This post will be more or less supplemental to the "Utility Leather" thread.
As I mentioned in another post somewhere, Mr. Irv gave me all the black walnuts I could fit in my truck with tools, etc. still in there. Black walnut husks are extremely valuable to tanners for their high levels of tannic acid, and for the extremely dark brown (almost black) colors they impart to leathers.
(Forgive the mess.. I've been busy lately!)
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Think that's enough?
Okay.. now we have our material, we just have to process it, which is as simple as using a knife to "peel" off the husk.
This is my youngest son using my favorite knife ever while helping to de-husk a few.
IT WILL STAIN YOUR HANDS, SO IF YOU DONT WANT BLACK HANDS WEAR GLOVES!
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So, you are left with a bucketfull of husks, and only a handful of walnuts
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The nuts can be smashed with a rock, hammer, or whatever and are quite delicious to eat, but I recommend roasting them as they taste better to me.
The next step is to boil the husks in water. This helps to get the tannins out of the husks. I gathered a few nice long limbs and set up a little tripod. Since I have some chain with a hook on it, it made the most sense to use it to bind the tripod and suspend the bucket all at the same time.
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Then you just build a fire, and let it cook. The steam has that familiar "bark boiling" smell, with a bit of added spice. I thought it was quite a pleasant odor, if a little on the strong side.
You'll notice the bricks on top of the husks. They float! To keep the husks in the bucket and still fill it with water, put a weight on top!
I boil my stuff for about an hour before pouring into another container. This is the first pouring after boiling and already the stain is quite potent!
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My wife stuck a light colored stick into the bucket as a test to see how long it would take to stain. This is after about a 30 minute soak. The stick was white before soaking...
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I suppose if I had a spirit animal, mine would be a toad, because I sit like this pretty much all the time. A little off topic, but I thought it was a neat pic.
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This same method can be used to make wood stain for the home. This is a natural stain and it really puzzles me why manufacturers would add all the toxic stuff into their cans when this obviously works just fine with water.
Now I have two buckets half full of black walnut tanning liquor, which need to be condensed for storage, and added to the bucket with the tanning skin in it. As before, it is a gradual process of maintaining a certain consistency / concentration of tannic acids around the skin.
I will thaw out some of the cow hide today, and probably drop it in the solution this evening. I'll keep this thread updated as the process goes along so you'll have an idear what to expect and how long it takes. Of course, deer will be thinner and take less time.
According to my research, Black Walnut already contains the mordant required to make it colorfast, and it's used as an additive to other dyes for the same reason.
So, whether you're a woodcrafter, metalworker, or tanner, if you find a black walnut tree, you have found a wonderful resource. Wood stain, Metal dye (for blacking traps or knives), and black leather.
It also is considered toxic to other plants, so use caution when disposing of the husks!
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