Tetsubin

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Bok
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Fri May 14, 2021 2:45 am

I have three Tetsubin, which I am using exclusively (different sizes/pour, according to need). I never noticed that any of them changed the water to the point that it made the tea disappear... ? What teas did you notice that in particular? My Tetsubin are all old, so probably broken in decades ago, yours looks vintage/old as well. Mhhh... @OCTO to the rescue?
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Tea Adventures
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Fri May 14, 2021 5:52 am

Bok wrote:
Fri May 14, 2021 2:45 am
I have three Tetsubin, which I am using exclusively (different sizes/pour, according to need). I never noticed that any of them changed the water to the point that it made the tea disappear... ? What teas did you notice that in particular? My Tetsubin are all old, so probably broken in decades ago, yours looks vintage/old as well. Mhhh... OCTO to the rescue?
If my sources are correct, it’s a tetsubin from the 1940s. The shop I got it from told me they ‘reset’ the tetsubin before shipping it to me. Don’t have a lot of experience with tetsubin, so I don’t really know if this is supposed to be good or bad.

I especially noticed this with semi-aged sheng that went through HK storage. The tea was very sweet, while this is definitely not the case when brewing it with a regular kettle.
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Balthazar
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Fri May 14, 2021 6:01 am

Hmm, sheng puer is probably the category of tea where I've been most satisfied with the effect of the tetsubin. I too mostly drink semi-aged stuff with at least part of its storage life spent in a hot and humid environment. A slight sweetening and rounding, without feeling that anything of value has been lost.
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Tea Adventures
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Fri May 14, 2021 11:00 am

Balthazar wrote:
Fri May 14, 2021 6:01 am
Hmm, sheng puer is probably the category of tea where I've been most satisfied with the effect of the tetsubin. I too mostly drink semi-aged stuff with at least part of its storage life spent in a hot and humid environment. A slight sweetening and rounding, without feeling that anything of value has been lost.
Guess I’ll keep on using it and report back in a few months. Thanks for the help!
smx
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Sun May 23, 2021 2:38 pm

Do you know any reliable sources of good used tetsubins? I found something on Etsy and eBay, but honestly do not know what of it is worth its price, or whether I should then not rather take a new "entry-level" kettle from Oigen etc. for the price, where I at least know what I get.
Thank you!
.m.
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Sun May 23, 2021 7:28 pm

smx wrote:
Sun May 23, 2021 2:38 pm
Do you know any reliable sources of good used tetsubins? I found something on Etsy and eBay, but honestly do not know what of it is worth its price, or whether I should then not rather take a new "entry-level" kettle from Oigen etc. for the price, where I at least know what I get.
Thank you!
The quality of the craftsmanship will tell you a lot. At least it will help you to filter out the low end clunky kettles. Usually the spout is the most obvious place to look at.
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Victoria
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Mon May 24, 2021 1:15 pm

.m. wrote:
Sun May 23, 2021 7:28 pm
smx wrote:
Sun May 23, 2021 2:38 pm
Do you know any reliable sources of good used tetsubins? I found something on Etsy and eBay, but honestly do not know what of it is worth its price, or whether I should then not rather take a new "entry-level" kettle from Oigen etc. for the price, where I at least know what I get.
Thank you!
The quality of the craftsmanship will tell you a lot. At least it will help you to filter out the low end clunky kettles. Usually the spout is the most obvious place to look at.
One way to learn a little is to read about and study tetsubin sold by reputable vendors like Artistic Nippon, Hojo, Thes du Japón and a few others. I got a great tetsubin on Etsy that had slight rust, but was easy to resolve. Unfortunately, I can’t recommend a single vendor for used tetsubin though, what is available at any time it’s pretty hit or miss. Once you find one you think looks right, you can share here and get feedback as well.
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wave_code
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Fri Oct 15, 2021 10:38 am

jumped on the Oigen tetsubin bandwagon after @Balthazar's suggestion and got the H-200. It only took about a week total from order to delivery to Germany. While it isn't an artisan product the quality is still great- only took about one longer boil and refresh of water for any little iron seasoning specks to stop and I gave it a first session this afternoon and so far its super nice. If you go for a really strong boil like I do I can see the smaller size wouldn't be ideal if you are serving a lot of people and want more water going at once since the usable volume is about half capacity. For one to two people though this is a really nice size - doesn't get too heavy, easy to use and direct spout/pour, the heat retention means the cooking plate can be kept much lower, and its so much quieter and nicer to listen to than my steel kettle which alone makes it worth it. Going to have to try it with some teas and pots I'm more familiar with to see about the water effect, but even just from a use and aesthetic point I'm very happy. I see lots of lovely vintage and antique tetsubins that with a bit of elbow grease would look great, but it sounds like a gamble how they can affect the water, maybe the pour winds up not being so great, so on, so for starting out this is a great option to know what you are actually getting.

