My new EDC for awhile

S

soundmind

KNIFE MAKER
"Alaskan cache" themed
Old everything:
File steel, walnut gunstock handle, brass is from a long 1" diameter propshaft i believe, mastodon spacer
Sheath is from an old swiss army pack and kariboo leather

Walnut and leather finished with birch oil we made this spring. It looks and smells smokey.

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Thanks fellas. It's got a few details to be refined but by far my favorite knife I've ever owned.

KenH said:
What Opaul said, and more - "made" your birch oil? That's got to be story also.
Click to expand...
Here's the process: I cut and pasted this quote from another forum. I still have the link bookmarked if your interested, but this is the most relevant.

"I cut anywhere from 12-18 face cords of Birch (white) every year. Last year I started stripping the bark and dry distilling it to extract the oil which I refine down further into tar and sometimes pitch. This is done by destructive distill. The bark I cut in 6 inch wide strips and roll very tight into a pack that I can squeeze into a paint can.

I put a whole in the bottom and top, 1" on bottom and top just a hole with a nail to allow vapors to escape. I bury a smaller can set the bigger can on top, fill in with dirt and build a hot fire around it, 1.5-2 hour later it is done. I use the tar for waterproofing boots and all leather stuff, it is by far the best leather treatment and waterproofer I have ever used. Also use it for treating wood on gunstocks and knives and the pitch as a glue for knife handles."

I was going to try this a few years back but never got around to it. my wife found out about it and wanted to do it for me. We didn't get much but here's a few pictures of the process:

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Let it burn for an hour or two - adding wood to keep it hot - not so much though that the bark inside catch on fire.

I'm trying to load a shot of the size of the fire but it won't work. file too large, but, honestly, it wasn't that big of a fire!

That firepit we have is about 24" diameter and we built a teepee around the two cans in the center.

Heres the end: You can see there's a difference between the clear oil and the dark, thicker stuff.
I'm not sure if the clear oil is water. But if you stir it around it will mix (3rd picture).

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The last picture shows we didn't get it all after 2 hrs. But what is leftover can be reused - just add in more.

We got about an ounce from a one quart paint can.
 
found this after reading your threads. I may have to try itf!
www.survivalkit.com

How to Make and Use Birch Oil or Tar

If you take advantage of the benefits of pine pitch in the field, but don’t like going through the hassle of processing the material, you may want to consider birch tar or oil as an alternati…
www.survivalkit.com
 
Very interesting on the oil. The knife - more and more knives are being made with recycled parts. Some from history. Some from parts. All intrigue me. I really like different. Yours is a really nice result.
 
Soundmind: Thank you for the posts on making birch oil/tar. Sounds a lot like making charcoal for blackpowder.

Opaul, that's an interesting link you posted.
 
opaul said:
ound this after reading your threads. I may have to try itf!
Click to expand...
That is a good article. Even though it's short it's enough info to give it a try.

Have you watched any videos on it yet? I searched "how to make birch oil" on you tube last night got the videos we watched already. They we're helpful, too - good to compare the amount other people get for the same volume of bark.

Almost too simple to not do if you like the oil. It's got a pretty strong smell but I noticed it dissipates a little over time.
 
When I was building my sailboat I purchased a ball of twine dipped in tar pitch. Kept it in the aft compartment. Loved the smell.
 
opaul said:
When I was building my sailboat I purchased a ball of twine dipped in tar pitch. Kept it in the aft compartment. Loved the smell.
Click to expand...
Building a sailboat? Tell us more - what size? What type of sailboat? I'm an old boatbum myself. Raised a wife and two kids on a 40 ft sloop bumming around between jobs in chemical plants.
 
I'm impressed - that's a LOTS of work. The design of the boat makes it look larger than 16'. You did really good.
 
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