WALNUT INK

                      WALNUT INK
                 Symonne de la Croix
                    (Corina Graham)
                           12.4.20


2 cups black dried walnut husks
2lts demineralised water
Copperas/vitriol
Gum arabic 

Simmer the walnut husks with the demineralised water until you achieve the depth of colour you would like. Stirring intermittently. 
I used a slow cooker on high for 6hrs as I wanted a richer colour.
 {I don't think it made a lot of difference after 3hrs.}


FIlter the husks out of the ink water through linen cloth

Put back on the heat and reduce the fluid to about half.

If a darker ink is wanted then add vitriol. 
{I didn't see a darker colour but it cooled it down}

Add gum arabic. (Add more or less depending on how much viscosity you like for your ink)


Bottle/jar in dark airtight containers. If you don't have dark containers you can store it in a dark place.
{I have started an experiment leaving some of the ink in clear jars which I will leave out)

MY RESULTS.

I experimented with adding vitriol to half. 

And with and without powdered gum arabic (Jacquard brand) and Clove Oil (Thursday Plantation brand)


No 1: 200ml Walnut ink with nothing added. Warm brown colour. Consistency was like watery water colour paint.

No 2: 200ml Walnut ink with ¼ tsp green vitriol mixed with a little water. 

☆☆Mixture coagulated (went gluggy). The colour has a green/blue hue. It didn't paint out well and was difficult to write with.
? Perhaps too much vitriol. Or because I added it to the warm mix, perhaps I should have allowed it to cool? Both?

No.3: I decided to add 250ml water. Which made 450ml.
This made the mixture more watery water colour-like. Similar to the consistency of no.1

No.4: This is no.1 (no added vitriol) with 1tsp of gum arabic mixed in 50ml water. I think it warmed the colour slightly. Easier to write with.

No.5: This is No.3 plus 2tsp of gum arabic in 50ml water. Again I think I notice a warmer colour shift.

No.6: This is the No.4 mix (no.1 plus GA) with   3 drops of clove oil. No visible colour shift. Consistency of thin ink.

No.7: This is the No.5 (no.3 plus GA) with about 5 drops  of clove oil. [ I added extra due to the previous addition of water] No visible colour difference. Consistency of thin ink.

No.8: This is a mix of no.6 & no.7. Purely because there wasn't enough of either to fill a jar. 

I will do a light fast test but all in all I am pretty happy with the results. 

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