Hickory Bark, Part 2
a few notes on harvesting bark
For the past seven+ years, I’ve gathered a little bark for myself. These are some of the experiences, along with a couple of thoughts from the past weekend of gathering bark in Berea, KY.
First, about Floyd the horse. Upon his arrival to the site, his presence immediately filled the woods. He was friendly, but his power was also fully apparent. I approached to greet him, along with the logger “Z” who worked with him. But there were no treats or extended fawning of Floyd. He was geared for work. And I could tell he was ready to work. I said hello, brushed his forehead, then moved clear as he prepared for his work day. No carrots or sugar cubes on that morning…though I bet he enjoys them during his down time.
Floyd is a Suffolk Punch, a draught horse known for their strength and calm demeanor. From my understanding (as someone who gets to enter the woods with this forestry team about once a year), it takes considerable training to prepare a horse to stay comfortable around the noise of chainsaws and falling trees. The Suffolk Punch breed is ideal for pulling timber out of the woods. They’re incredibly strong. And their legs are shorter than the typical horse proportions. The distance between the ankle and knee is short, creating a low center of gravity.
About horse logging: We went out into the woods last Thursday, two days before we needed the logs for the Saturday bark class. There’s been daily rain around Berea for much of the spring, and the woods were heavily saturated. Friday (the day we usually collect the logs) was forecasted as a washout, with thunderstorms throughout the day. Logging with Floyd made pulling the logs possible in such conditions. He moved the logs from the woods with little damage to the environment. He worked in wetter and slicker conditions than were possible with heavy machinery. Essentially, Floyd made gathering the hickories possible.
Pulling logs with a tractor or four wheeler would have required an access road/path. The foresters would have needed to clear more trees and create muddy ruts to pull the logs. And that equipment may have gotten stuck on Thursday. Floyd worked “lightly”. Enter the woods today and you’ll find his hoofprints and the scattered leaves from where he pulled the timber to the access road.
About the bark…
I’m looking for smooth bark hickories when I go out with the forestry team. We don’t know the species name (meaning I’m unsure if we’re collecting pignut, mockernut, or bitternut, or others). I believe there are six varieties within the Berea forest. We do not consider the shagbarks.
As we search, we’re looking for young trees with shallow furrows. Young trees *likely* have thinner bark than larger trees (that’s not an absolute), making for less work from tree to chair seat. That is, less work in thinning and shaving the thickness to get thicker bark to the desired thickness (around 3/32”).
It’s obvious, but smaller diameter trees are also easier to work within the woods for a single person. Small trees can be propped up. If light enough, they can be carried out and put on stands to shave. Large logs do not allow for this. Larger logs are worked on the ground, where they fell, unless dragged out. The remaining pole makes for great materials for tools…handles and mauls and gluts. I usually keep some to replace worn out equipment. And the rest makes for good firewood.
As we consider trees, the foresters and I are looking for smallish, clear trees, with long trunks to the first branches. Essentially, we’re looking for good lengths and anything over 10’ is considered. The longer the clear length in the tree, the longer the coil of bark. This translates to fewer splices in the chair seat.
Length isn’t everything. It’s nice to have a long coil for the wrapping the warp and a 30’-40’ coil is possible on a perfect tree. That length is unwanted on the weft. I’d rather not weave 40’ of material through each row. I’d much prefer having 15’ lengths, knowing that I’ll have a few splices on the chair bottom. It makes for easier weaving.
When searching for trees, I am assuming and hoping that the smoother and uninterrupted bark upon the standing tree will translate to a smooth trunk. It’s the undulations and knobs upon the trunk that cause issues. The rest is simply effort and labor in getting it off.
If I’m uncertain if the bark will peel (at either end of the spring season), then I’ll cut a small square in the bark at the base of the tree with my knife. If the bark pops off and the trunk is slick with sap, then I can assume the bark will peel. I usually schedule the bark harvesting and class in early June…safely in the middle of the Memorial Day to July 4th bark slipping window for central Kentucky.
When stripping the trees, I’ve found the traditional tools, the drawknife and a utility knife, are the best way to approach it. A wide drawknife is helpful to keep hands away from the trunk. And preferably not my sharpened chairmaking knife, since I’m running it through material that’s sitting on the forest floor. Shaving off the crusty bark is torture on the knife. Keeping a sharpening stone close at hand to refine a decent edge is a must when working in the woods. With the knife, the slenderness of the utility blade is a bonus when cutting through thicker bark and trying to get a deep, consistent cut on the first attempt.
At Saturday’s class, a student brought a fabric cutter (a heavy duty pizza cutter-looking tool). It smoothly cut through the bark and was easier to handle than the utility knife. I’ll look into that option going forward…
The coils are stored in a cool, dry place with plenty of air movement. The air movement helps prevent mildew. Then, when ready for use, the coils are soaked in warm water for 30 minutes to 1 hour (or until limber). Bark thinned to seating material works like leather.
The bark swells and shrinks as it takes on moisture…just like wood. When soaking, I attempt to give it the least amount of time necessary to become pliable for the weaving. It is possible for the bark to soak overnight and become even more limber, but the shrinkage that will follow will leave huge gaps in the chair seat.
Last note: Gabe Strand is harvesting bark this season. He stated on his Instagram that he’s planning on selling much of it and will put some up for sale soon. Worth following/inquiring if you’re in the market…
Thanks for the update. Great information.