Dit Da Jow questions

[Piercinghammer]

Give this a try.



50% ethyl alcohol, 35% water and 15% Chinese rice vinegar.


Mike Biggie



http://akronkungfu.com/html/chinese_herbs.html

[IronWeasel]

Give this a try.



50% ethyl alcohol, 35% water and 15% Chinese rice vinegar.


Mike Biggie



http://akronkungfu.com/html/chinese_herbs.html

Be careful, though...most Lab/Pharm grade ethanol is denatured...that is an additive is put in to make it undrinkable. You may not want that substance in your Jow.

$0.02

[Chan Da-Wei]

Thanks for that.....

My Chinese mother n law found it somewhat amusing that I was going to attempt to make rice wine. She LHAO in fact and told me go buy some spirits as it would be a heck of a lot easier and 100% guaranteed to work.

Will go see a few chemists tomorrow to see if I can get non denatured ethanol...can see the look on the shopkeepers face already.

Cheers guys,
David

[GLW]

If you are wanting purely external use only from this, you can simply go to a chemical supply company and get the ethanol - listed as a solvent. It is available as 'mostly' ethanol - meaning it has about 1 or 2% methanol (ie wood alcohol) so it would NOT be potable (consumable).

Since a PROOF is 0.5%, mixing 50% of the ethanol and 50% water gives you basically a vodka equivalent. We have used this quite successfully. (after all, 100 proof whiskey is 50% alcohol, 49% water, and 1% flavoring/color/impurities)...

[Judge Pen]

Yeah, that's a tough one... indeed, as OTD has pointed out, a search of the forum will certainly return many threads where this issue has been discussed... even outright argued about. I believe it was PlumDragon who uses the rice wine freeze technique with good results. Seems like a lot of hassle to me, though. Although that's how you'd have to do it if no cheap vodka was available.

You may have different taxes for pure lab-grade ethanol. Try calling some chemistry supply houses to see what they can offer you. Though you might have to buy a 55 gallon drum of it

Outside of distilling your own or using isopropyl alcohol (not recommended) you can always try using vinegar. Do a thread search for that one, too... much debated but worth a try. The properties of the formula will likely be modified as a result of vinegar base, therefore I suggest you modify the ingredients to reflect the warm, astringent nature of the vinegar (also depends on which type you use). Avoid white vinegar straight, I'd say... the acidity is just plain too high.

good luck

herb ox

Although I've never made it myself, I prefer the vinegar cooked jow to the alcohol jow. I've found that the vinegar-made jow is faster acting and more typically effective then the alcohol.

Just my experience--nothing scientific.

[herb ox]

More effective using vinegar, eh? It doesn't surprise me especially if its for soothing the tendons. Gosh, maybe that's what I need for my knee...

Some say vinegar is not so good, though, as long term use may soften the bones from some sort of acid reaction with the calcium. 'least that's the theory.

As always, it comes down to chemistry. You gotta have the right balance of solvents to extract the active ingredients. It's a polar/nonpolar kinda thing, ya know?

cheers

herb ox

[Chan Da-Wei]

Thanks all for all the suggestions above.

I spent half a day going from Chemist to Chemist asking for 2 litres of (transparent) Ethanol. Strangely enough, none were prepared to sell such a large quantity to me. Might have something to do with the drug problem here in NZ.

I ended up managing to buy the Ethanol from an old client of mine. It has a very small % of Methanol in it to prevent ingestion. Only way of buying Ethanol over the counter in NZ.

Will only intending to use it for external use.

So I ended up using a mix of 50% water and 50% ethanol....over $100 cheaper than the vodka equivalent.

Pics attached....

[TenTigers]

I want to make an oil-based, dit da yao, which would be good fror more intensive massage. If I take my standard jow, and allow the alcohol to evaporate, what oil can I use to mix it with?
I am looking for an oil that won't go rancid, yet is not a petroleum product, as I am thinking that I don't want to absorb petroleum into the body.
Any ideas?

[taai gihk yahn]

I want to make an oil-based, dit da yao, which would be good fror more intensive massage. If I take my standard jow, and allow the alcohol to evaporate, what oil can I use to mix it with?
I am looking for an oil that won't go rancid, yet is not a petroleum product, as I am thinking that I don't want to absorb petroleum into the body.
Any ideas?

almond oil is excellent for the skin in general, and keeps in the fridge indefinitely once opened - maybe keep the two components separate and mix them just prior to application?

[PlumDragon]

The easiest approach is probably Olive Oil. It penetrates well and is obviously very common. Castor oil is cheap cheap and while its not very good oil or have very good penetration, it does linger around making it good for massage.

You could always go the rectified turpentine route; Ive been able to buy some at paint stores on the net for a reasonable price.

[Dale Dugas]

Olive Oil Pomice grade is the best oil to use.

Almond oil is too expensive.

To make Dit Da Yu( Dit Da Oil), you would have to boil the herbs in the oil. I usually grind them up and heat the oil and then add the herbs.

You have to watch it constantly as if it overheats it can catch fire.

PM me off forum and I can talk to you more about it.

[herb ox]

Sesame oil is the traditional base (that and pork fat)... heat the oil until it just begins to smoke then add the herbs and let them cook for awhile on low heat.

Filtering the oil is the hardest part, I think. I wound up just using a strainer and that got most of the big stuff out.

peace

herb ox

[Reverend Tap]

No idea on how well it would work as a dit da base, but the best oil I've ever seen for just absolutely never going rancid is coconut.

[ginosifu]

What you guys recommend to replace Tiger Bone for toughening the bone, skin, ligaments, etc etc? I know I can use pig bone but, I would like a none animal herb instead. What you guys use?

ginosifu

[Dale Dugas]

Gino,

You can add Du Zhong 60 grams to any formula to help strengthen the bones.

Many use a combo of Wu Jia Pi, Du Zhong, and Ba Ji Tian to help strengthen the bones, and the kidneys which rule the bones according to Chinese Medicine

Tiger Bone was used as they thought it had great levels of Qi from the tiger in it.

I do not use Tiger Bone but have used elk bone, bear bone, stallion bone, and other big animals.

You can take any bone, soak it in vinegar and then bake it on low heat for 4-6 hours. Break that up and you have a great substitute for tiger bone.