Monday 31 March 2008

Bark chisel


While out walking with friends yesterday, we came across some recently felled Birch logs, with some nice sections of reasonably thick (for England anyway) bark. When removing bark from a tree it is helpful to make a simple tool which I call a bark chisel, to help separate the inner bark from the outer bark.



I cut a piece of Ash and removed any rough knots that might tear the bark.

I used the end of a Birch log as a rest for safer and more secure working and ensured I was holding my work off to one side of my body when cutting to help avoid accidents.

I shaved one end flat with my knife to form the chisel.

2 comments:

Robin Fawcett said...

What are you going to do with the bark when you get it off ?

A book called "Celebrating Birch - the lore, art & craft of an ancient tree" has recently been published by North House Folk School. ISBN 978-1-56523-307-2

May be of interest

Fenlander said...

Hi Robin, I have already posted on here about the book (it is a great book isn't it) and I bought Will, Sue and Eric copies.

Will and Sue wanted to make knife sheaths like the one featured in the book, so that's why we were collecting it.