DIY Dyo
I was reading through some kitvei yad of Rav Haim Vital ZTzUK"L and found this recipe for Dyo. My own comments are in (parentheses like this):
To make a very good ink- Take rain water and put into it very finely ground Afatzim(gallnut powder) and boil it a bit. Then remove the afatzim, take the water and put into it Gum Arabic and Roman Vitriol(called Kankantum in the Shulhan Arukh, specifically it is copper sulfate) as you desire and boil them. When it turns black remove it from the heat and strain it through a linen garment(a coffee filter will work just as well, or any other fine non-reactive filter) and leave it exposed to the air for a single night, and then place it in the sun and it will be a very good ink. Once reduces you can add water and mix it with a wooden sliver.
For those who want the original Hebrew:
To make a very good ink- Take rain water and put into it very finely ground Afatzim(gallnut powder) and boil it a bit. Then remove the afatzim, take the water and put into it Gum Arabic and Roman Vitriol(called Kankantum in the Shulhan Arukh, specifically it is copper sulfate) as you desire and boil them. When it turns black remove it from the heat and strain it through a linen garment(a coffee filter will work just as well, or any other fine non-reactive filter) and leave it exposed to the air for a single night, and then place it in the sun and it will be a very good ink. Once reduces you can add water and mix it with a wooden sliver.
For those who want the original Hebrew:
לעשות דיו טוב מאוד מאוד. קח מי גשמים ושים בתוכן העפצים כתושים דק דק והרתיחם מעט והסר העפצים וקח המים ושים תוכם גומא ארביקא וויטריאול רומאנו כפי רצונך והרתיחם וכשישחירו תסיר מעל האש ותסנן בבגד פשתן והניחם לילה א' במקום מגולה וביום הניחם בשמש ויהיה דיו טוב מאד מאד. וכשיחסר תוכל להוסיף בו מים ותערב עם קיסם עץ,
It would be interesting to see the original.
ReplyDeleteBTW if it says "...וכשיחסר תוכל להוסיף בו מים", it should translate "Once it has reduced you can add water.." or similar, not "Once it has turn black you can add water...".
You are correct...
Deleteקנקנתום is actually iron sulfate not copper sulfate: http://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%93%D7%99%D7%95_%D7%A1%D7%AA%22%D7%9D#.D7.A7.D7.A0.D7.A7.D7.A0.D7.AA.D7.95.D7.9D
ReplyDelete