Jump to content

Homemade Black Walnut Ink

fiberdrunk

By fiberdrunk
in Inky Thoughts

 Share

Recommended Posts

fiberdrunk Collectors Item

fiberdrunk

Posted
Posted (edited)

It's that time of year when black walnuts are ready to harvest. I found someone on Craigslist who was giving black walnuts away free, so I thought I'd try to make ink out of them. I was wondering if anyone had any experience with making their own black walnut ink? I'd be especially interested in knowing how to preserve it, as I am making a large batch. I'd hate to go to all this trouble (with stained fingers!) only to have my ink mold over. Thanks!

 

This is a pretty interesting article: Making Black Walnut Ink.

Edited by fiberdrunk

Find my homemade ink recipes on my Flickr page here.

 

"I don't wait for inspiration; inspiration waits for me." --Akiane Kramarik

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Replies 26
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • Paddler

    5

  • fiberdrunk

    5

  • wallylynn

    4

  • dsatco

    3

Popular Days

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Paddler Antique

Paddler

Posted
Posted (edited)

I have been making it for about a year. I must have a pint of it in different batches made throughout the year. Some I made with iron and some without. I can't get SterilInk or Ink Safe to preserve it, even at twice the recommended dose. I have used copper to good effect. Ethyl alcohol works well at a concentration of 10%. It causes some feathering and bleeding with some types of paper. Isopropyl is exactly twice as bad for feathering and bleeding.

 

The ink is very water resistant and very resistant to fading in strong light.

 

Paddler

 

Edited to add: I just looked over the link you gave. You don't have to use blackened husks. Green ones work well. You don't need rusty iron. Use clean, fresh steel wool in the finished ink so you can control the darkening. Filter the extract BEFORE you reduce the volume.

Edited by Paddler

Can a calculator understand a cash register?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
fiberdrunk Collectors Item

fiberdrunk

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I have been making it for about a year. I must have a pint of it in different batches made throughout the year. Some I made with iron and some without. I can't get SterilInk or Ink Safe to preserve it, even at twice the recommended dose. I have used copper to good effect. Ethyl alcohol works well at a concentration of 10%. It causes some feathering and bleeding with some types of paper. Isopropyl is exactly twice as bad for feathering and bleeding.

 

The ink is very water resistant and very resistant to fading in strong light.

 

Paddler

 

Edited to add: I just looked over the link you gave. You don't have to use blackened husks. Green ones work well. You don't need rusty iron. Use clean, fresh steel wool in the finished ink so you can control the darkening. Filter the extract BEFORE you reduce the volume.

 

 

Thank you thank you! Can't wait! The husks are soaking in water right now.

Find my homemade ink recipes on my Flickr page here.

 

"I don't wait for inspiration; inspiration waits for me." --Akiane Kramarik

Link to comment
Share on other sites
wallylynn Collectors Item

wallylynn

Posted
Posted

I'm jealous. Seems like a bad harvest year here. I can't find any, just an occasional shell. Maybe the squirrels got all of them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Paddler Antique

Paddler

Posted
Posted

I am working on a description of my recipe and all the stuff I found out in the last year of experimenting. The logbook is rather thick. I will post writing samples of black walnut ink (Juglans nigra) and butternut ink (Juglans cinerea) with and without iron. I also have worked out a formula to calculate how much whiskey to add to the ink, given the amount of raw ink, the desired alcohol concentration in the finished ink, and the proof of the whiskey. I don't have an equation editor, so unfortunately you will have to do a little kitchen algebra to solve the thing.

 

We had a huge crop of walnuts here. In spring, I drove a half dozen fertilizer spikes around the drip line of a walnut tree in our yard. It yielded a wagonload of baseball sized walnuts. I removed the husks by putting the nuts in the driveway and driving over them with my car. This smashes the husk and leaves the nutshells intact. The husk is what you use to make ink.

 

Paddler

Can a calculator understand a cash register?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Possum Hill Antique

Possum Hill

Posted
Posted

I am working on a description of my recipe and all the stuff I found out in the last year of experimenting. The logbook is rather thick. I will post writing samples of black walnut ink (Juglans nigra) and butternut ink (Juglans cinerea) with and without iron. I also have worked out a formula to calculate how much whiskey to add to the ink, given the amount of raw ink, the desired alcohol concentration in the finished ink, and the proof of the whiskey. I don't have an equation editor, so unfortunately you will have to do a little kitchen algebra to solve the thing.

