I planted an inkberry bush in my yard because I love the name, and it is a native plant. Inkberry bushes have been around the East End of Long Island for centuries. A gardening friend told me colonists used them for making ink – and that the Declaration of Independence was written using this ink, which is also called “pokeberry ink.” Looking at the berries, at this point I can’t tell if the ink would be black, or a purplish-black. I would love to try to make my own ink. 
If anyone could point me towards a good recipe for making ink from inkberries I would much appreciate it. I know some weavers make dyes from natural ingredients, but I don’t know if the process for making dye is the same thing as making ink.
7 Comments
Brian Goulet
I don’t know the first thing about making ink from berries, but I would be willing to bet that you will need to use it with a dip pen….I can’t imagine trying to get the right flow to use it in a fountain pen. A dip pen will be much more forgiving. I would say as a test, just grab some berries, remove the skins if you can, and crush them up into an ink-like state!
LM
There’s a thread on FPN: http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/120765-making-fermented-pokeberry-ink/ – hope it helps.
John
Found this:
http://www.ehow.com/how_2100590_make-berry-ink-calligraphy.html?ref=Track2&utm_source=ask
Maggie
Here are some ideas.
http://www.ehow.com/how_2100590_make-berry-ink-calligraphy.html
http://www.ehow.com/how_2145428_make-calligraphy-ink-from-beets.html
http://www.ehow.com/how_4493973_create-ink.html
http://www.ehow.com/how_5917609_make-berry-ink-simplest-way.html
http://www.howtodothings.com/hobbies/how-to-make-ink
http://www.lifescript.com/Life/Timeout/Chill/Experiencing_History_How_To_Make_Ink.aspx
http://home.insightbb.com/~denevell_books/making_walnut_ink.htm
Karen
Thank you, everyone, for all your help and advice! I really appreciate it! Sometime in the future I’ll post some photos of making and writing with homemade ink. Of course, I hope no one from J. Herbin catches on to me! Thanks so much again.
Gini Cooper
The inkberry bush is different from poke, a wild weed that has clusters of dark purple berries at the end of stalks. Probably the berries on your bush will make a good ink like pokeberries would. Might be fun to make both inks to see how different they would be. My poke patch hasn’t come back this year – or else the deer have eaten the shoots. I’ll have to go looking for some. I like to cook it up in spring before the shoots become poisonous. It makes a great tonic. If I can find one, I’ll try doing ink out of the berries and will post pics. Won’t be till late summer though. Happy inking!
Raymond Harp
our inkberrybush is brown now