r/Wenwan

Got my favorite snakehead pair for more than a month already.

The first one caught up real quick.

Since I got better at cleaning walnuts, I wanna show some

And in better and more natural lighting.

I recently got a small bottle of walnut oil and decided to test it on one of my unfortunate pair of Four Towers walnuts. The Walnut is new and unused.

I started with about two drops of oil on my palm, then used a horsehair brush to pick up the oil and gently brush a very thin layer across the walnut’s surface. I didn’t want to overdo it, so I kept the application as light as possible.

It took roughly five hours for the oil to fully absorb into the walnut. The first thing I noticed was the color. It became noticeably deeper and richer, which I actually quite like.

However, there was a trade-off. After oiling, the walnut looked slightly duller and didn’t have the same natural shine it had before. (Unfortunately, I forgot to take a proper “before” photo, so I can’t make a perfect comparison).

The walnut also felt a little harder to the touch, and interestingly, the surface seemed more difficult to bring back to that smooth, shiny finish I had before oiling.

For now, I’m going to keep testing it over the next month and see where it goes. I’m especially curious to see how it compares to simply playing the walnuts normally and letting the natural oil from my hands slowly build up over time. The walnut oil seems to darken the surface much faster, but I’m wondering whether that faster change will eventually produce a quicker patina, or if the slower, natural process gives a nicer shine and character in the long run.

These are manchurian walnuts I found near my workplace. Has anyone ever tried playing with them? And will I get the same result with them??

Its been more than 6 months now since my first walnuts. So proud to see my shiny babies. To think I still see that damn hoarfrost in those tiny cracks though.

Wanted to try making my own wenwan bracelets. Got some dried bamboo from a park (with their permission) and turned it into beads. Didn’t have much, so the beads are a bit weird size-wise.

I’m planning on making more in the future, probably using peach and cherry pits. But if I can find more bamboo I’d love to make more of these

This is a small pair of Nanjiang stone walnuts, with a high-crown shape and deeply recessed bases. They may be small, but the shell density is excellent—they feel surprisingly heavy in the hand, and the grooves are extremely fine and deep. This is exactly the kind of Nanjiang stone I really like.

What’s worth mentioning is that this pair has what we call a “ginger-yellow skin.”

Many people think Nanjiang stones are generally slow to develop color, but that isn’t entirely true. Red-skinned and orange-skinned Nanjiang stones can actually color up quite quickly. It’s mainly the ginger-yellow ones that change very slowly. You could even say they may never truly turn red—they just become slightly more orange over time.

Photo 2 shows a red-skinned pair that I started playing with around the same time. You can clearly see how quickly the red skin has developed color. Photo 3 shows this ginger-yellow pair when I first got them three months ago. Compared with now, they have barely changed at all, apart from becoming a little shinier.

When many walnuts fail to turn red and instead develop a dull brown, sauce-like color, it is usually related to poor maturity. But ginger-yellow Nanjiang stones are different. They are not immature. Their color comes from the characteristics of the variety itself. These trees often grow in poor mountainous soil and unstable climates, and many of the walnuts naturally develop this ginger-yellow skin.

Most people play with walnuts expecting them to eventually turn red, but that expectation doesn’t really apply to ginger-yellow Nanjiang stones. With these, the enjoyment is more about the patina, the sheen, and the gradual wear that develops over time.

Personally, I think walnuts like these have a character of their own.

Im not sure if i like the feeling of these pingu wide ridges in my hand. so I’ve decided that these are going to be the last pair I decide to get a patina on. They look ver nice and big but they feel clunky in my hands and i have dropped them a couple times. They are nice, but not the right fit for me sadly

Ugly nanjiangshi hearts 33mm and wild mini qinling lanterns 32mm (which remind me of flower pods☺️). Received the hearts Sept 15th and the lanterns Sept 19th. I’m letting any stains/frost take care of itself, but roll and brush them regularly. I’m so drawn to playing with them…their skin quality and density feel is so soothing and the hand massage is wonderful :)