Fermenting Oak Galls

[irritable]

My question is really for those who have made an iron gall ink using fermented galls.

 

I recently found an oak hedge thick with galls, and had a yen to make some iron gall ink.

 

This is mostly a bit of fun for me as I have no particular interest in calligraphy or pens per se, but I do have an interest in iron-based pigments through photography (think cyanotypes and vandyke browns), hence the interest in mixing up ferrous compounds.

 

Googling turned up www.irongallink.org of course, and so I've set a couple of ounces of crushed galls in half a pint of rainwater as per Recipe 2 (http://irongallink.org/igi_indexc33a.html).

 

The mixture has been sat for about a week now and is a dense dark brown, but I can't detect any bubbling or any scent other than an "earthy" one which would lead me to think that fermentation is actually taking place.

 

Or is it simply that the fermentation of oak galls tends to take place without much obvious byproducts?

 

I've quite a nice large bagfull of galls left still, so I can experiment with a few other recipes yet if this one isn't satisfactory.

 

(Yes, I've also found Teri "Fiber Drunk" on Flickr and her various recipes lists )

 

Thanks in advance for any enlightenment.

 

[joly1]

​as I live in town, I ordered gall nuts on a chinese site ,I ground them with an electric coffe grinder to get a fine powder, I put it in a jar with half a liter of distilled water and waited two months, the smell was agreable, not moldy at all, rather fruit like, with ~~2 gr of iron oxyde it turned into a black ink which took then a metallic smell, I use this ink in foutain pens to draw, sometimes if I leave my drawings in the sun they can take a slightly yellow hue, which certainly shows that my formula is far from perfect, anyhow it was fun.

[joly1]

My question is really for those who have made an iron gall ink using fermented galls.

 

I recently found an oak hedge thick with galls, and had a yen to make some iron gall ink.

 

This is mostly a bit of fun for me as I have no particular interest in calligraphy or pens per se, but I do have an interest in iron-based pigments through photography (think cyanotypes and vandyke browns), hence the interest in mixing up ferrous compounds.

 

Googling turned up www.irongallink.org of course, and so I've set a couple of ounces of crushed galls in half a pint of rainwater as per Recipe 2 (http://irongallink.org/igi_indexc33a.html).

 

The mixture has been sat for about a week now and is a dense dark brown, but I can't detect any bubbling or any scent other than an "earthy" one which would lead me to think that fermentation is actually taking place.

 

Or is it simply that the fermentation of oak galls tends to take place without much obvious byproducts?

 

I've quite a nice large bagfull of galls left still, so I can experiment with a few other recipes yet if this one isn't satisfactory.

 

(Yes, I've also found Teri "Fiber Drunk" on Flickr and her various recipes lists )

 

Thanks in advance for any enlightenment.

 

did my answer bring you any help ?

[irritable]

I do apologise, I meant to reply when you first posted but it slipped my mind to do so.

 

Thank you

 

My first lot seemed OK, but I think I over-diluted and over-filtered it and I ended up having to evaporate it off, and even then was not very satisfactory - very slow to dry and not very dense.

 

However I'd already set a second lot to ferment by then, and I opened it for the first time last week after about 28 days. It certainly "popped" when I opened the lid, so I guess it must have been fermenting.

 

The smell was rather lovely - a little like cinnamon or perhaps cloves, plus something like woodlands in sprint or autumn, but then I suppose that is hardly surprising.

 

I shall let the current one ferment for another couple of weeks and then try again, but this time I will try to be more patient ...

[fiberdrunk]

My question is really for those who have made an iron gall ink using fermented galls.

 

I recently found an oak hedge thick with galls, and had a yen to make some iron gall ink.

 

This is mostly a bit of fun for me as I have no particular interest in calligraphy or pens per se, but I do have an interest in iron-based pigments through photography (think cyanotypes and vandyke browns), hence the interest in mixing up ferrous compounds.

 

Googling turned up www.irongallink.org of course, and so I've set a couple of ounces of crushed galls in half a pint of rainwater as per Recipe 2 (http://irongallink.org/igi_indexc33a.html).

 

The mixture has been sat for about a week now and is a dense dark brown, but I can't detect any bubbling or any scent other than an "earthy" one which would lead me to think that fermentation is actually taking place.

 

Or is it simply that the fermentation of oak galls tends to take place without much obvious byproducts?

 

I've quite a nice large bagfull of galls left still, so I can experiment with a few other recipes yet if this one isn't satisfactory.

 

(Yes, I've also found Teri "Fiber Drunk" on Flickr and her various recipes lists )

 

Thanks in advance for any enlightenment.

