Ray Mears - How to make a container from birch bark, Bushcraft Survival

www.raymears.com
Ray Mears manufactures a traditional container using sheets of birch bark.
This clip was taken from the DVD extras of Ray Mears Bushcraft Survival Series 2.

[@edro3838]

Nice to listen to a craftsman explain his technique using proper English. No wasted words, stall tactics, just pleasant well spoken English. I admire the talent!

[@Alabaster245]

I've learned a lot from watching Ray. In our country you are presented with a picture of a rough tuff guy who can and should kick ass to proved his manhood. With Ray you have an extremely polite well mannered man that is truly amazing at what he has chosen to do. Young men from around the world could learn much from watching him. I like his style..

[@debbiehenri345]

When I finally cut down my old Birch tree for firewood (don't worry, guys, I'm a tree-planter too! What's been felled has been replaced in kind over the course of every Autumn/Winter planting season) - I know exactly what I'm going to do with the best bits of the Birch bark. What a great way to both disguise the odd assortment of glass jam jars on my shelves - and - protect the contents from the light. (I keep them in rather less attractive paper bags atm, but these birch boxes are much better, and have the advantage of being a lovely way to present jams and jellies as gifts too). I'll also buy a few more species of Birch for future projects too!

[@BobbyLaurel]

:-) Ray, not only you made a practical thing, but also you you created a real object of art, a piece of beauty. Thank you very much for the video. Actually, thank you very much for all your videos and especially for this one.

[@tqft]

2:50 ray mears asmr..... awww that’s the good stuff right there

[@iseeolly9959]

Ray could make a laptop out of mud, love him.

[@aliceinmadseason2319]

as a fellow craftsman ( i made a knife from a toothbrush in jail) i must say u did a great job

[@larss337]

You made me laugh, you go girl :-)

[@breakfast917]

Not very crafty if you got nicked

[@nacholibre1962]

I'm no flake and certainly not the touchy-feely type, but here's a certain grace to what Ray does. A man of great "poise"!

[@pilevad]

Hi Ray Very nice work and craftmanship. You are a fine ambassador for the art of scandinavian craftmanship. Yours truly Roar

[@BushcraftQuebec]

skills go a long way the man has more then 30 years experience and work alot to accomplish what looks so simple , its the results of his study his work his passion and that dose not take 5 minutes to master those skills , it makes me happy to see a skilled craftsman to show me , but some people are just not fortunate to be as blessed with his hands and other things , but that is a pleasure for me sir

[@cumorahwatson1967]

Just so amazing, to listen and watch. 👍 He's so entertaining, and a joy to watch. The way he teaches is amazing! If we had teaches like him at school, ld never would of wanted to leave! hahaha l left school, awhile ago now😉 But ld go back, at any time just to have the privilege, to learn from this guy👍👏 All the best to you Sir.

[@BushcraftQuebec]

learning nature , bushcraft , is therapeutic .

[@wuddayaat]

Ray, you are an excellent craftsman! I have been a huge fan for a lot of years now and always look forward for something new! You are well admired here in Canada!!

[@lockeforeer]

So glad to see new content from you Ray.

[@awolamigo30]

Always a joy to watch the man work, thank's ray

[@Wintertrekker]

As always, a pleasure to watch, and you give us ideas to work on our own bush skills with the materials at hand. Thanks again Mr. Mears.

[@Antipodean33]

There was an old timer fishing boat builder here in Australia and he worked with jarrah (which is a particularly hard wood from Australia) and he was renowned for measuring once cutting once and was very quick.

[@GlennMileyOutdoors]

FANTASTIC!!! I know Jmalbran just said that, but what else can you say? Fantastic!!

[@Downeastwaves]

Lovely job!

[@WildManFrizzell]

This is a great video, I recently added a video to my channel on finding and extracting large pieces of birch bark in the hope to eventually make a container. I’ll also be extracting the oil from the bark in the near future. Brilliant video, Ray.

[@IngeniousOutdoors]

for those of you who are whining about there not being glue in nature so this isnt really bushcraft, anything that puts out white sap, the white sap is a form of latex its about as strong as elmers glue when dried. make pine pitch. its basicly a really strong hot melt glue. learn how to make hide glue. just bring glue with you.

[@NorthSurvival]

This is like when Ray did a matchbox from birch bark but bigger, always making it look so easy, great job. /NorthSurvival.

[@CircmcisionIsChi1dAbus3]

would have been nice if he used pine pitch as glue :p

[@BeardedBushman71]

Nice work Ray, you certainly inspire a lot of us with your skills.

[@69Grunden]

Perfect craftsmanship. How calming it is in wood working. Thanks for sharing..

