I'm unaccountably delighted to see someone using a quill pen with good penmanship who is also left-handed!

The other old ecclesiastical use for red ink was in church service books. Words to be uttered were written in black ink, but directions for what the celebrant should do were were written in red. These directions were therefore called rubrics, from Latin "rubrica" meaning a red-colored substance Rubrics are usually still in red, but are printed using modern printing inks.

I didn't realize how often you wear hats... it's so strange to see you without one.

Nobody is ever going to convince me this Brian guy isn't some sort of daylight resistant vampire.

PLEASE, please please make a video about how to prepare parchment for writing. It's one if the only things about writing from antiquity that I cant readily find information on.

I was schooled in the 50's and 60's. Many class rooms had the old style desks with an "Inkwell". And inside the storage cabinets of these class rooms were boxes of little bottles of ink! (6 per box) Also, boxes of the metal nubed and wooden handled "dip pens". I also saw many "Penmanship" tablets and workbooks. Likely left over since the 20's and 30's. Occasionally one of the older Teachers would give us a "History lesson" on how cursive was taught "in the Olden Days"! 😉

As a left hander, I didn't know that it was possible to use a quill! I have been told my whole life that it was impossible because the tip would stick into the paper as you pushed it along. Now that I know that it is possible I am going to watch how to make a quill NOW!!! Thank you for all of your history videos. Love them all. Take care.

People used to use “penwipes” (small squares of cloth) to wipe the ink off a quill or pen nib after they wrote with it. That way, the ink wouldn’t dry on the pen and clog the tip.

Try using Windex to clean the tips, it *should* neutralize the acids, and dry without residue. That's what we use to clean our rifle barrels after firing corrosive ammunition.

The acid content burning the paper over-time... and that is why animal skin were the best medium!

Iron(II) sulfate is also called ferrous sulfate. Iron(III) sulfate or ferric sulfate is not the same thing. Your chemistry nomenclature public service of the day.

What he said about irongall ink ‘burning through’ the paper, & that being a headache for conservation- it’s true for embroidery, too- because that was an easy (relatively speaking) way to get a colourfast black dye, but there are few extant embroideries with black thread (ie. blackwork) prior to the mid-16th c, because the dye is, in fact, eating away at the thread & fabric.

I would love to see a segment on 18th century penmanship.

"That little town in Syria" is a large city dating back to 5000 BC! It's so big that with few of the surrounding cities and towns they form "Aleppo District"! Loved the series as usual. Thanks for your marvelous efforts. Cheers, Al

I find the everyday, mundane things used back then really fascinating. I had no idea the creating of a pen from goose and swan feathers was so detailed in construction, and now the ink itself. Very interesting segments on writing. Bravo!

I have several documents from the 1850s-60s that the ink signatures have eaten completely through the paper, and contain traces of rust. Wasn't aware of the tannic acid until now. Great video.

In the making of red ink; Brian Allison mentions that logwood was the item used. He mentioned that it’s hard to get. Trapping supply outfits sell it for dyeing traps; especially new ones or ones that the old dye has worn off. It comes in crystalline form. The traps were also treated with hot wax; which I’m guessing is to seal the color in and prevent rust and corrosion from setting in.

I have enjoyed this series of Historical Writing! It is an important topic that isn't talked about much, despite the impact historical writing has been a part of modern life. I would like to see papermaking involved in this series. People need to know how important Hemp has been to the formation and evolution of the United States!

Iron gall ink goes back a lot further than the 15th or even the 12th century. It was the “standard” ink for fourteen centuries.

I always suspected that ink was a more complex and fascinating subject than the history books let on. Thank you both!

Pens are a dime a dozen today. Hard to imagine that so much went into not just the ink but making the pen as well. We have so many luxuries today we take for granted.

It’s pretty cool that when you mix two light-colored solutions together, you get a deep black liquid as a result.

I remember in the late 50’s in school. We use ink pens with a lever on the side . Held the pen tip in a small bottle of ink, used the lever sucked in the ink. A year later a plastic cartridge of ink was used. Unscrewed the pen, Inserted the cartridge in the pen, reassembled the pen which Punctured the enclosed cartridge, then used the pen. We never heard of disposable ink pens.

The craziest thing is that I made this exact ink earlier this week, that being the one that mix tannic acid and ferric chloride

Great series guys, oak is loaded with tannin and it reacts to iron oxide. Woodworkers use a similar process to "Ebonise" Oak. Poor old backwoods ridge runners just used ground up oak gauls and some rust scraped off the plow for ink. Ink etching really stinks if you have a document written on both sides of the paper.

Back in the middle ages they made printing ink made out of soot from the chimney and vegetable oil. Back in the '80's we used dot matrix printers with ink ribbons. These ribbons were rather expensive so I began to look for ways to re-ink them. I found a way using black pigment from a paint store and canola oil. Re-inking them was a messy affair but it worked quit well.

Wow I really like the direction this channel is going. I came for the food and I stayed for the ink.

It's always great to see folks who are knowledgeable and passionate about...well, any topic, really!

My great great grandfather was taken prisoner in the war with Mexico. They could write letters home but they were closely censored. They added secret messages written with "rice water". When held over a candle the rice water messages would become visable.

Fascinating. You’ve got to wonder what kind of mind came up with the idea of digging in trees to get that stuff out then making it into ink.

Whaaaat. You're down the road!! In this same park, is the Goodlettsvile little league champs!! I literally grew up across the street from this very place. Awesome sauce!!!

Love this series!!!!! 💗💗💗 It really makes me want to do some pen and ink drawing/writing!

I want to give you a cooking process from the 1700's to thicken sauces. I read this in a cookbook from 1767 to make lobster Newburg. To thicken the sauce they pushed hard-boiled egg yolks through a sieve into boiling cream. I tried this and it worked great!

18th century Ted Cruz teaching me all about iron gall ink.

Perhaps an episode on papermaking in the 18th century?

Fantastic and topical for me. I got back into using fountain pens after some years away from them. I also dicovered the variety of flexible nibs on the current market and starting learning Spencerian handwriting to improve my lifelong, awful chicken scratch. There are an amazing number of colors of modern fountain pen inks, but I have wondered how they did it before modern pens existed. Thanks for bringing my renewed interest in handwriting together with your truly wonderful historical perspective.👍

never been so excited for a video about ink! Loving this series :)

Iron II Sulfate is also known and sold as Ferrous Sulfate. The oak galls contain Tannic Acid, as do tea and coffee. If coffee is left in contact with iron or steel it will form the same black stain as the Tannic Acid reacts with the iron to form iron tannate.

This was thoroughly amazing. Never knew anything about old pigments.

BTW Honey never goes bad.

One of the best channels on KZfaq! Good clean entertainment and learning videos produced with quality.

I am watching this while flying across the country. I can be reminded of how much just went into the ink process during the 18th century. It really helps me realize much more the effort it took to live then.

just discovered your site. After reviewing a number of your videos I am impressed with your dedication and work. Thank you for your efforts to provide insight into our past.

Fascinating subject. I'm not kidding or making fun. The trial-and-error chemistry that went into this is over the years is so interesting; even the locations where the best stuff was being tied to the name of it is so cool. Thank you for sharing this video. Very informative. I love this stuff, and you neither asked or thought about it when you were in history class back in school. It was just stuff that........was. Again, thank you.

Thank you for this knowledge. I collect old inkwells and old bottles from 1870-1910, and really cherish them.

Great series! Thank you, Jon and Brian!

Brian seems like he loves his job. That's great to see.

There was so much to know to write effectively on what seems, at first glance simplistic. Brian Allison has an extraordinary breath of knowledge on the topic.

Whoever knew ink could be so interesting!

I've loved this topic on writing with a quill. Would also enjoy learning to make an antique looking writing paper and the use of wax and stamp to seal a letter.

Ahhhhhhhh!!!! Another video from Townsends!!! Lucky us🍀

Awesome! Loving this writing series, so fascinating!

This is a beautiful series and I am so excited for each episode as they have debuted! Lovely to feature that amazing artist too! Go Brian!

This is amazing! Thanks for making these wonderful videos!

I love this series!!! Thanks for exploring this topic!

A marvelous and detailed presentation! A pleasure to learn from these two gentlemen, thank you for sharing this fascinating subject.

This was AMAZING! More science themed episodes, please!

Great episode, as usual!

Well done! Thanks Brian and Jon, very interesting video!

Very interesting. I knew some of this, but learned some new (to me) things as well.

Loved this episode. Thank you for a well rounded lom at all aspects of the 1700s. You guys are awesome!!!!

What other writing instruments were used in the 18th century? Chalk? Pencils?

I found your channel a few days ago and I'm hooked. Thank you so much for the 18th century tips; cooking and beyond!

Another delightful demonstration! Thanks Jon! THANKS BRIAN! Why is this topic so potent? Well, it is...

I very much enjoyed this video. Thank you for making it.

I especially enjoyed this video is because I love writing with dip pens and fountain pens! This was a fantastic follow-up to the previous one you did with Brian! Many thanks.💖👍😊

Such a great interview!

Thanks for this video on writing. I am really enjoying these ‘Daily Life in 18th century America’ segments!

Great video series on writing quills and ink. At one time I had a pen and ink set, and I was fairly good at it, many, many years ago back in school. Thanks for the videos.

Another great video to go along with the Quill episode. Thanks!

This was so informative! I enjoy reading and writing, and find this so fascinating. This was so well informed and was taught in such a way so as to be interesting. Thank you both for this!

Thank you for this series!

I love these videos on pens and inks, thank you!

this is a fantastic mini series on writing! thank you so so much!

Really digging this series

We are SO spoiled! I love your channel because it helps us appreciate the challenges our ancestors overcame & why innovation is so prized in some cultures. Thank you.

Just wonderful! Thanks so much for sharing this info! ❤️

I do a lot of homespun calligraphy videos on my You Tube channel. This series is very enlightening, love it so much! Thanks!

I just have to say I am *VERY* happy that you’re making these videos. Nowhere else online can I find people making ink to a high quality, using it with properly made utensils, and had it filmed in a high quality video. You guys have nailed it!

Really enjoyed watching these 2 episodes, historical and interesting, so intriguing to learn about it! Thanks for sharing these awesome videos.

Thank you once more for a wonderful look into the 18th century. Please continue the great work. Makes me want to dig a little deeper into the writing and the correspondence of this time period. I am off to do some research.

I just adore this channel. It’s cheerful and educational, it’s calming, and I know that when I come to watch I can get away from all the drama and horrible news of now for a minute and learn something of the past.

I have always been interested in this subject. Used a lot of ink pens to practice my writing skills. I get complemented on my penmanship all the time because of it. Love this series!

I love these videos my man. I'm doing a lot of self teaching when it comes to common life across many different eras. Very fascinating and allows for a lot of good bases for fictional world building.

I'm really enjoying these episodes. Would like to see more.

21st century Bilbo Baggins.. And I LOVE IT! You are what we need more of in this world. "If more of us valued food and song and cheer above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world."

Looove it! I'm an artist and, although I don't consider myself a prepper, I draw satisfaction from the fact that I might be able to keep pursuing my favourite pastime without the current supply chain. These videos (I also enjoyed the quill episode) have been lovely in that regard; please keep em coming! I'd love to see one on the types of "paper" (reed paper, wood, skin parchment, etc.) used in the period in which you specialize.

This channel is a wonderful time travel.

Looking forward to more on historical writing. Very cool!

Thank you for this informative video! I’ve wondered about alternative binders. Thank you for clearing that up!

I’ve been out mushroom hunting the past week, all this rain is really bringing a bumper harvest of beautiful chanterelles. I’ve seen a bunch of those round balls that grow on oak leaves but haven’t picked any, I think I’ll start and try to make ink.

Once again fine production good sir! I've experimented using walnut husk for making ink/dye in the past & knowing about the Iron2 substance would have been swell but, now I know. So again thanks for presenting this interesting topic from yesteryear in such a refined manner. Kudos & keep up the good work!

"Let's live dangerously John" This man has to be one of the most low-key charming presenters I've seen.

Fascinating . thank you 🌹

I became aware of your company way back in the before times, when I was apprenticed to a reenactor in a traveling troop of Voyageurs based in Indiana, and have really enjoyed how much you guys have grown, esp with your research & the sharing the knowledge.

This is so interesting! Thank you so much! ☺️

Thank you ao much for what you do! My family and i watch every one of your videos!

Very interesting and a great video. Thanks

Great topic and video!

A slightly more available ferro-tannin recipe would be to dissolve an untreated steel wool roll in vinegar (takes about two weeks) straining through a paper towel creating a ferro-acetate solution, then adding it to very strong tea or just write on a piece of oak. The DIY ferro-acetate is often used as a blackening agent for wood working projects without the addition of tea as most woods naturally contain the tannin required to complete the chemical reaction.