Birch Bark Knife Handle

[@mikeherstik]

Excellent Instructional videos always seem much more effective without boring lengthy verbal explanations.

[@jimdillon4278]

Glad you liked it

[@suecollins3246]

Came off beautifully! Look at that lovely golden colour!

[@jimdillon4278]

Thank you! I intend to handle a batch of 4 knives this summer, looking forward to that. This material is lovely to the eye, and just as friendly to the hand!

[@DaleHodgkins0n]

Beautiful work and a superb result. Top craftsmanship.

[@Yellowjacket-n7q]

I really learned a lot from this video, thank you!!

[@jimdillon4278]

Thanks!

[@bkup1332]

It's really interesting, like making a block of wood out of pieces as opposed to making pieces out of a block of wood. Pretty cool.

[@fishingingermany6977]

awesome work, in the process of trying my first stacked birch bark handle and good to see as many techniques possible

[@jimdillon4278]

Thanks! I hope you enjoy working with the bark as much as I do. A wonderful, friendly material.

[@fishingingermany6977]

@@jimdillon4278 yes it's amazing, just wish I would have harvested more before it got cold here, still have the handle to make pieces for and ran out of bark

[@Otis010707]

Stunning work Jim!

[@jimdillon4278]

Thank you!

[@vickywood3179]

That knife is really beautiful i have tried some of those handles in the past

[@jimdillon4278]

Thanks!

[@robg109]

Going to try one of these. That birch bark came off easy. Always struggled in the past

[@jimdillon4278]

It's all about time of year. Late spring and early summer, it almost jumps off the tree when you cut it. So enjoyable!

[@robg109]

@@jimdillon4278 I will try this year. Maybe different regions affect it. Maybe different species of birch too.

[@georgegordonbrown9522]

@@robg109 What time of the year did you try to harvest bark? What is your geographic location (south-north?) Both play a role.

[@robg109]

@@georgegordonbrown9522 tried at various times. I'm in North West England. Your message reminded me to try again

[@machinenutdel6764]

Most enjoyable Jim !

[@markteaney8381]

Please tell me you did something with that birch wood you took the bark off of. Great handle 😊

[@jimdillon4278]

No worries there! some became spoons and some became firewood.

[@KuukkeliBushcraft]

Really awesome video mate. I have been wondering about the proper way to go about doing this (the oven). Just wish I had such a tidy well equipped workshop.

[@jimdillon4278]

Thank you! Just give it a go, worst that can happen is you have to start over with what you've learned by messing up!

[@KuukkeliBushcraft]

@@jimdillon4278 great advice, thanks.

[@scottthorpe6250]

My difficulty is in cutting the rectangular slot for the brass ends. The knife is less than 1/8” thick, and no file will fit into the slot to finish it.

[@jimdillon4278]

That is ticklish indeed. In that situation all I can think of would be to make an oversized hole, but make it neatly, and then fill it either with wooden shims or epoxy (or a combination) when the blade is installed. I have seen Charles Huchette do this with beautifully fitted wooden pegs on either side of the blade. Quite lovely. You can see his work on Instagram, where his handle is @charleshuchette.

[@sergi612tlt]

Здравствуйте. Сточите с одной стороны напильник до толщины чуть меньше чем ваш клинок и подгоните отверстие без зазоров. Будьте здоровы 😊. Я так подгонял кухонные клинки толщиной всего 1мм

[@calvinmondrago7397]

Beautiful!

[@jimdillon4278]

Thank you!

[@urbaniteproductions.4391]

Does putting the whole thing in the oven not soften the blade steel?

[@jimdillon4278]

No. Please note that the temperature shown is Fahrenheit, not Centigrade. The blade isn't even taken up to the boiling point of water. Thanks for your question!

[@Anabsurdsuggestion]

Excellent

[@jimdillon4278]

Thanks!

[@tango-bravo]

Great video. How do you get the bark off so easily? Had the tree been on the ground a certain amount of time? Time of year? I live in central PA I’d like to try this some day. Thanks.

[@jimdillon4278]

In late spring and early summer, the sap is running hard through the space between the wood and the bark. That's when it peels easily. Now would be a good time to try, on living trees. Just make two intersecting knife cuts and see if you can lift the bark. This works with paper birch, I haven't done it with yellow birch or black (river) birch, so don't know about them. Try it out, good luck!

[@philochristos]

Nice knife.