 

We had a huge crop of walnuts here. In spring, I drove a half dozen fertilizer spikes around the drip line of a walnut tree in our yard. It yielded a wagonload of baseball sized walnuts. I removed the husks by putting the nuts in the driveway and driving over them with my car. This smashes the husk and leaves the nutshells intact. The husk is what you use to make ink.

 

Paddler

You put whiskey in ink?! Didn't that make it taste funny?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Paddler Antique

Paddler

Posted
Posted

 

You put whiskey in ink?! Didn't that make it taste funny?

 

It's an acquired taste.

 

Paddler

Can a calculator understand a cash register?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
mdoering Rare

mdoering

Posted
Posted

Wow, you mean I can have my scotch and write with it to?!? :thumbup:

Currently Inked:

Montegrappa Extra 1930 Shiny Lines "Dove" L.E. (05/80) - Montblanc Permanent Grey (90yr Anniversary)

Pineider Arco - Monteverde Scotch Brown

Montblanc Rouge et Noir - Montblanc Bleu Nuit

Montblanc Meisterstuck Ultra Black - Pilot Iroshizuku Take-Sumi

Visconti Homo Sapiens Bronze Age Maxi - J. Herbin Lie de Thé

 

http://mark.intervex.net/fpn/images/LetterExchange_sm.png
Link to comment
Share on other sites
fiberdrunk Collectors Item

fiberdrunk

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I am working on a description of my recipe and all the stuff I found out in the last year of experimenting. The logbook is rather thick. I will post writing samples of black walnut ink (Juglans nigra) and butternut ink (Juglans cinerea) with and without iron. I also have worked out a formula to calculate how much whiskey to add to the ink, given the amount of raw ink, the desired alcohol concentration in the finished ink, and the proof of the whiskey. I don't have an equation editor, so unfortunately you will have to do a little kitchen algebra to solve the thing.

 

We had a huge crop of walnuts here. In spring, I drove a half dozen fertilizer spikes around the drip line of a walnut tree in our yard. It yielded a wagonload of baseball sized walnuts. I removed the husks by putting the nuts in the driveway and driving over them with my car. This smashes the husk and leaves the nutshells intact. The husk is what you use to make ink.

 

Paddler

 

 

Would love to see your conclusions/formulas. I was also glad to find out the ink is water resistant and fadeproof. I love that in an ink! And it's all the better if I can make it myself.

 

That's brilliant how you de-husked your walnuts! The greenest ones, I sliced up with a knife. The cracked/blackish ones were soft enough to tear apart with my hands (lots of worms in those... ew!) I went through a couple pairs of rubber gloves because they kept tearing. My fingers are very stained. Next time, I'll try running them over! Great tip!

Find my homemade ink recipes on my Flickr page here.

 

"I don't wait for inspiration; inspiration waits for me." --Akiane Kramarik

Link to comment
Share on other sites
dcwaites Donor Pen

dcwaites

Posted
Posted

You put whiskey in ink?! Didn't that make it taste funny?

 

It's an acquired taste.

 

Paddler

 

Does it have to be good whiskey? Or can I finally use up my stock of Corio? (In-joke for fellow Aussies...)

fpn_1412827311__pg_d_104def64.gif




“Them as can do has to do for them as can’t.


And someone has to speak up for them as has no voices.”


Granny Aching

Link to comment
Share on other sites
wallylynn Collectors Item

wallylynn

Posted
Posted

Next time, I'll try running them over! Great tip!

Be careful that you don't wind up with a bunch of broken windows as the nuts shoot out from under the tires. I just stomp on them or bash with a rock. If that doesn't work, I let it rot (ripen) until softer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Possum Hill Antique

Possum Hill

Posted
Posted

Next time, I'll try running them over! Great tip!

Be careful that you don't wind up with a bunch of broken windows as the nuts shoot out from under the tires. I just stomp on them or bash with a rock. If that doesn't work, I let it rot (ripen) until softer.

Old cast iron hand- (or maybe foot-) powered corn shellers are sometimes used for removing walnut husks. Generally that's after the husks have dried and turned black. The object is usually to collect the nuts, so I don't know how well it would work for collecting the husks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Paddler Antique

Paddler

Posted
Posted

Hey...black walnut trees are worth a fortune. Where can I get some?