[@ElectricityTaster]

I hope these skills are never lost.

[@Kyle900t]

I made one of these yesterday, it's different (not as good!) but it was still a lot of fun and a good experiene! Cheers Ray.

[@wereyouaking]

That's one sharp knife. Glad to see you've got a knife sharpening video here too!

[@fepowson]

The Master at work, always a pleasure to watch.

[@tatlises51]

Hi Ray. I love to watch you and learn from your extraordinary skills. One thing i miss in your videos. You have sometimes hiking sticks with you. Can you show how YOU make these ?? Thanks for the tipps and trick. Greetings from germany.

[@alzathoth]

Ray is such an artist! :D

[@nerblebun]

I forgot to add, the rabbit or deer pellets should be fairly dry, then crushed to a powder. Heat the pine sap (don't overheat it) then mix in the crushed pellets to the desired consistency. It thickens the sap and helps in the bonding. I imagine goat droppings would work also. They have the same kind of turd. lol Dave Canterbury has videos on YT titled "Journal of the Yurt". In one of those, he make glue with pine sap and rabbit pellets. Good stuff to know brother.

[@bigsuchy1]

A beutiful yet functional item thanks for sharing.

[@flatbrokefrank6482]

Ray You should do more hands on stuff like this - excellent as always! - ATB

[@murasakiryu]

Thanks a million. Please keep them coming!

[@Ronniegodfrey67]

Beautiful work!!

[@ScoutCrafter]

Outstanding Ray!

[@MuskratJim]

Beautiful, a thing of quality which could last a lifetime.

[@Skogsguden]

Just like they make them here in Norway. I got one with a deviding piece of wood in the middle, and a cover in each end. That makes it perfect for cofee and sugar.

[@BrewMonkey1]

Simply wonderful.

[@williamquilitzsch4174]

The first thing you made was a birchbark zipper. How cool is that!

[@InLakech_AlaKin]

New subscriber. Glad to have found this. Thanks!

[@kwodell8694]

Agreed. Also if you make it with the white bark side out it is much more weatherproof. Wouldn't need a liner either. But his craftsmanship is good.

[@volcanic1818]

how do you harvest the bark. I can never get it in one solid sheet like you do

[@marleyoo1]

your skills are awesome, your knowledge priceless, hope to get on one of your courses in the near future

[@michaelc3977]

Never did, did you?

[@SuperDeltaRomeo]

What a guy,so relaxing watching this

[@annalog88]

Awesome work!!!! Really facinating :)

[@windmag22]

that realty cool are there any books out on working with birch bark

[@joeturner4985]

Ray youve done it again outstanding

[@pcnazz]

Very Nice Ray !

[@Cosy3rdDan]

Watching a master make a masterpiece

[@WoWanate]

Such a beautiful thing

[@craigpattenden]

Ray Mears is such a dude.

[@WDunkin]

I'll take four please. Beautiful work.

[@LouiseAdie-zm2jf]

I stumbled upon this video but there's information missing that I desperately need to be able to make my own. I've been playing with various bits of birch bark and have now made three but they're barely holding together. What I need to know is: 1. At what stage is the birch bark harvested? Mine is so brittle, having fallen off trees, brought home and stacked up for a few months. Soaking it in warm water may have helped some. 2. There are two shapes to the overlapping joint. You only showed one but even that wasn't clear. I doubt you'll see this now that 12 years has passed! Maybe someone can point me in the right direction, I love this overlap design and would like to make it work for myself.

[@aaronfrank85]

Actually the people that are saying there isnt glue in nature are wrong. Pine sap and ash mix together when heated up make an excellent survival glue.

[@michaelpena9560]

or honey

[@MannyXVIII]

+Michel van Hartingsveldt you're right. It was used to glue arrow points together with their shaft, so if the enemy tries to reuse the arrows you shot at him the point will get off the shaft and stay stuck in whatever you shot it into

[@nonyadamnbusiness9887]

There's glue everywhere is nature. Collagen is the glue that holds all animal life together. Plants are full of glues, latex is present in many plants. Most conifers and many deciduous trees literally drip sap, which makes a good resin. Starch is a glue present in seeds and tubers. Egg white is a decent glue, so is blood.

[@n0comply668]

And Hooves from Deer, Horses, elk, etc can be melted down and becomes a very strong glue

[@Menkalo]

N0Comply When I read your comment, I skipped the words “hooves from”, so I though you talked about melting down different animals

[@filtonkingswood]

That is a work of art.

[@Nativesurvival]

Indeed, Pine Sap and Charcoal heated up together on a rock near a fire.. check out the vid showing this called "Primitive Pine Glue!", this glue makes an air tight and water proof glue!