[@dougsmith548]

That is a real labour intensive handle. It looks beautiful. What does it feel like? Take care be safe. 🇨🇦

[@jimdillon4278]

It feels like a cross between cork and leather. The best knife handle I've ever used. Thanks for watching!

[@АйдарРежик]

Приветствую, а почему больстер до плечей клинка не всадили? Люблю берестяные рукояти.

[@jimdillon4278]

Good eye! The back corner of that blade doesn't have a notch, so I left some clearance to allow sharpening of the whole length of the blade.

[@1956arc]

Jim, I just saw video. Great job! I have a dead birch tree. Do you know if this bark would work for this? After you peel the bark from a fresh tree how long will it keep?

[@jimdillon4278]

Hi Jeff! I don't know the answer. First, is the species right? This works with paper (white) birch - - Betula papyrifera. I don't know whether it works with any of the other birches. Second, the bark only peels this easily while the sap is running vigorously. So the tree needs to be alive for it to peel the way you see in the video. One possibility that occurs to me is that with paper birch, the wood rots far more quickly than the bark. I don't know if enough of the "tar" remains in the bark after the wood rots away. But I have seen plenty of fallen birches in the woods where all that remains is a hollow cylinder of bark. So, go ahead and experiment, and learn what you can. One more note: I have some of this same bark in storage (from the same tree), and as of a year ago, it still was workable. So if the bark is harvested as shown here, and stored in a climate controlled environment, you have several years of workability. Hope this helps! Good luck.

[@ooyginyardel4835]

I wonder if bark from a cherry tree would yield similar results.

[@mikeherstik]

I don’t think so.

[@jimdillon4278]

I doubt it. But I don't know. I do know that young cherry, like under 4 inches in diameter or so, has bark with similar thickness to birch. Once the bark gets thicker I'm sure it wouldn't work this way. The thing that makes me think it's worth trying is the fact that cherry sometimes exudes aromatic resins from wounds.

[@matzabean]

I’ve made sheaths from cherry bark - it’s not quite as compliant and tends to have more voids, but it definitely works for sheaths.

[@HenryHobson-uc2bk]

did you peel the bark off a fresh cut green log?

[@jimdillon4278]

Yup! If the sap is flowing, the bark comes off easier than a banana peel.

[@robthompson1399]

What a stunning end result. Thank you for sharing the method. I have ordered 4x morakniv no1 blanks, I intend to handle them and give them as gifts to my work colleagues. I really did think that there would be glue in the process. But having watched the video, and read the comments, it seems that 2.5hrs at 200c under compression should do it. I assume that you need to add more bark squares as you compress ? Or do you start longer than the tang ? Also, is that tempiture okay for the heat treatment on the blade ? I always thought that if a blade is too hot to touch, the temper is ruined ? Thanks again, beautiful work 👏

[@jimdillon4278]

First, a warning: 200 degrees C will indeed ruin the temper of your knives! Don't do it! I'm in the U.S., and my oven is calibrated in Fahrenheit. 200 F is 93 C. Please don't ruin your knives because you've misunderstood this. Second, the amount that the birch bark compresses during the heating is very minimal, probably 4mm over the length of the handle, and I think that's due more to the bark straightening and flattening as it relaxes, rather than shrinkage. Having said all that, this is a great project that gives great results, and I hope you enjoy yourself.

[@robthompson1399]

@@jimdillon4278 thank you very much for your advice. We'll noted, thanks 👍

[@everready19373]

Your ruler should be an inch wide. Just make a few vertical lines and then turn your ruler 90 and mark off each inch. Easy peasy.

[@jimdillon4278]

Lots of ways to speed up the process! If I were doing these on a regular basis, it would be worthwhile to buy or make a pair of strap cutters like leather workers use, one set to each width I used in this project. Actually, that might make a good future project. Thanks for nudging me!

[@charliebowen5071]

You also need to alternate the grain on alternative pieces

[@jimdillon4278]

You're right. I did.

[@georgegordonbrown9522]

Charlei : He´s indicated that in the video for those with open eyes.

[@suecollins3246]

He _did_ . Trouble is you were too busy posting Know-It-All comments and you missed it. Does it really give you a marvellous feeling of superiority to constantly criticise other people's efforts?

[@janmorse2162]

So, except for pressure, birch tar is the only thing holding the bark together? Make another video please!

[@jimdillon4278]

Yes, that's right. Peening the end of the tang helps squeeze the handle together as well. I'll have another video project up fairly soon!

