Crafter's Recipies

[ForgeCorvus]

I know that there are all sorts of useful mixtures and compounds that are compatible with Middle Earth Tech-levels, and I'm sure that there are several of such spread around in various threads and the search engine doesn't always turn them up.
So, my cunning plan is for people to post them here or to put an internal link and a brief description of what it is and what its for.

To keep it simple can we try one post per poster per process please ( ie To post two boot treatment and one dye you'd have the boot stuff in one thread and the dye in another, but Ranger Bill would put his boot gunk in a new post)

[ForgeCorvus]

I'll start with Oak Gall Ink.

viewtopic.php?p=55676&hilit=oak+gall+ink#p55676

This gives a traditional black ink, as used by the Romans and Medieval Scribes

[ForgeCorvus]

Cutler's Pitch

Used as a glue, this needs to be heated to apply. Its not as brittle as pure pine pitch and has gap filling properties (for example Indian swords tend to have metal grips and stub tangs, this is used to fix one into the other)

This is my version, based on the materials I could get at the time and it will get you close enough.... There will be some adjustments to be made to get the right properties.



You need:
Pine Rosin ( Colophony )
Beeswax
Charcoal powder (or brick dust, metal fillings or any other fine powdery stuff).
A tin, pan or pot you can heat and plan on never using for anything else.
A heat source like a stove that your SOP won't murder you in your sleep when it gets 'spattered'.
A bucket of water

I find a bunch of little sticks handy to form the pitch on. Pine rosin melts somewhere above the boiling point of water, so this stuff will burn when it sticks to you.


You want roughly twice the volume of Rosin to that of Beeswax. Both mine were in lump form so I just found a couple of chunks of each that looked about right, a couple of eggs of Rosin to two match boxes of wax.

Melt the wax SAFELY..... I did mine in a double boiler and then poured it into a tin or you can put your melting pot in a larger pot of boiling water.

Put the Rosin in the wax to melt, stirring seems to help

Add a rounded tablespoon of your powdery stuff and keep stirring. It will take on a colour based on the powder, so charcoal end up black, brickdust reddish or yellowish depending on your bricks....I presume powdered dung must be sorta cowpat brown.

Once its all mixed together you need to drop a glob into cold water as a test. If it snaps add more wax, if it bends add more Rosin and if it shatters add more powdery stuff. You want something that you can just about mark with tool but not a fingernail.
Only add small quantities, you don't need much to make a big change. Don't forget to test after each adjustment.

Once its right, pretend you're making candyfloss and twizzle a stick in the gloop. You can dunk your hand in water and shape the glob into a cylinder then dip the end in the pitch and keeping your hand wet shape the pitch rod.

Every time you melt the pitch it changes, getting more brittle. So its better to either use a rod by melting the end in a flame or to divide your melt into small pea-sized lumps and use however many you need for each job.

[Iodo]

really cool thread idea, thanks for posting this Oilcloth seems like a good one to link here, very useful:

viewtopic.php?p=38244&hilit=waxed+canvas#p38244

[ForgeCorvus]

Three beeswax based polishes. The first is a hard finish suitable for wood, the second is for leather (both of these are neutral) and the third is black

Hard Polish. Durable finish for wooden items. Not food safe
Melt a quantity of beeswax and add an equal volume of turpentine (the real stuff not 'Substitute') then remelt and stir to mix well. Use when set.
Apply with a rag or brush and buff well, it will probably be slightly tacky for a few days but will harden off.

Leather Slush. Feeds and seals leather items.
Take one part beeswax and two parts tallow (by volume) and melt together, to this add one third of the volume of those melted solids of Neat's foot oil (basically add one part of oil). Remelt and mix well.
This should end up setting to a soft paste about as firm as fresh shoe polish or cold petroleum jelly... If its too hard at normal daytime temperature in your area, remelt and add more oil. If its runny, remelt and add more beeswax.
Apply and buff like shoe polish, use often.

Blackball This colours, coats and protects leather This is an attempt at the Blackball of the C18th British army.
Take eight parts beeswax, four parts tallow and one part lampblack (carbon black pigment) melt the wax and tallow and mix in the lampblack (watch out for the carbon black its a very fine dust that gets everywhere).
When set but not hard, scoop out a spoonful and roll in the hands until its a ball about the size of a ping-pong ball (very messy). Allow to cool and wrap each ball in paper or cloth to keep it off other things.
To use, light a candle and hold the edge of the ball in the flame until it runs. Rub the semi liquid part on your leather item to be blacked spreading out the blacking as far as possible (a little goes a long way) and buff very heavily. If you end up with a streaky finish, heat an old spoon and 'iron' the surface to make the blacking flow..... Buff heavily until the surface is burnished and no colour comes off.
Blackball is the second filthiest substance known to man, the first is black-powder fouling.