A Recipe "to Make Excellent Ink", By Sir Isaac Newton

[jbb]

Ok...this is very cool! Cool enough that I want to try it...a direct connection to Sir Issac Newton makes this even more fun. Where do you get Aleppo galls?

Oak galls are caused by wasps and grow on oak trees. I think Aleppo galls are oak galls. Here are the oak galls that I found on my road to make ink the other day.

 

Aleppo gall -- a nutlike gall produced by gall wasps on certain oaks in western Asia and eastern Europe, used as a source of astringent and tannic and gallic acids. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/aleppo+gall

 

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8438/7932954036_df7b41d403_o.jpg

Edited September 10, 2012 by jbb

[fiberdrunk]

You can get aleppo galls from John Neal Bookseller. The best ones come from Turkey. They've really gone up in price recently. Would love to find more sources for this.

 

You can see them pictured on the left below (the large potato-looking galls on the right are oak apples from California, for comparison):

 

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5207/5357557334_77803b2edf_b.jpg

 

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5081/5356939281_a44247c155_b.jpg

Edited September 10, 2012 by fiberdrunk

[jbb]

You can get aleppo galls from John Neal Bookseller. The best ones come from Turkey. They've really gone up in price recently. Would love to find more sources for this.

 

You can see them pictured on the left below (the large potato-looking galls on the right are oak apples from California, for comparison):

 

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5207/5357557334_77803b2edf_b.jpg

 

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5081/5356939281_a44247c155_b.jpg

Do you know how the California ones differ when making ink?

[fiberdrunk]

 

Do you know how the California ones differ when making ink?

 

Yes, you need to use more of them (see the note at the bottom of post #38), and they tend to make a brownish-black ink over time, say within a year (it'll start out quite black initially, though). It makes a pretty ink. I used this type of gall when I made the Jane Austen ink recipe (this written sample is a year older now, and the brown is becoming more prominent):

 

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5001/5357001501_d12852037a_b.jpg

Edited September 10, 2012 by fiberdrunk

[fiberdrunk]

I just started my first batch of iron gall ink a few days ago so I'm still not clear on what is and isn't supposed to happen. My batch has oak galls from "Live Oaks," steel wool, vinegar and water.

 

Did you already combine all these items? What I do, generally, is ferment the liquid with the gall and gum for a month. Then I add the copperas, strain it all through cloth, and then boil it for 5-10 minutes to kill the ink beasties. I'm not sure about using the steel wool and vinegar, though. I think I'd consider that a separate step and add it at the end. (I have made black walnut ink, where I threw in some steel wool and boiled it with the ink for about a half hour, towards the end of the process.)

Edited September 10, 2012 by fiberdrunk

[fiberdrunk]

Just noticed there was a scan of the back side of Newton's original writing sample/recipe, at the link posted at the beginning of this thread. Thought I'd include it here (hey, they struggled with bleed-through back then, same as us!):

 

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8448/7968898010_6ce6129bca_b.jpg

Edited September 10, 2012 by fiberdrunk

[josiah]

Just noticed there was a scan of the back side of Newton's original writing sample/recipe, at the link posted at the beginning of this thread. Thought I'd include it here (hey, they struggled with bleed-through back then, same as us!):

 

Although it's possible that that's bleedthrough, I suspect that's showthrough from the scanning process. I like showthrough quite a lot, and I've noticed it's much more pronounced when I'm looking at a scanned page.

 

I've typically found that bleedthrough is spotty and feathery, where this looks like the same clean lines seen on the front of the page.

[Hex]

This is fascinating and I applaud your efforts.

Are you saying that that, no offense, vile looking brew, will become a black ink ?

Amazing !

[fiberdrunk]

This is fascinating and I applaud your efforts.

Are you saying that that, no offense, vile looking brew, will become a black ink ?

Amazing !

 

I sure hope so!

[N2theBreach]

 

...Just look at the Newton writing sample which is still jet black after all these years...

 

 

Ummm... I hate to bring this up—do you think that was a color scan of his notebook, or black and white? I guess even if it is black and white, that ink is still very, very dark.

 

So, I was just dreaming a bit...I wonder how much demand there would be for your historic inks? I'm thinking that physics/history/chemistry professors would be all over the Sir Isaac Newton inks. The English professors might be interested in the Jane Austin. Not to mention re-enactors, and so on.

[fiberdrunk]

 

...Just look at the Newton writing sample which is still jet black after all these years...

 

 

Ummm... I hate to bring this up—do you think that was a color scan of his notebook, or black and white? I guess even if it is black and white, that ink is still very, very dark.

