My fresh adventure with walnut stain making

[Tallbald]

OK. So I am real successful at brewing and using vinegaroon. My batch from March 2011 is still improving with age, and has reached the point that a 15 minute soak of a hatchet sheath will give me a coal black stain. WOO HOO!.
Walnut season is here though, and I decided to make some brown walnut stain for myself. Penny (my wife) helped me collect two plastic grocery sacks of dropped nuts from a house around the corner. Hey. They were in the drainage ditch along the side of the road, so the pickings were free. I found that a cut around the circumference of the hull and a twist of the knife pops off half the husk. Another cut 90 degrees to that and a twist pops off another quarter and the last quarter can be pulled off with my fingers. Here's where I boobooed. So what if the green husks get a little yellowish stain on my fingers? But I learned that yellow turned a blackish brown that wouldn't come off even with laundry bleach. Looks like I refuse to bathe. Tonight when we have company, I'll greet folks with a handshake and explain the dog swallowed a piece of jewelry that I've been sorting through poop to find. And I haven't had a chance to wash my hands.
I boiled the husks as directed in a thread here, and strained through a tea strainer then an old black sock into a plastic gallon jug. Added a little rubbing alcohol, and about 20 percent vinegaroon. Tested a piece of scrap and it too came out almost as black as the pure v-roon makes it. Crap. So I thought about thinning it, but decided to use strong, double strength percolated coffee instead of just water. Turned out great. But for some reason, the mixture is getting thicker as it has become a few days old. I hope this won't continue, or I'll end up chipping a hunk off to smear on leather LOL.
I did today try marking and soaking 4 pieces in the mixture today for intervals of 15, 30,60 and 120 minutes to see if there was a difference. Something seems to happen between 60 and 120 minutes. The first three came out the same essentially, but the 120 minute piece was markedly darker with a grayish brown cast to it. I like it. I like it a lot.
I think I'll add a little straight vinegar to the storage bottle though to see if it retards spoilage.Hey. It works on pickles, right? And the nuts drying on the table are attracting neighborhood squirrels. Good for me. I live in the suburbs, and don't get to hunt any more. I'll pop the squirrels with my high powered .22 air rifle, and have stew this winter. Heck with the strange lady 2 doors down who sets out peanuts for the tree rats, then gets angry at her big cat for catching and killing them outside their back door. Some people make me go Hmmmm. Thanks for letting me share. Don

[Abominable Bill]

Can't wait to see some leather dyed with your finished dye products!

[GunClick Rick]

There's about 5 big fat dove in my backyard right now,my bbgun right here, But mama is home too

[1961MJS]

...So what if the green husks get a little yellowish stain on my fingers? But I learned that yellow turned a blackish brown that wouldn't come off even with laundry bleach. Looks like I refuse to bathe. Tonight when we have company, I'll greet folks with a handshake and explain the dog swallowed a piece of jewelry that I've been sorting through poop to find. And I haven't had a chance to wash my hands...

Hi

I DO hope you have a picture of your company's expressions when you explain about the jewelry.  I spent an afternoon opening disposable diapers in plastic grocery bags in August in Kansas in an attempt to find a diamond necklace that my Mother-in-law had put in a bag without mentioning it.  Never found it, but it was a gift from my wife's convict ex-boyfriend.

later

[Tallbald]

Eew whee. Talk about adventure. Don

[Mogorilla]

Hey all,
As a chemist I am going to suggest buying rubber gloves.   Most dyes, even the natural ones are less than stellar for your health.  one of the tannins in walnut and oak is pyrogallo.  Not a great compound to have on you.   Commercial dyes WAY WORSE!!!!  Remember Red Dye #5 in the 70s.   Simple pair of rubber gloves will prevent that.   I would like to keep typing at all of you for as long as we can.

As to toxic nature of some of these, I was told, but never found literary proof that native americans would toss walnut hulls into creek holes, it would kill the fish but not impart taste to the meat.  NAtives would collect the fish and the natural progression of the creek would wash the toxins away over time.   So, the stuff does have a poisonous nature, if that story is true.

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

I agree with Mogorilla, I always use latex gloves when dyeing, not to mention it is healthier as Mogorilla points out.

          tEN wOLVES 

[Marshal Will Wingam]

I learned that yellow turned a blackish brown that wouldn't come off even with laundry bleach. Looks like I refuse to bathe. Tonight when we have company, I'll greet folks with a handshake and explain the dog swallowed a piece of jewelry that I've been sorting through poop to find. And I haven't had a chance to wash my hands.

When I was young, I would gather walnuts in my dad's orchard. As a cocky kid, I didn't like gloves. I know that stain well. I never thought up a good story like that, though. Thumbs-up.

[WaddWatsonEllis]

Hi,

I always use nitrile gloves ... available for around $10.00/100 ct. at Home Depot or better yet, Harbor Freight.

Our hands seem to be the new calling cards ... for the 20 as well as the 21st centuries ... dirty looking hands, dirty looking person.

And in a society where a man is judged by such things, it is easy to be misunderstood and seen as unworthy by such messages as dirty-looking hands ...

[Cliff Fendley]

Nitrile gloves are the only way to go, much tougher than latex.

[Tallbald]

Since my "dark" adventure, I visited Harbor freight and bought a box of 100 extra large vinyl gloves for $4. Hey. I can even rinse them and reuse a time or two. How's that for being a cheapskate! No, I do not attempt to wash toilet tissue for a second time around. Don

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

Good move Don, that's where I get my latex gloves too, so far they have had the best price going


             tEN wOLVES, 

[Marshal Will Wingam]

I dunno about gloves..... it's kind of a conversation starter if it looks like you smoke 1000 cigarettes a day.

[Don Nix]

Just a caution about the toxicity of black walnuts if you are a horse owner. Black walnuts can be fatal to horses. The hulls and even shavings from walnut wood if mixed with barn shavings can be fatal to horses. I have seen horses come up dead when put in a pasture with black walnut trees. so be careful what you do with the walnuts  and shells if you have horses that might come in contact with them.

[Tallbald]

Don thanks for the heads up on dangers to horses. My Miss Penny is a horse person since childhood, and had told me of the toxicity of walnut to horses. Horses scare me. They are big. Lots bigger than me.The more I listened to Pennys horse tales (bad pun) the more this city boy got to thinking "dang horses are high maintenance". I mean, watch out for walnuts, watch those hooves, don't let them eat too much or they'll founder, don't let them eat possum poop. They like to eat their stall boards (cribbing?) and let one  break a leg and there's only one thing left  to do!
I am so  used to and appreciative of dogs. They can clean up their own vomit and enjoy cleaning up other dogs droppings, They can thrive on three legs if necessary. Over eat? See the first comment. Possums? They'll kill them and lay them at you door step for disposal.
Anyway, the only horse we have is my stitching stallion (posted photos some time back) in the living room. No walnuts are in its area on the hearth. And it got a clear Minwax Antique Oil finish without walnut stain. but Don your comment helps to educate us city boys, who grew up thinking horses were trouble free. I myself don't ever remember Hoss Cartwright fretting about his mount. Just goes to show.(I never really understood what "just goes to show" meant, but its always been a good way to end a thought)
Thanks everybody for the input and comments. Don