Jin and shari basics: deadwood that reads as old

Deadwood is one of the oldest tricks in the style for reading age quickly: a jin (a stripped, bleached dead branch) or shari (a stripped strip of the trunk itself) mimics the storm damage and lightning strikes real old conifers carry. Strip the bark with pliers and a knife while the wood is fresh, following the wood's own grain rather than cutting across it — a straight, mechanical edge reads as work, a torn, irregular one reads as weather. Lime sulphur afterwards bleaches and preserves the exposed wood. It is a technique that suits conifers, which hold deadwood indefinitely, far better than deciduous species, which tend to rot it.