Disassembling a tuocha?

[edkrueger]

Pick for Xiaguan Tou.

[depravitea]

Pick for Xiaguan Tou.

LOL

[oldmanteapot]

Pick for Xiaguan Tou.

LOL

ROTFL ........ **f-a-i-n-t**

[Dogma_i]

Personally, I find most standard tools dangerous and ineffective. A handle-to-tip length under 4"/10cm gives much better control. (A good analogy is engraving tools, which require both force and precision.) I've made several of these

DSCN3168a.JPG (20.66 KiB) Viewed 498 times

DSCN3174a.JPG (15.54 KiB) Viewed 498 times

from wood chisels and a slot-head screwdrivers, and they work very well (and safely).

With or without proper tools, bears^3 has the approach I find best. Since the whole outside is tightly packed, and the edges rolled smooth, it's much easier to smash through the thin center and work outward. Even works on XG sheng tuocha, which were originally designed as drinkable camel armor for the Chinese military.

-DM

[TIM]

Dig that! The Chinese, they construct and deconstruct everything : ) A warm Welcome DM.

[oldmanteapot]

Personally, I find most standard tools dangerous and ineffective. A handle-to-tip length under 4"/10cm gives much better control. (A good analogy is engraving tools, which require both force and precision.) I've made several of these

DSCN3168a.JPG

DSCN3174a.JPG

from wood chisels and a slot-head screwdrivers, and they work very well (and safely).

With or without proper tools, bears^3 has the approach I find best. Since the whole outside is tightly packed, and the edges rolled smooth, it's much easier to smash through the thin center and work outward. Even works on XG sheng tuocha, which were originally designed as drinkable camel armor for the Chinese military.

-DM

Here's my take on this....

Invert the tuo and start prying from the bottom's up. Meaning... I start to pry the tuo from the rim. The reason is, the rim is the only area where there are small gaps between leaves. Sticking a sharp Pu Knife or Letter opener into these gaps would be much easier compared to a prying off a chunk from the rounded surface. Tuo is generally tightly compressed. Therefore, breaking off chunks from a tuo would always leave you with broken pieces of leaves. Tuo would usually only start to loosen up after about 15 years, but that's if you're lucky.

Here's my Jing Qua Tuo, which is similar to a regular tuo, just that it's shaped like a pumpkin. Just as illustration on how I pried off a chunk from the side, working from the rim, towards the center.





Cheers!