Bill Houghton, Sebastopol, CA
"...a one star review from someone who apparently got sick from using and and developed a rash to go with it."

Urushiol, the compound that forms the urushi (lacquer), is the very compound that makes poison oak, ivy, sumac, and other allergenic plants something to avoid. No wonder the user developed a rash from using it, if s/he did not treat it as a hazardous compound.

It's too bad; I remember reading a Foine Wooddorking article on it years ago that included a reference to a wooden bowl that had been exposed to poor conditions and rotted away, leaving behind an intact shell of urushi lacquer. Apparently impressively good stuff, but I've managed to get to age 71 without becoming sensitized to the compound, and have no desire to start now.