[@CircmcisionIsChi1dAbus3]

yeah i was disappointed to see him using carpenters glue instead of pine pitch. imagine how nicely smelling the pine pitch glue would make it :)

[@Enderwiggan1]

Is there any nautral materials that can be found in the woods that would suffice as glue? Like sap or something?

[@BL00DSETTAKINOVA]

Also you should show how to make containers that you can use and carry on your survival journey and how you would use them

[@ImTheBatchMan]

He put got dang nails in it. This guy's my hero

[@flamindigo]

very interesting process. I wish there had been a good shot of the bark slab with all the cutouts made before it was assembled.

[@Knifee93]

I made a matchbox from birch bark, and it worked exellent when it was dry. But when I went out by boat and it got wet, the lid was impossible to open and the container broke in two pieces.

[@jaroslav.karpycev]

This is so beautiful!

[@thereverendmikejones]

100% awesome. I'm off to find some birch bark! Please upload more projects like this!! *Subscribed.

[@Maddawwg45]

i hav a question i am so in need of answering i have a couple scandi ground kifes and im not used to sharpening that style of grind do u sharpen along the whole bevel when u sharpen on a stone or at a angle like on a sabre or hollow ground blade

[@roncarver3653]

Thanks for sharing Ray

[@SHOGUNRISK]

Wow!!! He makes it look so simple!!! Couldn't make that even if I had birch bark.

[@Sgtassburgler]

How god damn sharp is that knife?!?!?!

[@Touringcyclist]

I LOVE RAY MEARS!

[@jenocean824]

Beautiful container but I would like to have seen a more detailed cutout diagram of how the cutouts are done and how they are put together.

[@timothylongmore7325]

Yeah Ray , how about some details?

[@patrickj8984]

make your own.........

[@PaulStilgrove]

i enjoyed that, cheers ray, i think i will have a go and try and make one

[@markybyeah]

A joy to watch

[@jakeabake11]

If you were to store birch syrup in one of these, would the glue contaminate it in any way?

[@MrJohnMainwaring]

Beautiful, got a pattern or a measurement guide for the cut outs?

[@kumbackquatsta]

watching ray makes things is like meditating for me. how did you make those wooden nails? what type of wood did you use?

[@SamuelitoRubio]

I can't find a resource showing how to lay out the triangles on the ends. could you explain this process?

[@TheLordArion]

I'd like to learn how to gather bark pieces like this and how to prepare them for crafting with. Does anyone here know? Love watching him make things!

[@robertsbushcraft]

Great video! - Gabriel

[@Danishbushcrafter]

That looks great... i hope to be like Ray, he's so skillful... Of course i'm practicing...

[@Stoogemeister420]

a work of art

[@gurublooper207]

Marc cotedas, you can use tree resin/ sap miked with charcoal melted on a fire to make natural glue

[@badboy69yoda]

wow ray that was awesome!

[@ekhaat]

Thing is, when you make it a thing of beauty, you are more inclined to take care of it, than when you make it in a more sloppy sort of way. Cheers

[@Gnasherism]

Does anyone know what flick knife Ray is using? Looks really nice

[@robdurant7944]

How soon must birch bark be used after harvested?

[@outsidein3206]

Im guessing if youre stuck without glue, you could use tree sap?

[@jakeabake11]

So pine pitch or rawhide glue would work?

[@42Bamboo]

Hi I like your Birch Bark container. But I need a pattern form the way you put it to gather I watch your video more than 50 times, try to make my own, but NO LUCK, HELP. Bamboo Jim, Lake Orion Michigan

[@lonewoodsman]

Fantastic.

[@MrMilky1190]

How did the join fit together? What measurements are needed?

[@alansm136]

That's really cool.

[@DrTommyGouranga]

certain wood saps would replace the glue. nice chestnut pouch.

[@humblebean957]

Did he use shaved down birch splinters as nails?

[@AmNotHere911]

Does anyone know what season of 'Ray Mears Bushcraft survival' this episode on birch bark container is from? Is it Season 1 or Season 2?

[@flon57]

this guy can make anything

[@UrwahK]

when i watch these videos, i feel like i'm watching him make it, rather then watching a tutorial on how we, ourselves could make similar things...

[@nerblebun]

Sap from a pine tree mixed with rabbit or deer pellets makes a great glue.

[@Taxandrya]

He still should've used pitch-glue if it's bushcraft. Otherwise this is just art-crafts with a forest background to cover it up...

[@Jmalbran]

Fantastic! thanks

[@artemturist]

Ray, tell, your knife is made of what steel? thanks!