Hi folks
There are many variations on Oak gall ink, heres one I have used that worked great last time.
Oak galls are growths found on some oak trees which are easily identifiable . Look for spheres attached directly to a twig, smooth and greenish brown when new and can be over a inch in diameter but you want them when the parasitic insect that caused them has gone and they have dried out and shrunk some, left long enough thet go the same colour as the bark of the tree and as small as peas. I've found the best ones are about the size of a thumb nail and still brown rather than grey, with the tell tale exit hole of the insect. These grind up easiest. To make a pint you want a ounce of them
The finer you grind them the better, they say, but since I was in a hurry I gave up when they were like this. I've heard folk tell they use coffee bean grinders but I dont have one and to be honest I've had no problems with them ground up in a mortar and pestle.
Since you will be boiling them up use a container that is at least twice as big as you need as this saves it boiling over so easily; something easy to pour with a lid is best. Add a pint of rain water to the grindings and boil for a full hour. If it hasn't rained since you decided to make it, distilled water works fine. Some recipes refer to adding red wine or vinegar but I've never tried that.
The smell isn't bad and the process doesn't stain the steel pan I use.
Once its had a good boil you need to strain it to remove the grindings. I've acquired a cheap camp coffee filter that works very well.
Before I got that a sheet of kitchen paper in the bottom of a sieve worked OK. You could use muslin or a colour fast rag, even a very fine mesh sieve.
Some recipes refer to letting the liquor stand in a iron pot, ideally rusty, for a extended period but I use half a ounce of Green Copperas (iron sulfate) well stirred in at this point. You can get it from eBay or any shop that deals in dyes as it is used as a mordant.
Just noticed I over egged the pudding there, .6oz, never mind it won't make much of a difference. This stuff will react with the acid in the Oak galls , as you stir it in you'll see the brown liquor turn black. At this stage the liquid will be very thin and not very dark or ink like. To thicken it add a quarter ounce, or a little more, of Gum Arabic. You can get it in art shops but it is used in the food industry and is cheapest off eBay if you don't have a wholesaler to hand. Stir this in a bit at a time as if you were making a white sauce and don't want lumps.
Once that's all mixed in (again use a large container as it easy easier to stir stuff in without splashing, I use a two pint jug) you now leave it to stand for 48 hours, stiring it occasionally. To encourage this I leave it in a safe but commonly passed place and get any family member going by to give it a quick stir.
And that's as far as I've got today. In two days, I will strain it again into a bottle that can be tightly sealed (I have a weakness for stoneware made in my old home town, I rarely pay more than a quid for them on carboots and since I avoid dropping them find them superior to tins which rust and plastics which often degrade in sunlight or split, but I digress). The ink can be used straight away but I've found its better after a few months. If its too runny for your taste add small amounts of gum arabic leaving it a day or so before trying it again.
I'll now have a suplus of the stuff if any one wants some. I'll be trying the same recipe with logwood added at the first stage to see if that improves it.
One word of warning, this stuff doesn't like iron or steel nibs being mildly acidic so is best used with reed or quill pens. It was used from early medieval times up to the 19th C when modern comercial inks took over along with metal nibs. Sometimes the dried ink has a brownish hue, sometimes it is jet black. It will, over several centuries sometimes eat through the parchment or vellum such is the nature.
There's plenty more on the net if you are interested.
ATB
Tom
There are many variations on Oak gall ink, heres one I have used that worked great last time.
Oak galls are growths found on some oak trees which are easily identifiable . Look for spheres attached directly to a twig, smooth and greenish brown when new and can be over a inch in diameter but you want them when the parasitic insect that caused them has gone and they have dried out and shrunk some, left long enough thet go the same colour as the bark of the tree and as small as peas. I've found the best ones are about the size of a thumb nail and still brown rather than grey, with the tell tale exit hole of the insect. These grind up easiest. To make a pint you want a ounce of them
The finer you grind them the better, they say, but since I was in a hurry I gave up when they were like this. I've heard folk tell they use coffee bean grinders but I dont have one and to be honest I've had no problems with them ground up in a mortar and pestle.
Since you will be boiling them up use a container that is at least twice as big as you need as this saves it boiling over so easily; something easy to pour with a lid is best. Add a pint of rain water to the grindings and boil for a full hour. If it hasn't rained since you decided to make it, distilled water works fine. Some recipes refer to adding red wine or vinegar but I've never tried that.
The smell isn't bad and the process doesn't stain the steel pan I use.
Once its had a good boil you need to strain it to remove the grindings. I've acquired a cheap camp coffee filter that works very well.
Before I got that a sheet of kitchen paper in the bottom of a sieve worked OK. You could use muslin or a colour fast rag, even a very fine mesh sieve.
Some recipes refer to letting the liquor stand in a iron pot, ideally rusty, for a extended period but I use half a ounce of Green Copperas (iron sulfate) well stirred in at this point. You can get it from eBay or any shop that deals in dyes as it is used as a mordant.
Just noticed I over egged the pudding there, .6oz, never mind it won't make much of a difference. This stuff will react with the acid in the Oak galls , as you stir it in you'll see the brown liquor turn black. At this stage the liquid will be very thin and not very dark or ink like. To thicken it add a quarter ounce, or a little more, of Gum Arabic. You can get it in art shops but it is used in the food industry and is cheapest off eBay if you don't have a wholesaler to hand. Stir this in a bit at a time as if you were making a white sauce and don't want lumps.
Once that's all mixed in (again use a large container as it easy easier to stir stuff in without splashing, I use a two pint jug) you now leave it to stand for 48 hours, stiring it occasionally. To encourage this I leave it in a safe but commonly passed place and get any family member going by to give it a quick stir.
And that's as far as I've got today. In two days, I will strain it again into a bottle that can be tightly sealed (I have a weakness for stoneware made in my old home town, I rarely pay more than a quid for them on carboots and since I avoid dropping them find them superior to tins which rust and plastics which often degrade in sunlight or split, but I digress). The ink can be used straight away but I've found its better after a few months. If its too runny for your taste add small amounts of gum arabic leaving it a day or so before trying it again.
I'll now have a suplus of the stuff if any one wants some. I'll be trying the same recipe with logwood added at the first stage to see if that improves it.
One word of warning, this stuff doesn't like iron or steel nibs being mildly acidic so is best used with reed or quill pens. It was used from early medieval times up to the 19th C when modern comercial inks took over along with metal nibs. Sometimes the dried ink has a brownish hue, sometimes it is jet black. It will, over several centuries sometimes eat through the parchment or vellum such is the nature.
There's plenty more on the net if you are interested.
ATB
Tom
Last edited:
Thank you.
