Big birch burr bonanza (Pic heavy)

[mr dazzler]

Finally came across some decent birch burrs this morning

This was the relatively easy bit. I know who owns them, so all I have to do now is nnegotiate permission if they are willing to let a tree go....I never saw anything like it, there were burrs everywhere you looked....Plenty big enough for kuksa's and knife handles, even spoons. I talked with another tre surgeon later this morning he often gets oak burrs and is going to keep good ones for good money
Any way we had a great walk out despite the nip in the air.

 

[Gill]

thats what happens you cant find any anywhere then thisi,ll keep looking.

 

[Shewie]

Good find mate

There's an absolute whopper near a badger set I keep an eye on, the tree is perfectly healthy otherwise though so no bowls or kuksas just yet.

 

[mr dazzler]

Shewie, I found a HUGE one about the size of a football, only the birch tree it had grown on was dead, and as you will know they rot down fast. The burr was rotten unfortunately, and it was spalted as well..... I had wondered if the burs were more durable than the normal wood.

 

[addo]

Nice trees.

There is a humugus birch burl near me, I'll try and get a pic of it soon

Burl does make a nice knife handle but watch out with kuksa making they leak a bit sometimes, due to all the fractures and knots. oiling/waxing ect can solve this though.

 

[mr dazzler]

Nice trees.

There is a humugus birch burl near me, I'll try and get a pic of it soon

Burl does make a nice knife handle but watch out with kuksa making they leak a bit sometimes, due to all the fractures and knots. oiling/waxing ect can solve this though.

LOL I'd like to see a pic. I think I saw these only because I was really looking for burrs, probaly overlooked them in many other places because on those ocasions I was focussed on "clean straight grained logs" or "elbow crooks" or whatever I was looking for at the time....
The funny thing was, it was like a community of burred birches, just about every tree had some, in what was probaly an acre or so, maybe 60 or 70 trees. One looked to have at least a hundred burrs on it....
Gill keep looking mate They are out there somewhere. Maybe ask a tree surgeon if he knows a spot?

 

[addo]

Have a look in more established/older native woodland where the initial crop of Birch get older around 70+ years, then fall over due to decay fungi/ground contions or wind. Some will have large and numerous burls on them and the rewards are good. They take some getting off by hand mind, so stay friendly with your tree man!

 

[mr dazzler]

I never knew that Addo mate (birch living 70+ years) I always imagined they were a short term weed. Mind I saw a beauty today, the trunk must easily of been 21/2 foot thick and still smooth bark not broken and fissured like on other older birches
So if you have one of these fallen trees are the burrs still good even if the parent tree has died? I tried to open a big burr today where the parent tree was like polystyrene soft and all mushy. I thought maybe the burr would be unaffected, but sadly it was shot too-a shame as it was spalted and had beautiful tight waves as well...... I saw a fallen birch last week with some baby burrs, but the tree was stil alive-plenty of vertical new growth going up. When is the ideal time to harvest?
cheers Jonathan
Oh and how do you get them off the tree? I was thinking cut the log either side of the burr then split the excess away afterwards. Any suggestions?