How do I stabilise/preserve birch bark ?

Kevin the grey · Jul 16, 2006

Hey guys . I harvested a real nice piece of birch bark About 12 inches wide and 26 inches in circumference . This is thick . About 1/8th of an inch . I just got it 3 hours ago and its already starting to curl backwards a fair amount . I put it in a very humid place unti I can make what I want .

How can I make it more supple ? I want to make a couple of dangler sheaths and the rest will become part of a quiver . If anybody has a pic or two on how to make simple birch bark sheaths that would be great .

Cliff Stamp · Jul 16, 2006

You can store it pressed flat, you can also warm it with steam or by putting in warm water if it has dried out too much.

-Cliff

Kevin the grey · Jul 16, 2006

Thanks Cliff . I thought once it had dried out that I couldn,t bring it back very much . I,m gonna wait and see if the guys have a couple of tips and designs for sheaths ,

Temper · Jul 17, 2006

Its great stuff, be sure to post pics when you have made something.

Kevin the grey · Jul 17, 2006

The warm water isn,t working . If anything it is curling and hardening up more .
I cut the piece to the size of a simple sheath design I saw and put it in a tub of warm water . It is curling up with the outside on the inside . HELP >>L:O:L

(ADDED LATER ) I googled up dampening it and then using a hot stove element or a fire .

I have also read of parrafin oil to soften it . I imagine parrafin oil would be liquid parrafin ?

littleknife · Jul 17, 2006

Kevin the grey said:
I have also read of parrafin oil to soften it . I imagine parrafin oil would be liquid parrafin ?

Paraffin oil is called MINERAL OIL here in the US, and yes, its Pharmacological Latin name is Paraffinum liquidum, i.e. liquid paraffin in English.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mineral_oil

http://www.arb.ca.gov/db/solvents/solvent_pages/Hydrocarbon-HTML/Mineral_Oil.htm

mewolf1 · Jul 17, 2006

Kevin the grey · Jul 18, 2006

mewolf1 said:

First off . Littleknife thanks for the good news . I just happened to acquire a small bottle to condition some buffalo horn . I,ll try it on a small piece soon .

Mewolf 1 . when I saw the first pic I was scared . I thought that was the finished product . L:O:L
Great job you did there . What did you use to trim it down with ?
Did you treat it in any way before after or during ?

Wicked looking blade too . Is that a Schrade ?

mewolf1 · Jul 18, 2006

Just cut squares then screwed it tight and carved it with another knife til it was shaped how I wanted it, then sanded it to finnish. Oiled it to give it a nice rich color. I wish it was my idea,but the Finns have used this method for a long time on thier Pukkos. No treatment before or during. The blade is an Olsen skinner from Solingen Germany. The Birch makes for a warm non slip grip and I intend to do many more knives I have that need new handles.