Birch bark stacked handle

[Toddy]

Has anyone made one of these ? What glue did you use ? and did the glue add much to the thickness of the birchbark discs ?
I've spent much of the day cleaning up some pieces of native birchbark and cutting out discs. So far I've got about 40 discs but that only gives me a little over 40mm stack. I need at least double that. The bark is beautiful but it's very fine.
I don't want to see glue layers in the finished handle but there are going to be so many layers with this stuff that I really want the glue to be right.

One thing I have already noticed is how drying the birchbark is on my hands while working with it for a bit. No wonder folks claim it's non slip even when wet.

I have a pile of beautifully soft and clean small pieces of the bark too. I'm reluctant to cut them so will just use the strips that peeled off the tree in bands.
Anyone have ideas, other than cylinders, for using these pieces ?

cheers,
Toddy

 

[lannyman8]

hey Toddy whats the handle of is it for a blade????

 

[JohnC]

I made one once, It needed a lot of pieces, I used a waterproof wood glue, something from Homebase, I put the stack under pressure in a vice with wood blocks till it dried. The glue must have added a bit to the height, but it didnt seem a lot.

 

[lannyman8]

if it is for a blade handle i would use a slow setting epoxy resin aruldite is a good one that lasts. make sure you get a clear setting one though.

no the glue will not take up much room in the discs and should be clamped to finish once glued hence the slow setting glue 24 hrs is good.

if it is for a handle say knife blade i would use half bark half wood to give it strength.

i would not have bothered cutting the discs as the handle will need to be sanded down anyway. using course grit to get the shape going down to about 240-260 but depends what its for and your preferance of how smoth you want it.

hope this helps......chris..

 

[Toddy]

I now have five tanged blades to handle
I asked about stacked leather on another thread
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=46094
a little while ago and hoodoo posted a photo of a stacked birch bark handled knife (absolutely beautiful :notworthy ) and I really want to do that.
I cut the discs for simplicity, that was all, reckoning that it'll be easier to shape if I started with an oval rod of bark.
I'll use one of the buckle slot cutters for the oval hole in the centre to take the tang, and Son1 has said he'll mill out metal ferule and end cap if I don't decide to do them by hand from coins.

I was sort of hoping that someone who had done one of these using a natural glue might have some advice. I had wondered about using cascamite, but it can leave a definite layer of resinous/sawdust mix.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[brancho]

Mary
Ask the question on BB in Scandinavien blades.

But basically you glused between each disc and compress the whole lot until teh glue dries. Problem is that UK birch bark is rather thin ie less than 1mm thick as apposed to over 2mm thick further North

Look HERE for the basics
Heres an example

 

[Stew]

I want to do a leuku with stacked bark. I've started the bolster in bone and will need to weld an extension onto the tang. It'll take a lot of bark!

 

[lannyman8]

you could also try hide glue have a little test on some scraps to check.

when you make your glue make sure you dont boil it just let it stay warm on the stove for hours & hours. this will make for a stronger glue as the protiens will be held together better hence a stronger glue.

hope this helps....... chris

 

[w00dsmoke]

How about resin glue? I can make some up for you to experiment with if you want to? It would be coal black though! Not sure if it would work but I think it might.

WS

 

[Chambers]

Sorry to hijack the thread, have you had to strip the bark from the tree full thickness if you know what I mean then just clean up the exterior? Other question is how have you flattened that bark?

 

[Toddy]

No, up here Birch is incredibly common. It's also often attacked by fomes fomentarius and piptoporus bettulina fungi which shortens the lifespan. Lots of fallen birch. The timber rots really quickly but often we are left with tubes of bark.
Normally all we'd do with it is use if for firebundles (wee packets of kindling wrapped in bark) or use it to make Birch tar.
However, if you rub against one of the lenticles you can feel the edge of the layers and they'll start to rub free and you can pull off the damaged, dirty outside layer quite quickly. This leaves leathery like, soft, clean bark. In our climate though the bark only grows about a mm thick, so we don't make the same uses of it as they do in Scandinavia or Russia or North America. Still nice stuff though

cheers,
Toddy

 

[Toddy]

Flattening it.......I dampen it, lay it on newspapers and sandwich it between two trays (Ikea ) then I pile bottles of juice or water on top of the top tray and leave it aside for a few days. Flattens no bother.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[Everything Mac]

could you make a stack in batches? say a few 1" thick then stick them all together on the final knife?

just a thought.

i would recommend aruldite too - ive used it on all my knives and can't fault it.

my dad uses the newer quick setting stuff to glue metal together

please post pics when finished!

really want to do some forging now though

atb
Andy

 

[brancho]

I have some thick stuff (over 2mm) I got in some woods near Berlin but intend to make a stacked handle myself with it. I collected from a fallen tree in the woods adjacent to the caravan site I was on.

 

[galopede]

I've had good results with stacked self adhesive cork floor tiles! Can't do a photo as it was for a friend's kid's fishing kit.

Gareth

 

[Toddy]

Neat idea
Hadn't thought of cork.
Come to think on it, somewhere I have some of those big corks with holes up the centre, meant for Lab glassware.......three of the knives I need handles are small carving blades, cork handles would be fine on them

cheers,
Toddy

 

[Robbi]

DavidH on BB makes a lovely birch bark handled Pukko, have a looksee at that one.

 

[Stew]

Here's some Birch Bark I'm currently working with:

There's a difference between the two bands. The forward one has less of a glue line and I suspect was compressed more. The rear stack was glued up as the same time as the rest of the handle and I think the pin that goes through the main section of the handle stopped it being compressed more.