[@normann4016]

well done !

[@jimdillon4278]

Thanks!

[@ВадимКузнецов-з2й]

...я то-же делаю наборные рукоятки из кожи,из листовой пробки, и из бересты-, берёзовой коры!-, молодец мастер, здоровья тебе и удачи во всём, новых творческих успехов 👍👍👍😜🤭😉🤔👏🔪🗡️⚔️⚙️🛠️🔥🤫🇷🇺👈🤓!!!

[@jimdillon4278]

Thanks!

[@tommasopandolfi1750]

What's it called when you hammer the tang down like that? Does it have a name? Also can I hammer the tang down on just plain wood without it splitting or getting damaged or do I need something harder to hammer it on (like brass or some other metal)?

[@jimdillon4278]

It's called "peening." Sometimes it's spelled "peining." You use a ball peen hammer to do it. The end of the tang should NOT be hardened like the edge of the knife, it should be annealed and soft. Sometimes on a cheap kitchen knife you will see the tang has just been bent over across the wood to hold it in place, instead of peening. I guess you could peen on wood, but having a bit of metal there makes a more durable bond. The piece of brass in my video is technically functioning as a rivet. You can look up all these terms elsewhere to get a better idea of how they work and how to do them. (peen, ball peen hammer, anneal, rivet) The key thing is to try these things out and see how they work - - - preferably in low-stakes situations. Enjoy!

[@tommasopandolfi1750]

Jim Dillon cheers pal, much appreciated

[@djabba9739]

Jim, really great video here. I appreciate it a lot as I'm about to embark on my first stacked bark handle. Many questions come to mind after watching your process, but here are two: 1. Did you glue the birch to either of the brass bolsters? Or is it just 'baked and peened'? 2. I was wondering how to get heat/pressure evenly across the square stack, or if get 'enough' pressure from the tightening process. Thanks for sharing!

[@jimdillon4278]

1) No, no glue between bark and brass bolsters. 2) The heat evens out because the handle and clamp assembly spent about 2-1/2 hours in the oven. I hope you have success with yours, that handle has stood up to use very well.

[@robertrobert7924]

Birch bark is such wonderful material with so many uses. Does the natural resin in the bark act as a glue between each layer?

[@jimdillon4278]

@@robertrobert7924 Yep, it melts in the oven and merges with the layers of bark next to it. This knife is still going strong 3 years later!

[@juhanaliesjarvi9139]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/eH3RoqVsfqyJndU traditional finnish way of making knife

[@pavelveselov4349]

Как для обычного инструмента так норм.

[@jprezemexi]

awesome build.. what did you do with that birch log that you took the bark from? that would have made for a awesome handle too.. great job with the vid!

[@jimdillon4278]

Thanks! The log became spoons. I love birch!

[@aisforrebel9310]

8:20 I hope that one day I can trust someone like his fingers/hammer...

[@jimdillon4278]

A relationship like that takes work!

[@aisforrebel9310]

Great video by the way Jim, I'll be using this video as my guide after watching dozens of them.

[@Marcdrichter]

Wow! Where did you ever get that idea?! That said, is it only the pressure and the linseed oil that keep it together? No glue???? It has not frayed on the edges????

[@jimdillon4278]

Hi! This style of handle is a Scandinavian tradition that goes way, way back. When you heat the bark, it "sweats" a tar-like substance, which is the only adhesive on the bark part of the handle. The linseed oil is really just there to give a little protection from dirt & grime. The knife still looks like new after about 6 months of use, and I expect it will last for years. Like many good knives and axes, I hope this one outlasts several handles!

[@timothylongmore7325]

I made a handle for a hachet and glued up 1" stacks , clamped , then drill and stacked them. the handle was curved so this was how I did it. At the time I only saw a couple videos on the subject. My handle had something like 120 sheets of bark too so heat and pressure would have been tricky at best. Handle turned out great by the way.

[@tassu6700]

Finnish knife style, called tuohikahva.

[@Pjotr1982]

Which glue can i use on birch handle?

[@jimdillon4278]

As far as I know, any glue that works on wood will work on birch bark. I have used PVA (like Titebond or Elmer's) and epoxy with good results. The handle in this video is held together only with the natural birch tar which is softened by the heat, then sets as the handle cooled. That handle is still in perfect shape as of last night, when I used the knife for a couple trimming tasks.