 

You can order seedlings from some seed catalogs. The Arbor Society sells them. To collect the fortune, though, you need the seedlings, several acres of land and about 40 years.

 

Paddler

Can a calculator understand a cash register?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
dsatco Extremely Rare

dsatco

Posted
Posted (edited)

Hey...black walnut trees are worth a fortune. Where can I get some?

 

You can order seedlings from some seed catalogs. The Arbor Society sells them. To collect the fortune, though, you need the seedlings, several acres of land and about 40 years.

 

Paddler

 

Can't wait that long. Tell me where they are and I'll share the money with you. Deal?

Edited by dsatco
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Paddler Antique

Paddler

Posted
Posted

Hey...black walnut trees are worth a fortune. Where can I get some?

 

You can order seedlings from some seed catalogs. The Arbor Society sells them. To collect the fortune, though, you need the seedlings, several acres of land and about 40 years.

 

Paddler

 

Can't wait that long. Tell me where they are and I'll share the money with you. Deal?

 

In 1965, I inherited some money and bought 10 acres of land with it. I couldn't wait either. I planted pines and locust trees instead of walnut. Now, I'm kicking myself.

 

Paddler

Can a calculator understand a cash register?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
dsatco Extremely Rare

dsatco

Posted
Posted

Hey...black walnut trees are worth a fortune. Where can I get some?

 

You can order seedlings from some seed catalogs. The Arbor Society sells them. To collect the fortune, though, you need the seedlings, several acres of land and about 40 years.

 

Paddler

 

Can't wait that long. Tell me where they are and I'll share the money with you. Deal?

 

 

In 1965, I inherited some money and bought 10 acres of land with it. I couldn't wait either. I planted pines and locust trees instead of walnut. Now, I'm kicking myself.

 

Paddler

 

Paddler, we coulda been rich. We coulda had class. We coulda been contenders. We coulda been somebody, instead of bums, which is what I am, let's face it. It was you, Paddler.

Share this quote

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33583
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26772
    5. jar
      jar
      26105

  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      Links to web pages or articles about Chinese typesetting, signwriting, etc.

      By Shanghai Knife Dude · Posted

      I have the Sailor Naginata and some fancy blade nibs coming after 2022 by a number of new workshop from China.  With all my respect, IMHO, they are all (bleep) in doing chinese characters.  Go use a bush, or at least a bush pen. 
    • A Smug Dill
      Skeleton of a primer for a budding hobbyist

      By A Smug Dill · Posted

      It is the reason why I'm so keen on the idea of a personal library — of pens, nibs, inks, paper products, etc. — and spent so much money, as well as time and effort, to “build” it for myself (because I can't simply remember everything, especially as I'm getting older fast) and my wife, so that we can “know”; and, instead of just disposing of what displeased us, or even just not good enough to be “given the time of day” against competition from >500 other pens and >500 other inks for our at
    • adamselene
      Skeleton of a primer for a budding hobbyist

      By adamselene · Posted

      Agreed.  And I think it’s good to be aware of this early on and think about at the point of buying rather than rationalizing a purchase..
    • A Smug Dill
      Skeleton of a primer for a budding hobbyist

      By A Smug Dill · Posted

      Alas, one cannot know “good” without some idea of “bad” against which to contrast; and, as one of my former bosses (back when I was in my twenties) used to say, “on the scale of good to bad…”, it's a spectrum, not a dichotomy. Whereas subjectively acceptable (or tolerable) and unacceptable may well be a dichotomy to someone, and finding whether the threshold or cusp between them lies takes experiencing many degrees of less-than-ideal, especially if the decision is somehow influenced by factors o
    • adamselene
      Skeleton of a primer for a budding hobbyist

      By adamselene · Posted

      I got my first real fountain pen on my 60th birthday and many hundreds of pens later I’ve often thought of what I should’ve known in the beginning. I have many pens, the majority of which have some objectionable feature. If they are too delicate, or can’t be posted, or they are too precious to face losing , still they are users, but only in very limited environments..  I have a big disliking for pens that have the cap jump into the air and fly off. I object to Pens that dry out, or leave blobs o

  • Chatbox

    You don't have permission to chat.
    Load More

  • Files






×
×
  • Create New...