Otzi

The way it should be, it's s a shame more people do not make full use as you do. Indeed farmers are not only very hard working but extremely efficient and minimal waste, good stuff. That is some massive lumber, you are very lucky, where I am (Quebec) they cut most of the timber back in the 60s and 70s so we have very little for big trees like that. Cool that you do web design, I actually was in a similar industry for the past 8 years. Started out freelance Linux admin and consulting for hosting companies before finally opening and running my own hosting company for 4 years. I sold that 6 months ago. I am not all that good with web design but if you need a rock solid site with load balancing and automatic failovers I can make that happen Happy to hear somebody else understands how the wood burning process works, I have argued with people previously about Birch and them saying it burns "dirty", very difficult to make them understand! We are too far North here for Maple but I have traded for it a few times and that is really am amazing wood to burn. Burns with very little flame, very clean, long, and extremely hot. Sounds to me like they are spoiled with their Oak, Beech, and Ironwood.. lol. I have looked pretty extensively for USA and Canada and did not find any. There are a few Canadian companies putting substantial money into extracting from Birch bark and the wood but they are looking to extract past the oil / tar into individual compounds like triterpenes, acids, etc. I have found just 2 people on Etsy and now this Russian company that is selling (Farmacs). Doing some digging they seem to sell a large amount of oil for livestock treatments which is a 10-15% tar mix for treatments of hoofs, skin issues etc. No idea if that is what I bought :D That was an interesting timeline to read, thanks for sharing it Random thing I just found out about Birch tar tonight. This was not through anything I found online, just my own little weird test :D We have a bunch of wild cats that my wife has taken the habit of giving "treats" which I try to lightly discourage. I know Birch tar repels many insects and pests so I got to wondering if it would have any effect for animals. I set one of my freshly treated work boots 4-5 feet away from the cats "treat" dish and watched as cat after cat came, sniffed, walked around in circles and then left without touching the food.

The main reason I started this was to utilize the entire tree rather then just firing it all in the woodstove which I see as a big waste of a resource. Here Birch is the main source of firewood so a lot is cut and a lot is wasted unfortunately. So not really interested in reselling a product from Russia and pitching to hipsters. I would rather at that point focus on the really rare version of the oil that I have yet to see anybody mention much less sell, just talked about in some very old somewhat obscure documents. Also in perfecting it in its harder states as a glue and in traditional and period specific crafting. Just have to wait and see how this bottle tests out.

I agree on a big scale like mentioned they can do it cheaper then a little guy like me, but I don't think they can do it that cheap. I have seen Birch debarked by machine and it removes inner bark as well as outer, the inner is no good to distill so needs to be separated, and depending on time of year inner and outer can be stuck together pretty hard. That is an additional cost over regular debarking, then you have the distill process which would not be cheap, though probably fueled by scrap wood and maybe even that inner bark. Either way it is interesting and once this bottle shows up I get to either eat my foot and rethink things, or have confirmation of my suspicions, can't wait until it gets here to see.

I am not looking to do lab results lol. But having a look at it and cooking it down into tar will tell conclusively if it is what it claims to be, so I will see when that time comes. I did not assure you mine is better, but I have done it enough to have serious doubts as to how that amount could be offered at that price. As an example 3 lbs of birch on average yields 2.5 to 3 ounces on a perfect batch of oil, that oil then cooks down to about 2 ounces of oil. There are many variables that affect the amounts but that is pretty close overall. Now head out and collect 3 lbs of Birch bark, process, and distill it into oil. I see no reasonable way you can sell that amount of work at that price, even on a large commercial setup. Comparing Birch tar to whiskey or perfume is apples and oranges.

That is the oil, not tar which usually contains about 20% water and some other impurities that get cooked off when making it into tar. Even then the price is really cheap for 10 oz and I would be very surprised if it was just oil. I am ordering a bottle and will check it out as well as cook it down into tar to see just how much it gives back. Final amount and how it cooks down will tell if it is the real deal, I will video it and let you guys know here once done. Edit: Ordered, be here between sep 13 and 26.

Ahh, ran out of time to edit the post above... I only know of one other seller for birch tar at the moment and he sells mostly on Etsy. It takes a ton of bark to make one ounce by weight, so if you see it at a fraction of the cost of what I sell for then it is probably a different product such as essential oil or some such. For real tar they should be pretty = as long as the guy is not a sheister and tried to thin it out with alcohol or something like that. There is one exception which is a very rare type of Birch oil which is a reddish brown instead of black, this was what as far as I know the high end Russia leather was curried with. I have never heard of anybody that has it, but I have figured out how to make it which took me weeks of digging. I won't have that until next spring as it can only be made that way in a short period of the spring. Hope that helps! @YinTx

@YinTx Can you send me a link to where you are seeing this? I have found a lot of essential oil sellers labeling as "Birch tar" which is incorrect, they are not even close to being the same product.

Text article also now available at: https://otzispouch.ca/leather-waterproofing-with-birch-tar/

When the Russians were making "Russia Leather" they applied it to the inside of the leather, I have heard also from another old-timer that used it for a long-time that he always put it on the inside of whatever he was treating or waterproofing. In both cases though as far as I know this was so it would not change the appearance or interfere with staining (Russia Leather). I have had good results simply applying it to the outside as I don't car if it darkens the leather. I warm the tar slightly to bring it into a more liquid state as it is easier to apply and absorbs quicker. I use a small paint brush (thanks kids) so I can really get in the seams. Let it set for 15-20 minutes and wipe of any excess, no need to let dry or cure more than that from what I can see. I am not a leather expert though so sure would love to have some of you here try it out and get your feedback. I have used it more on wood, especially for knife handles and it works exceptionally well with a really nice dark walnut type patina. There is knifemakers from one country that use it alot, they hang the knife upside down in the tar and let it sit for a year or more. Apparently the handles when they come out are extremely tough and durable. Edit: Just found it, the Finnish makers specifically for the Puukko knife handles. I made a little video as well yesterday where I talk a little about it and give an example of the color change if interested.

Started making a bit of tar and pitch for some of my own little projects and love it, also enjoy the making process. It seems simple at first but once you start to learn it there all types of little nuances that affect the finished tar, pretty neat. I have tried a bunch of different leather treatment and waterproofing products over the years, especially as I play and work in the bush. Birch tar for me is one of the top out there, but I am also not a leather expert, just go by how my boots react and perform. I have found that Russia leather was apparently amazing and the big contributing factor to that was Birch tar. It lets the leather breathe yet keeps it waterproof, and the smoky smell it imparts is great. It does darken the leather some though. I have a good supply and you can purchase at https://otzispouch.ca If you buy and use it, I will discount your next order if you share your experience with it here on Leatherworker. Any questions just let me know!