r/WenwanHub

I have had these walnuts for a couple of hours and realized I don't have any brushes. What should I use instead to help start me off on the right path? (I have some metal brushes from 3d printing)

In China, there are countless old/antique Wenwan walnuts that are several decades old or even over a hundred years old. However, if you have seen and handled enough of them, you will understand that not every pair of walnuts is beautiful. Not every pair can develop those desirable colors such as dark crimson red, jujube red, or a jade-like tone. And not every old pair of walnuts will produce a sound as clear and resonant as metal when tapped. What kind of antique walnut that dealers/pro collectors/experts really seeking for, and love to pay more to bring it back for resell, what kind of walnut they will pass and leave it with the owner, what kind of antique walnut be able to go to auction house. Therefore, the foundation of all these qualities is the walnut itself — more specifically, the quality of its shell. The shell must be exceptionally good, with high density, rich oil content, and the proper thickness. It is just like preparing a fine dish: the first and most important requirement is that the ingredients themselves must be fresh and of excellent quality.

1, there is always the possibility of finding a better shell, so please do not assume that this pair or single has the absolute best of best shell quality. Walnut tree owners and walnut dealers are constantly searching for walnuts with superior shell characteristics, because finding better-quality shells is always their goal. Same idea with the old/antique walnuts. 

2, when evaluating shell quality and condition online (which is popular today, including in the Chinese market), you need to have proper STANDARD for high-resolution product photos. Most buyers will not travel to Laishui County or personally inspect walnuts under the trees where they grow. Therefore, accurate photos are essential. The photos should ideally be taken under natural daylight (sunny or cloudy conditions), indoor white LED lighting, and include close-up shots showing detailed surface features. You cannot accurately judge shell quality from photos taken under tungsten lighting, heavy shade, bad exposure, random cell phone photos, colored lighting, mixed light sources, blurry conditions, AI pics, Photoshoped ads pics, or from pictures taken too far away. Even a quick change of focus can alter the lighting conditions, which is why you may see a white background appearing bluish or yellowish in different photos. For this reason, camera/phone with properly corrected white balance are necessary for a reliable evaluation. 

3. In general, a reddish-brown (tiny purple, orange, pink) shell with a slight layer of white "fog" or natural patina around the surface is often considered a sign of better shell quality. Walnuts with the better shell sometimes showing a bit oil/transparent spot on top of the grooves, rather than some are showing entirely dry yellow/yellow brown. (dealers/tree owners usually peeled off some walnuts to examine the shell quality around late Jun to late Jul) 

4. Many walnuts are also treated during the post-harvest cleaning process using methods such as Hydrogen Peroxide soaking or micro sandblasting to polish the shell surface. This is not to say that these methods are always unacceptable. However, in many cases they can affect the natural quality of the shell or make walnuts with inherently inferior shell quality appear better than they actually are. For this reason, they should be viewed with caution. If you come across a pair of walnuts that appears exceptionally clean, it has usually been processed using one of these methods. There are, however, a small number of nice cases where the shells have been cleaned and prepared entirely by real hand cleaning.

5. Every variety has its own standard for top shell quality. However, some varieties naturally develop deeper red tones than others, such as Millstone and Ping Guo Yuan, etc. Therefore, each walnut should always be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

I’m pretty new to wenwan and hoping to learn more about brushing.

Right now I have a pair of deep-ridged walnuts. The raised areas that come into contact with my hands are starting to get shiny, but the deeper grooves are still pretty dull since they don’t get much friction. From what I understand, brushing is supposed to help even this out and polish the areas your hands can’t reach.

I’m currently using a boar-hair brush, but I’m wondering if it might be too soft to actually polish the grooves effectively. Is boar hair enough and I just need to give it more time, or should I be using a stiffer brush?

I also bought a nylon brush that was advertised as a “Nylon Stripper & Grout Brush.” Would nylon be safe to use on wenwan walnuts, or is there a risk that a brush like that could scratch or damage the surface?

Also, is there any point in brushing before you’ve played with the walnuts that session? If there aren’t really any oils from your hands to spread around yet, does brushing still help with polishing or developing the surface?