Walnut hulls

[JEBMs]

Green (unripe) walnuts have a thick outer husk (for want of a better word) that you have to remove to get to the nut itself. If you handle them much they will turn your hands a nice brown color. When the nut ripens the “husk” turns black. The husk is where the dye comes from. The hulls (shells) wouldn’t have much if any color
After family reunions when we were kids our hands would be brown for a week or so from the walnut wars we had with the cousins

 

[Brokennock]

They sell ground walnut hulls as a medium to use cleaning rifle/pistol brass in tumblers. Do you think you could use that as a dye? ???

I don't think so. The polishing media is from the shell that contains the meats. The dye is made from the husk that is around the shell when the nut is on the tree and first falls from the tree. If you have hickory trees where you are you should be able to picture this, the hickory nuts have the same husk then shell arrangement.

 

[Eutycus]

Is this the same walnut that was used in dying some of the Confederate uniforms? Or did "butternuts" use a different walnut?

 

[1950DAVE]

Butternut. Also known as white walnut.

 

[1950DAVE]

How do you make walnut powder?

I remove black walnut husks using a concrete mixer with a few limestone chunks loaded with a five gallon bucket of dried walnuts. About 15 minutes I have dehulled them. I screen them with progressively smaller hardware cloth sieves. When finished with all I pot the nuts back in the mixer with water and wash them. Not so messy then.

 

[Eterry]

My buddy worked at a tile manufacturing facility. They used walnut hulls by the 5 gallon bucket. They changed to a finer grind and I was given four 5 gallon buckets of course hulls. Unfortunately I sold most of it for polishing media. It works great for that.

 

[sheriff john]

Thanks, all. Kids groups made money picking up walnuts & selling to buyers that came around to various places each fall. Buyers paid "x" dollars per hundred pounds. Wasn't unusual to see pickup beds full. Problem was ..payment was for "peeled", not whole. Buyers had a "huller" machine (or whatever it's called) that quickly reduced the pickup load to a whole lot smaller amount. Still, kids got to do something fun and made $.

Don't know, but I assume "walnut powder" used for dyes comes from the outer dark brown part rather than the harder inside. Daughter dyes many things using natural dyes. She uses the outer part.

 

[Kappa]

You can come out to my yard and fill a pickup load.

 

[Reno]

Let the husks rot. In a container that does not leak as the rotting husks will begin to produce dye. I used plastic garbage cans.

I have added water and alcohol to that a stirred it occasionally.

I have also dipped that out, boiled it then strained it off, using fabric as the filter, and then press the solids to squeeze out as much dye as possible. Then add alcohol to this. I used to dye a lot of stuff.
I used Osnaburg as the filter. It is a looser weave fabric than other fabrics are. Wash it first.

BUT. IF YOU WANT TO MAKE POWDER PUT YOUR NUTS ON PIECE OF OAK AND START SMASHING THEM WITH A HAMMER!
YOU CAN START WITH THE BIG PIECES ON A PIECE OF T RAIL. if your fortunate enough to have that. An anvil works to.

 

[Mike in FL]

You certainly look the part. Except for the belt. I realize you didn't ask about that and you ought to go with whatever you like, just me looking and admiring your overall historic appearance. The beard really completes it. But the belt; maybe half that width.

 

[Tradbow]

I use the outer hulls. I crush them with my hands into a big pot. I then add a gallon of water and a quart of vinegar. I do a slow boil then and continue stirring and mashing the hulls in the pot. About thirty minutes of this I cut the heat off and let it cool. Then I’ll strain it into gallon jugs. A very strong dye.

 

[springfield art]

View attachment 164436
I dyed mine last year( I traded to a member here) with a walnut recipe.
I ended up mixing the hulls with a pint of whisky. The recipe called for a lb of hulls and some “spirts”, let sit together for a week and wash fabric with the solution and air dry as needed for layers.

Great camo! Never saw one done in two-tone, looks great!

 

[Diogenes454]

Here's my canvas Haversack I stained with hulls from my own trees.
I have lots of dried hulls from last year.
If anyone wants some, just pay shipping.

 

[beardedhorse]

The walnut products for polishing brass is more like the chips of wood rather than hulls. The dye can be made at home and if concentrated enough make camo patterns on hunting frocks. It can also be ordered on line. I have to get to the walnuts before the squirrels but after saving the hulls they still get the meat in the nuts. Wear plastic gloves as the hulls will stain the skin on your hands. A friend used walnut dye to dye a gunstock but it was not very deep.

 

[PathfinderNC]

Swankiest dude east of the Pacos! Your trade gun looks right in place there.
And wow that’s the biggest belt I’ve seen!

 

[Buckskinquin]

Looks great! I’ve been wanting to dye with walnut hulls for a while but I haven’t been able to locate any walnut trees.

Sent you a PM regarding walnuts.

 

[TDM]

Has anyone heard of using Hickory nut husk as a dye. I don’t have any Walnuts here, but lots of Hickory’s.

 

[DiMarco_Mercantile]

Has anyone heard of using Hickory nut husk as a dye. I don’t have any Walnuts here, but lots of Hickory’s.

I’ve used pecans before, which I believe are in the same genus as hickory. The first dye bath I got a grayish brown color, and I tried again a few weeks later with the second bath turned the garment to a deeper shade of brown. Soaking the dyed clothing item afterwards in rust water for about 30 seconds or so actually helps darken it further.

 

[TDM]

I’ve used pecans before, which I believe are in the same genus as hickory. The first dye bath I got a grayish brown color, and I tried again a few weeks later with the second bath turned the garment to a deeper shade of brown. Soaking the dyed clothing item afterwards in rust water for about 30 seconds or so actually helps darken it further.

I hadn’t even thought about pecans, I’ve got pecan trees too. Might have to try both. Thanks.

 

[Brokennock]

Has anyone heard of using Hickory nut husk as a dye. I don’t have any Walnuts here, but lots of Hickory’s.

Yes. Depending on the mordant used I've heard of yellow, yellow-brown, and a light brown as resulting colors.

Test batch some. Soak a sample piece of cloth in hot water that has some alum dissolved into it (available at grocery stores, used for pickling and canning) another in hot water with iron (rusty nails?) There are places online that specialize in stuff for dying fabric that sell different mordants including iron ready to use. Then dye each piece with the hickory hull dye. See what you get. Try some with no mordant. Try some in a copper kettle, unlined bare copper, if you have one.