Collecting birch bark

[DuBois]

I want to gather some birch bark for bow backing/sinew cover.
There are some paper birch trees with a lot of loose bark peeling off in layers.

What is the best to use? The outer stuff OK or do I need to get down to the inner layers and cut into them?

White birch bark just as good?

Thanks in advance, Doobs

[adb]

Whatever you decide to do, please don't kill the tree just to get some bark. I see that here where I live and it really pi$$e$ me off.

[willie]

No need to kill trees, as what you are looking for is the thinner, outer bark anyway.

Even if you were to cut a big thick piece off the tree, the outer "paper" you are collecting is not any easier to remove than if you Just spent your time collecting  paper from live trees. Find a stand of similar, younger trees to collect from, as you will have to match thickness and color from many smaller pieces and an older tree tends to have knarlier bark.

[DuBois]

Whatever you decide to do, please don't kill the tree just to get some bark. I see that here where I live and it really pi$$e$ me off.

Don't worry, I hate killing trees I don't have to.  just wanted to take the old bark if possible or cut from a down tree.

Just got this here. Pretty short bits about 6-8" max.
Will this work?

[PatM]

You need to find a large tree with clean bark that is naturally breaking loose. The tree can even be recently dead.
 I prefer to use a single piece for each limb.

[DuBois]

OK Pat, Kinda figured this was not gonna work but had to ask. That is beautiful work there. Is it white birch?

[DuBois]

So, if I found a freshly downed white birch tree n the 12" diameter range, would I cut around the tree n a barber pole spiral to get strips of bark?
Thanks folks,
Marco

[mikekeswick]

Simply use a good solid knife to scribe a couple of rings right around the tree, then scribe one line straight down to join the two and then peel away. You want strips that have come from the tree horizontally. The bigger the better. Of course it comes off when the sap is up.

[PatM]

Mike, We're trying to not kill trees just for a strip of bark. There is no need to go through all the layers right to the sap.

[IsaacW]

Simply use a good solid knife to scribe a couple of rings right around the tree, then scribe one line straight down to join the two and then peel away. You want strips that have come from the tree horizontally. The bigger the better. Of course it comes off when the sap is up.

It is best to do just a vertical cut, the horizontal will come naturally with the cracking and peeling of the bark.  Not doing the horizontal also helps avoid cutting through the cambium and hurting the tree.  If you harvest just the outer bark and leave the cambium, the tree will keep on and simply grow back a scabbier outer bark to recover what you took.

[DuBois]

WOW!
Thanks Isaac.
Man I miss green stuff 

[IsaacW]

WOW!
Thanks Isaac.
Man I miss green stuff 

Thanks.  This was 3 summers ago when we had a near tropical summer of heat and wet.  The past two summers have been a bit drier.  I have not harvested bark the last couple years, but I need to check a few trees and maybe hit them this summer for making some wigwam mats.  Also, I need to scout around up north a little farther and find a good big tree or two now that I need a new canoe.

IW