Maybe Life is always like being on a trapeze or a tightrope at the circus...
Invasive plants are Earth's way of insisting we notice her medicines. Stephen Herrod Buhner
Everyone learns what works by learning what doesn't work. Stephen Herrod Buhner
I do Celtic, fantasy, folk and shanty singing at Renaissance faires, fantasy festivals, pirate campouts, and other events in OR and WA, USA.
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Love is the only resource that grows the more you use it.
David Brower
Anne Miller wrote:I am a fan of using oil based stains.
I found some discussions about using Tung oil and walnut as a stain. I wanted to check the forum for info on Tung oil and found this:
https://permies.com/t/24199/Linseed-oil-Raw-Tung
Here is the discussion about the walnut stain:
https://www.reddit.com/r/woodworking/comments/17q97m1/is_it_possible_to_make_an_oil_based_stain_out_of/
Maybe Life is always like being on a trapeze or a tightrope at the circus...
Country oriented nerd with primary interests in alternate energy in particular solar. Dabble in gardening, trees, cob, soil building and a host of others.
Olga Booker wrote:I don't know about black walnuts as we don't really have them in France, but I would assume it is the same as the ordinary walnut Juglans Regia which happens to be abundant in the county where I currently live - in fact, around here it is a cash crop.
The French folks have been using walnut for staining, dyeing, painting, writing etc for hundreds of years. Here, it is called " brou de noix".
Anyway, I can tell you what my grand mother and her mother before her used to do if it is of any interest. Here goes:
It is the green outer shell of the walnut that is used. You can use the green immature walnut in the spring or the green more mature outer shell that falls off in the autumn to reveal the walnut. Either one will work fine but be aware that anything that comes into contact with it will be stained, including your skin as mentioned in the post above. So use gloves, old containers and spoons, wear old clothes or an apron especially when brewing the concoction..
Whether you use the spring or fall shells, the method remains the same, although my preference is for the autumn one so that you do not waste the fruit.
Collect as many green shells as you want/need, put in a pan and cover with water. Bring to the boil then simmer gently for 2 hours. Strain the resulting liquid twice through a cheese cloth, old t-shirt or paper coffee filter. Put in a jar/bottle with a couple of drops of clove essential oil to prevent mould and/or bacteria and keep or use as needed.
For wood staining, use a fine paint brush to apply lightly. There is no need to soak your furniture with it and no warping will take place. Add a second coat when dry, if you wish for a darker shade. you can then use any preferred method for preserving, i.e oil, varnish, wax, etc. In the olden days, wax was the method of choice.
You can dye your hair. I would not recommend rinsing your hair with it, a) because your scalp will get stained as well as any skin that the concoction will touch and b) because you may have an allergic reaction to it.
My grand mother used to dip a comb into the brew and brush it through her hair, repeating every day until she liked what she saw. I would try on a small section of hair just to see if you are happy with the result before embarking on a whole head job.
Of course you can dye cloth with it but unless you need or are very fond of brown I would not personally bother.
Also, at a time when they still used nibs, it made a fine ink. I happened to have seen some fine monochrome water painting made with that brew as well!
Now, of course, being French and loving the good life, we tend to use those shells to make a fine liqueur!
Maybe Life is always like being on a trapeze or a tightrope at the circus...
C. Letellier wrote:Did the stain with walnut husk and walnut hulls using a water base and was rather disappointed with it. Not nearly as dark or sunlight durable as expected. So I would suggest trying an alcohol base.
Maybe Life is always like being on a trapeze or a tightrope at the circus...
Love is the only resource that grows the more you use it.
David Brower
Olga Booker wrote:The autumn shells will make a darker dye then the spring ones. Make sure you make a big enough batch for what you need it for, as natural processes do not always give the same result twice. You may end up with a different colour the second time round.
Maybe Life is always like being on a trapeze or a tightrope at the circus...
Maybe Life is always like being on a trapeze or a tightrope at the circus...
Brody Ekberg wrote:Thanks! I read of someone trying to make walnut stain with an oil base and they said it didnt get nearly as dark as the water or alcohol based stains. I like the idea of alcohol based because it wouldnt spoil and would probably dry way faster than water, maybe evaporating before it all seeped into the wood. I worry a bit about water based warping the countertop I want to use it on. But maybe if its very concentrated and I just use multiple thin layers the warping will be minimal.
Invasive plants are Earth's way of insisting we notice her medicines. Stephen Herrod Buhner
Everyone learns what works by learning what doesn't work. Stephen Herrod Buhner
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