Mr. Sone then wraps the paper around the barrel with a steady hand, holding the paper as snug as possible. The paper is sprinkled with white powder and then a brush is used to force the powder through the holes in the paper to make the outline. Mr. Sone outlines the design on the barrel with urushi lacquer. Next he takes a fine brush and lightly dusts the outline with pure gold dust. He must have a very steady hand as he brushes the powder around the design.
Sone brushes excess gold powder off of the pen barrel.
After step number three is completed the barrel is put away in a special drying bin for three to five days. Once the pen dries, the process begins all over for each color. Then once all colors and or inlays have been applied. The pen is coated numerous times with urushi lackquer. Each process requires three to five days of drying.