Thank You for Your Purchase
Thank you for your purchase of this Wenwen walnut pair. I hope you receive many years of joy and satisfaction from watching the patina gradually develop on their surface as you play with them.
For those who may be curious about the origins of these walnuts, they were grown in the mountains of Xingtai, Hebei, China.
Preparing Your Walnuts
Many people have asked me for tips on how to start prepping the walnuts. You will notice that there are remnants of the walnut flesh still embedded in the crevices of the walnut, particularly on the edges. You will need to brush these out before beginning to play with them.
Along the seams, there will be fibers somewhat similar to the stringy rind after peeling an orange. If you are able to grab one end of the fiber, you may be able to peel it out by hand, but some fibers will require vigorous brushing to fully remove.
For deeper crevices, you can use a slightly moistened toothpick to reach difficult areas and remove remaining skin.
Important Water Warning
The first thing I want to stress is to never rinse the walnuts directly under water. There is a high chance that during the drying process, the walnut may crack.
Sometimes a small amount of moisture can help remove stubborn flesh remnants. If you wish to try this, apply only a few drops of water to a toothbrush and spot-brush only the affected area.
You should be especially careful near the stem, because cracks occur most frequently in that area. Fortunately, areas near the stem are usually not very deep and can almost always be cleaned with a dry brush alone.
Brush Recommendations
Some people suggest using a metal wire brush in the beginning to remove the remaining flesh and the white layer commonly referred to as “hoar frost.”
In my personal opinion, while a wire brush may remove flesh more quickly, it does not remove the white frost very effectively due to the lower density of wire bristles. There is also the risk of applying too much pressure and scratching the walnut surface.
Instead, I have found that using a medium-hardness toothbrush works very well initially for removing flesh. Afterward, a high-density boar bristle brush or another relatively firm brush works well for removing the white frost layer.
About the “White Frost” Layer
If you are unfamiliar with the process of removing the white frost, it may initially feel like no matter how much you brush, it never comes off.
It will eventually come off — I promise. However, it may take a month or more for the layer to fully disappear.
From my experience, the key is not necessarily how hard you brush, but rather how consistently and how long you brush over time.