(NLDO) - A famous bronze censer polisher in Ho Chi Minh City believes that "trust" and "heart" help maintain the profession for decades. The Lunar New Year 2025 is also a time of bumper harvest.
The bronze polishing spot at the intersection of Le Van Duyet (formerly Dinh Tien Hoang) - Vu Huy Tan (Binh Thanh District) has been familiar to many city residents for decades.
Mr. Tran Thanh Tien has been involved in the bronze incense burner making profession for more than 30 years.
Nearly 70 years old this year, Mr. Tran Thanh Tien has been involved in the bronze incense burner polishing profession for more than 30 years. According to him, he usually has a few customers, but Tet is the peak time when people decorate their family altars.
Bronze polishing profession "reigns" during Tet
The bronze incense burners that have rusted and become dull over time will be polished. The bronze incense burner is a spiritual product, so people are very careful. "When children drink water, they remember its source, and when they gather, they remember their ancestors. Decorating the altar is an ancient tradition. This is the spiritual world, it is not a joke" - Mr. Tien shared.
The burner can be disassembled for easy soaking in detergent and rinsing out the glue.
After washing, it will be dried.
The craftsman treats the customer's incense burner as his own, working with dedication and care.
Every Tet holiday, Mr. Tien's bronze-polishing shop is bustling with customers. Many of them are "loyal customers", some of whom have been with him since he first started his business.
"The peak time for Tet is from December 24 to December 29. We have to work with 2 machines from 6am to 4pm. We have to produce 20 sets of incense burners a day" - the veteran craftsman shared.
The incense burner is polished with a cloth wheel.
Difficult, deeper areas will be treated with wire brush.
Mr. Tien said that bronze incense burners are very diverse, from size, number of pieces, sophistication, age, from traditional handicrafts to industrial products, so the effort required is also different, the risk is also high. However, he has never refused to accept any incense burner set. On the contrary, customers also trust him when sending valuable incense burner sets for him to polish.
The incense burner is rubbed with powder to make it shiny.
"The products are very diverse, I cannot refuse. I choose the easy ones, but I cannot leave the difficult ones to others. This job cannot be hidden, the important thing is to know the techniques and how to handle them. This job requires endurance, diligence, and the ability to learn from experience" - he confided.
Mr. Tien sprayed another layer of glue to keep the shine longer.
According to Mr. Tien, each set of incense burners and lamp stands will be disassembled and then the glue will be removed. Industrial bronze incense burners usually have the glue tarnished after 4-5 years. After that, the incense burners are polished and powdered to make them shiny and golden. To be more careful, the craftsman will spray another layer of glue to keep the shine longer.
With more than 30 years of experience here, Mr. Tien has many long-term customers.
"An easy set will be finished in half an hour, but a difficult set will take more than an hour. Therefore, we have to plan a time for the customer to receive the goods. Many people come to send items and want to pick them up urgently, but I don't dare accept them because if I don't deliver them correctly, it's an empty promise. Normally, customers deliver and receive them within the same day, but for busy people, it takes 2-3 days," said Mr. Tien.
During the days before Tet, this bronze incense burner making spot in Binh Thanh is extremely popular.
With the skill and dedication of the "master" in polishing bronze incense burners, customers are satisfied with the cost.
The famous craftsman in Saigon shared that to maintain this profession, one must be diligent, learn, love the job, and know how to listen. "Another important thing is that the bronze polisher stays in the profession for a long time thanks to his reputation, and at the same time has a good heart," he said.
Mr. Vu has followed Mr. Tien in his career for more than 20 years.
Mr. Phan Tuan Vu has followed Mr. Tien to make bronze incense burners since he was young, now he has 2 children. In the blink of an eye, Mr. Vu has been in the profession for more than 20 years.
He said that thanks to this job, he can earn a decent amount of money during Tet to take care of his family. According to him, the price of a set of incense burners ranges from 200,000 to 400,000 VND, with some even costing up to 800,000 VND.
Mr. Phan Tuan Vu said there are days when he works from 6am to 6pm.
"I have seen incense burners worth tens of millions of dong, even hundreds of millions of dong. There are incense burners that are 50-60 years old that many families still preserve and still shine when polished" - Anh Vu shared.
Source: https://nld.com.vn/nghe-danh-bong-lu-dong-len-ngoi-dip-tet-196250127135412748.htm
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