I noticed they have some more and updated models, including a really nice arare pattern one in the same size/spout shape I really liked, but unfortunately none were available to ship to Germany direct and using a buying agent from Yahoo or Rakuten would probably have doubled the cost suddenly not making it such a budget tetsubin. Producing modern entry level and induction friendly types like this seems to be pretty popular now with Iwachu also producing a line (or just I was unable to find them a couple years ago) though they do run a bit higher in price. I really try to never use *mazon but it was really the only option here without a proxy buyer. As seems typical with here or in the US, the Japanese site also seems over-run with knock-offs or potential fakes to the point that finding the REAL product is actually difficult - lots of identical looking ones for even cheaper under brand names that if you search for don't really exist off *mazon :roll: , so be forewarned if you go that route- make sure you are getting an actual Oigen or Iwachu or similar real brand. Maybe the knock offs are even manufactured by them under a different name but I don't care to take my chances.
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Balthazar
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Sat Oct 16, 2021 2:31 am

Glad to hear you like it. @Youzi has the same one, I think.

I was surprised at how full I could fill mine. Just measured today, I fill it to around 800 ml with no issues (with the lid only halfway on when boiling the water). That's much more than I had expected for a 1 litre tetsubin.

Still keep the steel kettle around for the teas I think perform better with water boiled in steel (a small minority, I should add, but some of my favorites too). And for situations when I'm pressed for time.
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Youzi
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Sat Oct 16, 2021 3:38 am

Balthazar wrote:
Sat Oct 16, 2021 2:31 am
Glad to hear you like it. Youzi has the same one, I think.

I was surprised at how full I could fill mine. Just measured today, I fill it to around 800 ml with no issues (with the lid only halfway on when boiling the water). That's much more than I had expected for a 1 litre tetsubin.

Still keep the steel kettle around for the teas I think perform better with water boiled in steel (a small minority, I should add, but some of my favorites too). And for situations when I'm pressed for time.
If it's the small 1l one with the movable handle then yes.

I usually fill it pretty much full, with no lid on and the handle turned to the side. Then when I need to pour I just put the lid on, grab the handle and pour, then put it back into its default state.

This way I can just use it with a bare hand, and the lid handle won't rust neither.
smx
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Thu Dec 30, 2021 2:59 pm

Hey

Does anybody know something about this tetsubin's stamp?

Thank you!
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Quentin
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Thu Dec 30, 2021 10:29 pm

smx wrote:
Thu Dec 30, 2021 2:59 pm
Hey

Does anybody know something about this tetsubin's stamp?

Thank you!
I don't want to come across as pessimistic, but I think it's likely that no one will recognize that specific chop if you're trying to figure out who made it. You'll likely get a better lead trying to ask the person you got the Tetsubin from where they got it, maybe they'll have more info? Otherwise, it seems to possibly be older from what little I can see - so it's maybe from Iwate or Yamagata since historically thats where most of the workshops are located. (Rather than being from some of the newer producers around Kyoto). Hope I'm wrong though and somebody can point you in a better direction, good luck!
smx
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Fri Dec 31, 2021 3:24 am

Hi
Thanks for your reply. I know its a difficult question, but wanted to try my luck anyway. Unfortunately the (private) seller doesn't know anything about the kettle and I won't buy unless I know what I would get.
Here is so much knowledge around that maybe someone recognizes it.
DailyTX
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Wed May 11, 2022 2:06 pm

Testing out a recent rescued Tetsubin today. It was sold pretty much like scrap metal, which is sad...The water flow was not good so I had to smooth out the hole connected to the spout. The lid has 2 different copper colors, and it has no signature. The outside has a purplish black patina, it doesn't seem like lacquer coated. Kettle size is about 500 ml. Anyone has idea how old is this kettle?
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pedant
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Sun Sep 04, 2022 2:35 pm

cool video about making tamahagane from satetsu (iron sand). they use it for knives in this video, but i'm guessing it's the same process for satetsu tetsubin:

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