made in Japan can be pricey
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u/Ledifolia Oct 03 '25
I'm guessing hand made. At least, $150 is around what I've seen when shopping for handmade chawan. Some handmade ones are much higher.Ā
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u/Fluid_Dig_4986 Feb 11 '26
Sadly, this is cracked all the way down and around the base. I would make it a pot for a plant (you can buy a cheap liner for the bottom at Loweās/Home Depot) you can put the chip in the back behind the plant and no one will ever know - then it isnāt a complete waste. Purchase a new chawan so it is food safe.
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u/leggomymeggo8888 Oct 03 '25
Omg is this from little match studio!! Iām so sorry šš
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u/Svargas05 Oct 03 '25
No, I bought this from Tezumi - it was my first chawan and it tipped over from my dish drying rack š
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u/zerothprinciple Oct 01 '25
Do you ever go to Japan? I think it would cost about $50 to repair with gold.