 

So, I was just dreaming a bit...I wonder how much demand there would be for your historic inks? I'm thinking that physics/history/chemistry professors would be all over the Sir Isaac Newton inks. The English professors might be interested in the Jane Austin. Not to mention re-enactors, and so on.

 

Yes, I realize it was a black and white scan. But it sure looks good and dark to me.

[N2theBreach]

 

...Just look at the Newton writing sample which is still jet black after all these years...

 

 

Ummm... I hate to bring this up—do you think that was a color scan of his notebook, or black and white? I guess even if it is black and white, that ink is still very, very dark.

 

So, I was just dreaming a bit...I wonder how much demand there would be for your historic inks? I'm thinking that physics/history/chemistry professors would be all over the Sir Isaac Newton inks. The English professors might be interested in the Jane Austin. Not to mention re-enactors, and so on.

 

Yes, I realize it was a black and white scan. But it sure looks good and dark to me.

 

OK.

 

I just took a look at your Flickr page and I'm even more impressed. I'll get a chair and go sit on the sidelines for a while.

[WOBentley]

You can get aleppo galls from John Neal Bookseller. The best ones come from Turkey. They've really gone up in price recently. Would love to find more sources

thanks for the reference, I have ordered some and am looking forward to trying this out!

[jbb]

 

Do you know how the California ones differ when making ink?

 

Yes, you need to use more of them (see the note at the bottom of post #38), and they tend to make a brownish-black ink over time, say within a year (it'll start out quite black initially, though). It makes a pretty ink. I used this type of gall when I made the Jane Austen ink recipe (this written sample is a year older now, and the brown is becoming more prominent):

Interesting. The ink turning brown might be nice. I picked more Live Oak oak galls than I'll use if anyone wants to pay to ship them I'm happy to pass them on.

[fiberdrunk]

 

Do you know how the California ones differ when making ink?

 

Yes, you need to use more of them (see the note at the bottom of post #38), and they tend to make a brownish-black ink over time, say within a year (it'll start out quite black initially, though). It makes a pretty ink. I used this type of gall when I made the Jane Austen ink recipe (this written sample is a year older now, and the brown is becoming more prominent):

Interesting. The ink turning brown might be nice. I picked more Live Oak oak galls than I'll use if anyone wants to pay to ship them I'm happy to pass them on.

 

If no one else contacts you, I'd love to have them. But I'll let others have a chance at 'em first.

Edited September 11, 2012 by fiberdrunk

[jbb]

If no one else contacts you, I'd love to have them. But I'll let others have a chance at 'em first.

Sadly, there are gazillions of oak galls too high up in the trees to reach. There are some fallen on the ground but someone in another post indicated that those would not be good to use. Do you think that also?

 

A neighbor saw me picking the oak galls the other day and stopped to say "You know those arent' apples." When I explained I needed them for making ink they were quite amused.

[jbb]

I've noticed that the amount of oak gall John Neal sells is 3 ounces. Is that enough for a batch of ink?

[fiberdrunk]

 

Sadly, there are gazillions of oak galls too high up in the trees to reach. There are some fallen on the ground but someone in another post indicated that those would not be good to use. Do you think that also?

 

A neighbor saw me picking the oak galls the other day and stopped to say "You know those arent' apples." When I explained I needed them for making ink they were quite amused.

 

I'd still attempt ink-making with whatever I had access to (I plan to make ink out of acorns this fall, and pecan husks if I can get some). Just use 3 1/2 to 4 times more oak apples than you would for aleppo galls, because the gallotannic content will be much less. I've made ink from oak leaf galls before (turned out an olive color... see this post for writing sample). I've made iron gall ink from pomegranate peels twice now. Anything with tannins in it will produce an ink, though not as high a quality as the aleppo galls will. But still ink. You could probably make ink from pine needles, even. It's fun to experiment, and I'm all for making ink from what's available locally. You'll learn from everything you try.

 

Here's what oak leaf galls look like (sorry, not the clearest shot, but it's those brown bumps all over the leaf):

 

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5282/5250342115_cd3198c1eb_b.jpg

Edited September 11, 2012 by fiberdrunk

[fiberdrunk]

 

 

I just took a look at your Flickr page and I'm even more impressed. I'll get a chair and go sit on the sidelines for a while.

 

Come on in and get your fingers wet! The ink is fine! If you start trying to make ink, I recommend keeping a notebook so you can write down what worked, what didn't. You can include writing samples and do tests on them (check to see how they hold up to water and UV). I update mine every so often with observations as my inks age, both in the bottle and on the page (my quest is for a very permanent stable ink). An ink recipe notebook will give you another excuse to use your inks!

Edited September 11, 2012 by fiberdrunk

[jbb]

Fiberdrunk, I just looked at your flickr site and am blown away. Wow!!!! :clap1: :clap1: :clap1: