You’ve got to watch your head walking around here in October as the black walnut trees drop their heavy fruits. A walk is accompanied by a chorus of soft plinks and solid thunks. The plinks are acorns, the thunks are walnuts.
This year a slender walnut tree that lives among the brambles and brush at the edge of our backyard produced nuts for the first time. I sketched it two years ago (above). I decided to celebrate the rite of passage this year by gathering the nuts, along with those from other nearby trees, to eat through the winter like the squirrels. I also made some stain/dye from the husks (the drupes).
The slideshow below goes through the basic stages of the process I used, based on input from my walnut-experienced neighbor, Jerry.
I gathered the walnuts from the ground over several different days. A bucket full was a good batch size each time. 
I spilled them out on the ground next to my old tamper. 
And I tamped them to loosen the husks. No need to worry about breaking the nut shells within on the forgiving earth. 
Wearing rubber gloves, I separated the husks from the nuts. Some of the husks went into a bucket along with some water. I left that for a few days and stirred it around a bit. The dark brown liquid is a powerful stain and dye that requires no mordant. I later preserved some of it by boiling it over a campfire, then straining it into a jar to which I added some rubbing alcohol. Back to the stain later… 
The walnuts went into a washtub where I sprayed them with a hose and stirred them around to get rid of the rest of the dark husk bits. Floaters got tossed. Then I put them in a wire mesh container (squirrel proof) to dry in the sun and breeze. They’ve been drying for a couple weeks now, but longer is even better. They’ll keep for over a year in the shell. 
Don’t even bother with a typical nut cracker. A hammer will work, but a vise offers a little more control. 
Keep turning and suddenly…CRACK! 
There’s the nutmeat in the foreground and the very hard shell remnants in the back. It’s probably clear that these aren’t the English (aka Persian) Walnuts commonly sold and eaten. These have stronger flavor and a much harder shell. Still, the squirrels gnaw right through, no vise required.
I’ve got a good bunch drying in their shells, so it might be a good opportunity for a nutting party, a tradition described by Donald Culross Peattie in his book A Natural History of Trees. In 1948 he wrote:
In a more innocent age nutting parties were the most highly prized of children’s festivities in autumn, throughout the eastern forest belt, and though butternut and hickory nut, hazelnut, chestnut and chinquapin, and even beechnut and kingnut were gathered, walnut was the favorite. The charm of the nutting party, of course, did not depend solely on the subsequent pleasure of cracking the rough shell and extracting the delicious, oily sweet kernel from its intricate walls. It derived much from the tingling autumn airs, the flaming forest leaves, the wild telegraphing calls of the crows, and the shouts and games of the other children.
As for the brown brew in the yellow bucket… I used some of that natural stain on the body of a shrink pot. More on that possibly tomorrow, when I plan to post three new shrink pots for sale.
And one final note for this post with some exciting news from Jeff Lefkowitz. First, Jeff will be joining me and the other presenters/demonstrators at Handtool Haven in May. I’m looking forward to finally meeting Jeff in person. He’s a woodworker, chairmaker, teacher, graphic designer, and more. He did all of the digital rendering on my Bowl Horse plans and has worked his magic with all sorts of plans for other folks, as many of you will already know.
Now, Jeff has made plans available for the Lefkowitz Shave Horse, a design that’s easy to build from readily available construction lumber and hardware. So, if you’re ready for some chair making, check it out here at Jeff’s website.
David Fisher, Carving Explorations 
Dave,
We have about a dozen black walnut trees on our property. Two grow on either side of the hay barn. The barn has a tin roof. I hate being in the barn, this time of year because when a walnut hits the roof, it sounds like a bomb inside the barn.
As for cracking black walnuts, I’m not coming to your party. I like you and all, but not that much.
Jay
LikeLiked by 1 person
I can imagine the sound in the barn, Jay! Thanks for sharing the story.
A test of friendship: “Want to come over and crack walnuts?!”
LikeLike
My grandfather had black walnut trees and I have fond memories of visits and finding him in his basement workshop sitting at the vise, cracking and picking the walnuts.
Really enjoy the cultural history and all the trees teach us.
Thank you for this one.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for sharing that lovely memory, Phil.
LikeLike
We don’t get much walnut here on the west coast, but we’re getting into storm season so spoon and bowl material will be falling. I finished my bowl horse from your/Jeff’s plans last night, and it’s so much more fun to use than my previous “things awkwardly held in a bench vise” setup! I’m looking forward to a winter of carving – thanks for sharing your designs!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Glad to hear it! Thanks.
LikeLike
Hi Dave,
A few years ago we were visiting friends in Maine from Alaska. We got lost on the way to their house–Google sent us down a dead-end road. So we pulled off the road into someone’s driveway to check our map. All of a sudden, they started shooting at us, or so we thought. It was the oak tree at the corner of their drive dropping acorns on our rental car. We don’t have oak trees in Alaska.
Best to you and thanks for showing us your beautiful work!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Ha! Love that story! Thanks.
LikeLike
Dave,
My Dad loved harvesting black walnuts. He spent hours in the garage picking the nuts. After I left home and I would stop by to see Dad and Mom I could tell by his hands when was prepping walnuts for Mom. When Dad was still alive Mom would bake her special banana cake with black walnuts and banana icing for my birthday in June. What treat. The banana cake recipe was handed down from my Dad’s aunt. The black walnuts in the banana cake and probably a couple of pounds of butter in the icing were the key. My siblings and I still make the banana cake but it is not the same without the love Dad and Mom put into. Here is West Virginia we have plenty of black walnuts! Thanks for the memory of Dad and Mom.
Pat
LikeLiked by 1 person
It has been so great to hear all of these memories. Thanks for sharing this one.
I wore the rubber gloves during processing to avoid the stained hands lasting a couple weeks, but hearing your story makes me think of the stains in a new light.
LikeLike
nice post–nutting party section fun–
LikeLiked by 1 person
Pingback: Three Shrink Pots | David Fisher, Carving Explorations