With this kit you can make your own black ink
Inside the kit you will find the materials needed to turn vine charcoal into ink. The vine branches come from a vineyard here in Denmark, I cut them all into suitable pieces and burned locally in a ceramic kiln before being processed into pigment.
You crush the vine and then mix the black pigment with binder and water and work it until it becomes smooth and usable.
At first it feels a bit loose and unpredictable. The material separates, the water sits on top, and it does not quite look like ink yet. Then it starts coming together. It darkens, thickens slightly, and begins to move in a way that feels controlled without being stiff.
You adjust it as you go. A bit more binder if it feels too watery. A bit more pigment if you want a deeper black. You get a sense of how much is enough, and where the balance sits.
When it feels right, you pour it into the bottle and it is ready to use. From that point on, it works as a drawing or painting ink, but with a surface and movement that feels more alive than most ready made inks. OBS: Not useable for fountain pens.
Vine Black Ink
Vine black comes from burnt plant material, which gives it a different character than mineral blacks. It is not as heavy or flat. It sits lighter on the paper, and the edges often stay a bit open instead of locking into a hard line.
When you dilute it, it moves into a wide range of greys without becoming cold or dead. It keeps a slight warmth, which makes it easier to work with if you are layering or building depth.
It reacts quickly to water, so you can push it, lift it, and move it around more than you might expect from a black ink. That also means it asks a bit more from you. If you add too much water, it will tell you immediately.
There is something very direct about working with it. No hiding, no overcomplicating, just pigment, water, and whatever you decide to do with it.
Contents:
Burnt Vines
Gum Arabic
Cloves
