Birch Bark

[W.Polensky]

After reading Bergman's book on knifemaking, I'm interested in using birch bark for a knife handle. There's not a lot of birch around here, but I found a website (http://www.barkcanoe.com/materials.htm) for a place that sells bark for making furniture and canoes.

Question is, how do you work with birch bark? Does it stay flexible, or do you need to do something to keep it workable? Do you need to sand it or something to get rid of the naturally uneven surface?

Thanks,
Warren

[arcanum]

There's a tutorial on Brisa's website about making stacked leather or bark handles. You can also order birch bark pieces under the "Handle Materials" subsection of the same site, though your source may be cheaper in bulk.

I think Bergman says to peel off the white outer bark and to just use the spongy pith underneath, and the flexibility depends on the moisture content (and therefore the age) of the bark -- I bought some seasoned birch logs to use as firewood and tried to no avail to harvest the bark.

[Stew]

There's a tutorial on Brisa's website about making stacked leather or bark handles.

That tutorial was originally written here:

http://www.britishblades.com/forums/...ad.php?t=13253



This is worth a look too:

http://www.britishblades.com/forums/...ead.php?t=2688

[EdgePal]

Birch bark is harder then antler…

When you have a knife handle who is made of antler and birch bark between the pieces of antler, after some years of using, the antler is going to be smaller but the birch bark have still its size. The birch bark makes ridges on the handle. It is amazing. A soft material is stronger then the hard material.

This is a good function for knifes used for hunting. When the handle is full of blood from the animal and “slippery”, the birch bark pieces made the handle not slippery at all, it stays perfectly in your hand. The antler pieces gets slippery, not the birch bark pieces.
Take birch bark from the birch during spring. Put the birch bark in running water during press of a stone (or something) and let it be there during the summer. Take it up and clean of the white stuff, let dry one week in your workshop and start the work.

Thomas

[W.Polensky]

Thanks, Thomas. Even if I can't find any birch trees willing to donate their bark, it sounds like the same process would work with bark bought from a supplier.

Warren

[narsil]

There's a tutorial on Brisa's website about making stacked leather or bark handles. You can also order birch bark pieces under the "Handle Materials" subsection of the same site, though your source may be cheaper in bulk.

I think Bergman says to peel off the white outer bark and to just use the spongy pith underneath, and the flexibility depends on the moisture content (and therefore the age) of the bark -- I bought some seasoned birch logs to use as firewood and tried to no avail to harvest the bark.

If you get birch logs for firewood (and very good it is too) then its well worth peeling off any of the papery outer bark that there is as is makes excellent tinder.