Birch oil/tar handle finish

It looks great! The finish on the handle worked out well. A little darker than birch I think but looks awesome. I really like the blade profile and think the handle shape matches the blade shape and forge finish very well.
 
Well now, that's just great, and I mean the whole knife ! The "experimenting " into the finishing of the wood was very rewarding in my opinion.There was a time when I would have tried to repeat this. Great doin's Mister !
Frank
 
Thank you for the kind words everyone!
I gave it a try on some leather as well and it colours it very similarly. Traditionally birch tar was used to waterproof leather and prevent it from rotting. It would be a great dye and treatment for a sheath. Unfortunately the only leather I have on hand is either too thin or too thick for this knife. This one got a chocolate brown and green takedown kydex sheath with a copper stud. The brown is only a little lighter than the handle.
I plan to use this finish again in the future
 
Sorry for the necro on this hehe. I have started using it on leather and handles and the finish and effect is great.

Leather: Darkens it a fair bit and the smoky smell lasts 2 weeks to a month before it has for the most part faded away. I have one I did about 3 months ago and it is still completely waterproof and no leeching. You can use the birch oil as well but I worry about the turpenes effect on the leather.

Handle: Seems like 2 coats is max, it does not absorb any more after second coat. Very durable finish, smoky smell wears off quicker. I have heard that you can hang the knife upside down in the tar for months or even a year and it becomes pretty much bulletproof, never tied probably never will.

Glue: You can boil the tar down to a hard state and add a bit of charcoal and fiber ( I like hemp ) and it becomes extremely strong and flexible, does not get brittle at cold temps. I have been using it like this as a glue for the handle rather then epoxy and it has worked well. But it sets very fast so you need to be really quick.

I don't have the time to make my own tar so I have been grabbing it from https://otzispouch.ca
 
This is really interesting!
You are using the resins and similar extracted out of pine or birch trees, do you know if you can do similar with other resinous trees? A lot of wattles/acacias secrete gums and resins, i'm wondering if you could use them in the same way? Not many birch forests around here :P
 
Alex Topfer said:
This is really interesting!
You are using the resins and similar extracted out of pine or birch trees, do you know if you can do similar with other resinous trees? A lot of wattles/acacias secrete gums and resins, i'm wondering if you could use them in the same way? Not many birch forests around here :p
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I am not sure, but you could do a test. Try the bark or small pieces of the wood. Put them in an airtight can like a paint can. Have a small hole in the lid to vent gases and a large hole in bottom with corners peeled outwards. Get another smaller can and bury it so top is ground level. Set the can with the wood on it on top. Bury the can and bottom 1-2 inch of big can for insulation and to keep it stable. Build a nice fire around the top can and keep it going for 2-3 hours. The wood inside the can should turn to charcoal and release any oils and resins into the bottom can.

How it works with Birch, I think pine can be done in a similar way as well. The smoke coming out of top can for birch anyways is flammable and often catches fire which is fine. Let us know if you try it out!
 
Thank you
I probably won't have a chance to try it for a while, but i'll add it to my list of experiments. I also want to try a paperbark bark handle, paperbark was used in similar ways to birch bark by Indigneous people here.
I guess they would use birch tar to seal birch bark handles?
 
Alex Topfer said:
Thank you
I probably won't have a chance to try it for a while, but i'll add it to my list of experiments. I also want to try a paperbark bark handle, paperbark was used in similar ways to birch bark by Indigneous people here.
I guess they would use birch tar to seal birch bark handles?
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Probably, I know the traditional Finnish Puukko smiths usually did stacked birrch bark handles and then would hang the knife upside down so the handle was submerged in birch tar for up to a year. Not quite sure what such a longterm dip would do but they must have had their reasons, for most a few coats should be more then enough considering the bark is already water resistant. If you use the no glue method which is stacking the bark, tightening it down and putting the end on then heating it for 1/2 an hour at 100C the bark releases its tar / oil and further seals itself.
 
Birch tar/oil as well as linseed oil were used. The long soaks are to allow penetration all the way through the birch bark handle material. These oils penetrate slowly.

I have a jar somewhere with a 1/2" wide slit in the lid and a rubber block glued over the slit. The rubber has a thin slit tat a blade can be pushed through. You push the blade through the lid so the rugh shaped stacked birch bark handle will hang in the jar. Fill the jar with linseed oil and make sure the entire handle is submerged. Set on a warm shelf for a few months, then remove and wipe off the excess. Let dry for a few more months and finish sanding. Buff with a cloth.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
Birch tar/oil as well as linseed oil were used. The long soaks are to allow penetration all the way through the birch bark handle material. These oils penetrate slowly.

I have a jar somewhere with a 1/2" wide slit in the lid and a rubber block glued over the slit. The rubber has a thin slit tat a blade can be pushed through. You push the blade through the lid so the rugh shaped stacked birch bark handle will hang in the jar. Fill the jar with linseed oil and make sure the entire handle is submerged. Set on a warm shelf for a few months, then remove and wipe off the excess. Let dry for a few more months and finish sanding. Buff with a cloth.
Click to expand...

Great info, the birch tar is slow to absorb and 2 coats seems to be the max in a short period so soaking it long-term makes sense. Does it improve the overall toughness of the handle?
 
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