Best Homemade Inks (More Than Just Black From Charcoal)

[zacablaster]

Anyone know of good homemade ink recipes that are fun colors? Everyone has tried making some form of black, but I never really see homemade colors.

[WirsPlm]

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/forum/126-inky-recipes/

[zacablaster]

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/forum/126-inky-recipes/

Not mixes, actual recipes for ink from scratch.

[WirsPlm]

Not mixes, actual recipes for ink from scratch.

 

Did you actually read any of the threads? There's plenty of both mixes and recipes in there.

Edited February 17, 2014 by WirsPlm

[zacablaster]

I did, i couldn't find anything... I'll check again.

[WirsPlm]

I did, i couldn't find anything... I'll check again.

 

OK, starting with the stickied threads at the top of the forum that everyone should start with:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/223541-index-of-recipes/

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/37325-home-made-ink-mostly-ig-tips-and-tricks/

 

Taking 30 seconds to go through the threads on the first page:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/259973-pseudo-scabiosa-my-1st-fp-friendly-iron-gall/

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/259939-non-gum-arabic-ink-recipes/

 

Unless you're looking for something more specific, that should be plenty to get you started learning about making your own ink from dyes and other chemicals. Also, you'll probably want to search for information on biocides or Phenol, surfactants like PhotoFlo and glycerine, and dye purity and chemistry.

Edited February 17, 2014 by WirsPlm

[zacablaster]

Thank You!

[Paddler]

You can make good inks from black walnut and butternut husks. They are brown inks. The butternut ink looks a little mousy, though. I put mine through a pollen filter and it works well in my NoNonsense cartridge pen. I use these inks with gold or stainless steel dip pen nibs, mostly. I put a detailed recipe into the "Inky Thoughts" forum. Do a search on "butternut".

 

You can also make a red ink from pokeberries, but the color fades in a short time (a couple of months).