[@FeitePetter]

How long do you let the birch bark rest after being in the oven? Does it take long to harden?

[@jimdillon4278]

As far as I can tell, this is a thermoplastic process, so as soon as the bark cools, it has set. I can also add that, over a year later, the knife is still in great shape.

[@josealexandercastelblancop8704]

Hola saludos desde Colombia! Tu me puedes decir que árbol es ése? Como se llama el árbol? Gracias

[@jimdillon4278]

El árbol se llama abedul blanco o abedul de papel. El nombre botánico es Betula papyrifera.

[@josealexandercastelblancop8704]

@@jimdillon4278 hola! es genial!!! No creo que en colombia exista esa clase de árbol. .. Pero la verdad me encanta. Te envío un abrazo desde colombia

[@jimdillon4278]

@@josealexandercastelblancop8704 Gracias!

[@patriciusvunkempen102]

in which time of the year the bark shoud be harvested?

[@jimdillon4278]

Late spring through mid summer. If you test a small patch on the tree you'll know right away whether it will peel.

[@НожисвоимирукамиВгараже]

Good 👍👍👍

[@jimdillon4278]

Thank you very much!

[@martinblouin3639]

you dont use glue at all?

[@jimdillon4278]

No. I made one with no glue and one with epoxy. I prefer the texture of the one without epoxy, that is, the birch tar and the peened tang is all that holds it together. After one year, both knives are still in excellent shape.

[@georgegordonbrown9522]

Blouin Glue? What for ?

[@ppointerman]

Trabalho magnifico , exelente

[@jimdillon4278]

Thank you!

[@charliebowen5071]

The blade should seat deeper in the guard

[@jimdillon4278]

The gap/notch allows me to sharpen without messing up the bolster.

[@georgegordonbrown9522]

Charlie How would you know? Is it regulated somewhere?

[@charliebowen5071]

@@georgegordonbrown9522 I would know as I'm a knife maker and I live in Finland.. I have more than 550 birch bark handle puuko and leuku.... so yeah I do know.. it is regulated yeah as in any user of birch bark handled traditional knives would give you this back and say there is a problem.... so yeah I know.

[@sergi612tlt]

Сделать брусок из бересты, а потом просверлить под клинок отверстие гораздо проще, да и металл при 200 градусах скорее всего отпустился.

[@jimdillon4278]

Thanks for the idea. I have been thinking about trying one that way - - - I have a blade with a tang too short to go all the way through the handle. Cheers!

[@sergi612tlt]

@@jimdillon4278 для бруска бересты обязательно нужно насквозь делать , иначе лопнет между пластинок . А клинок можно удлинить с помощью шпильки, просверлить закаленый металл можно сверлами по кафелю, наконечник там из твердого сплава.

[@jimdillon4278]

@@sergi612tlt Good advice. Thanks!

[@georgegordonbrown9522]

Sergey 200 gradusov chego?

[@sergi612tlt]

@@georgegordonbrown9522 Цельсия

[@connermonier8669]

Thousands of lifetime projects with Woodglut plans.

[@charliebowen5071]

You retempered the blade by putting it in the oven

[@jimdillon4278]

The oven temperature for softening the birch tar is well below the tempering temperature. I've used that knife ever since making the video and it's plenty hard.

[@charliebowen5071]

@@jimdillon4278 you showed 200. It was tempered again

[@jimdillon4278]

@@charliebowen5071 200 Fahrenheit, not Centigrade. Look at a tempering temperature chart for O1 steel and you'll see I stayed well below anything that would mess with the temper. And again, I've used the knife alongside my other knives & woodworking tools for nearly 3 years now, and I would know if it's gone soft.

[@georgegordonbrown9522]

@@jimdillon4278 I admire your patience. This is the first english language video I found showing the correct way of putting together a birch bark handle and here come all the epoxy experts and heat treatment expert not even able to distinguish between Fahrenheit and celsius. It´s not even funny.

[@xilefincredible1074]

You sharpened the knife wrong if you want to get it sharp

[@leifforrest]

Kustaa Lammi would be proud! kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z3fEkpumqKaUbM0

[@jimdillon4278]

I love that film! Thanks, truly thanks, but I know I'm not in that league.

[@charliebowen5071]

Your sharpening technique is not good.... always edge towards the stone

[@georgegordonbrown9522]

Bowen U are all over the place. With advice no one asked for.

[@Викторкурлов-ш3м]

зачем показывать свою тупость на весь мир