These instruments are certainly more convenient to draw with than any of the forms previously mentioned, and, on hard smooth surfaces, such as leather, wood, bone, metal, etc., are satisfactory enough. But it is no easy matter to make them so that they will work well. For the valve which regulates the flow of wax works with a spiral spring. Now, if this spring is, or becomes, lax, the wax drips incessantly. If on the other hand it is too stiff, it is quite troublesome to press down the pin, at the tip, just hard enough to deliver a fine stream, without opening it too wide.
In our experience these instruments, which are quite expensive, do not work well with cloth and, especially, with rough weaves of cloth, like crash, scrim, pongee, coarse calico, and the like. For the pin is liable to catch and jump on the threads, and then it delivers the wax very unevenly.
FIG. 23—JAVANESE TJANTINGS
FIG. 24—AMERICAN MODIFICATION OF JAVANESE TJANTING
The Javanese Tjanting.—After much experimenting one of our friends finally brought us, from Holland, a real tjanting copied directly from the Javanese, and five minutes’ practice with it satisfied us that it was superior to any of the “improved” models that we had been working with. Since then we have seen, and studied, several different styles of Javanese tjantings, and have learned how they must be used to get the best results.
The secret of these instruments is two-fold. First, the size of the delivery tube, and second, the temperature of the wax.
The genuine Javanese tjanting (see Fig. [23]) is a little bit of a tool, holding only about 15 or 20 cubic centimeters of wax, made of very thin hammered copper, and fastened into a little bamboo handle, some four or five inches long. At the lowest part of the cup, which is drawn out at that point into a spout, is fastened the delivery tube, which is ofexceedingly small calibre, what chemists would call, in fact, a “capillary” tube. It will be noticed that the wooden handle extends forward, under the bowl, making it impossible to heat the bowl itself, or melt the wax in it, by a direct flame.
The wax is melted in a separate pot or large cup, and kept at a high temperature throughout; and the operator scoops out the wax from this pot with the bowl of the tjanting, wipes off the drip with a rag, and then proceeds to draw on the cloth. In Java, or wherever the cloth is kept upright, by hanging from a frame, the drip from the outside of the cup and the end of the handle is not so important, for it will fall in front of the cloth. When, however, the cloth is laid flat, for drawing, it is of the utmost importance to avoid all unnecessary dripping, and so it is probably advisable to ladle the wax from the pot into the tjanting, with a small casserole or ladle, rather than to dip it out directly.