 

 

Sorry for not replying sooner (I homeschool and rarely get around to social media during the school year). Yes, it's true, fermentation takes place without bubbling. Sometimes mold will form on top, which is fine. Don't worry, though. Fermentation is taking place... you'll see when you add that iron sulfate to it.

 

See the thread California Live Oak Iron Gall Ink for more info about the process.

[irritable]

Thank you for replying., Teri. As before I must apologise for not replying sooner.

Fermentation has finished and now it's down to trying to get as much of the remaining gall residue out. Filtered through cloth several times and returned to the jar, it's still dropping out to form a sediment ...

 

patience patience I know.

 

Any tips on getting the gum arabic to dissolve, when I get to that stage? On my last attempt it formed globs which were extremely hard to disperse.

[fiberdrunk]

Thank you for replying., Teri. As before I must apologise for not replying sooner.

Fermentation has finished and now it's down to trying to get as much of the remaining gall residue out. Filtered through cloth several times and returned to the jar, it's still dropping out to form a sediment ...

 

patience patience I know.

 

Any tips on getting the gum arabic to dissolve, when I get to that stage? On my last attempt it formed globs which were extremely hard to disperse.

 

The gum will dissolve within 24 hours... it'll form gluey blobs at first, but don't worry, it will dissolve. Just give it a good stir when you add the gum, and then another good stir after 24 hours.

[irritable]

Excellent, thank you very much for your prompt reply.

[Nicholas Lindan]

I also play around with iron based photography.

 

I have made a 'pure' iron-gall ink from ferric ammonium citrate and either pyrogalol or catechol. It should be possible to make out just the right ratio of ingredients to make a neutral ink - but i just mixed a pinch of each and added a most tiny touch of Photo-Flo to make it, er, flow.

 

The ink went on rather pale but turned to jet black in an hour. After it has set it can't be washed out.

 

As I understand the mechanism, the ink precipitates tiny particles of iron in the paper fibers as it reacts with air. I would imagine that for the ultimate in permanence the paper should be thoroughly washed the next day - leaving behind nothing buy iron particles (oooh - nano-iron, how hi tech can one get?) in the paper. Thoroughly washing the chemicals out of the paper is another photographic activity - most photographers (the real sort - none of this digital mamby-pamby) have a paper washer ready to hand.

 

Pyrogalol and catechol are photographic developing agents. Pyrogalol is boiled oak galls - stretching the truth of the matter, but it's close enough. Catechol comes from apples (and other fruits) and is what makes the fruit turn brown when exposed to air. Both gallic acid and catechol turn to tannins when exposed to air, as when an insect bites into a plant and leaves a wound. The tannins tan the poor insect's gastrointestinal tract - sounds horrible, but as the plant is being eaten alive one can hardly blame the plant.

 

Ferric ammonium citrate (green) was used because I have a jar of it -- it is used in making cyanotypes -- http://www.nolindan.com/UsenetStuff/portragon.html. TTBOMK, most iron salts will work.

Edited May 10, 2015 by Nicholas Lindan

[fiberdrunk]

I also play around with iron based photography.

 

I have made a 'pure' iron-gall ink from ferric ammonium citrate and either pyrogalol or catechol. It should be possible to make out just the right ratio of ingredients to make a neutral ink - but i just mixed a pinch of each and added a most tiny touch of Photo-Flo to make it, er, flow.

 

The ink went on rather pale but turned to jet black in an hour. After it has set it can't be washed out.

 

As I understand the mechanism, the ink precipitates tiny particles of iron in the paper fibers as it reacts with air. I would imagine that for the ultimate in permanence the paper should be thoroughly washed the next day - leaving behind nothing buy iron particles (oooh - nano-iron, how hi tech can one get?) in the paper. Thoroughly washing the chemicals out of the paper is another photographic activity - most photographers (the real sort - none of this digital mamby-pamby) have a paper washer ready to hand.

 

Pyrogalol and catechol are photographic developing agents. Pyrogalol is boiled oak galls - stretching the truth of the matter, but it's close enough. Catechol comes from apples (and other fruits) and is what makes the fruit turn brown when exposed to air. Both gallic acid and catechol turn to tannins when exposed to air, as when an insect bites into a plant and leaves a wound. The tannins tan the poor insect's gastrointestinal tract - sounds horrible, but as the plant is being eaten alive one can hardly blame the plant.

 

Ferric ammonium citrate (green) was used because I have a jar of it -- it is used in making cyanotypes -- http://www.nolindan.com/UsenetStuff/portragon.html. TTBOMK, most iron salts will work.

 

How intriguing!