About OAKGALL
A small workshop of pens, ink and paper, named after the oak gall that gave the world its oldest black ink.
Why oak galls
Iron-gall ink was made from oak galls for centuries. Galls are rich in tannin. Steep them, add iron salts and a little gum, and you get an ink that goes on pale and turns black as it meets the air.
It was the standard writing ink of Europe from the Middle Ages until the twentieth century. It is why old manuscripts are brown-black and why they are still legible.
The name is a reminder that ink and paper are one thing. The colour you see is what the ink did inside the paper.
Read this first
A demo brand
OAKGALL is not a real company. There is no workshop, no warehouse and nothing to ship. The pens, inks and papers, the people who make them and the prices are invented.
The desk is real. OAKGALL was made by the studio Frustum to show what real-time software can do in a browser tab: a page you write on with your finger, where ink behaves like ink, on a phone, with nothing to install.
If you want something like this for your own product, Frustum builds it. frustum.me · info@frustum.me
How we work
Few things, well
Three pens, five inks, three papers. We would rather make eleven things that go together than a hundred that do not.
Try before you buy
Every pen, ink and paper is on the desk. Write with them before you put anything in your bag.
Plain care
Everything we make cleans with water and keeps for years. No special kits.
Questions
Can I really buy these?
No. OAKGALL is a demo brand and this is a demo shop. You can fill a bag and go through checkout, but nothing is charged and nothing is sent.
Which pen should I start with?
The Ferrule in F. It writes on every paper, with every ink, and asks nothing of you.
Is Gall Black safe for my pen?
Yes, if you clean the pen. Iron-gall ink is acidic; flush the pen with water once a month and before you put it away.
Why does my ink look different on each paper?
Because paper decides as much as ink does. Cotton pulls ink in and spreads it; coated paper keeps it on top; thin paper lets it through. The Ink Lab shows all three at once.
Why is the line wet for so long on Glaze?
The coating does not absorb. Ink dries only by evaporating. Wait a moment, or blot.
What happens to the letters I send?
Nothing. A letter lives only in its link. We never see it and keep no copy.