Handles made of bark

[knives-are-quiet]

I got this Russell Green River skinning blade years ago for a few bucks.
Could never decide what handle material to use.
Did a little research and read somewhere that the inner bark from oak trees were used for knife handles.
So I gave it a shot and to my surprise they turned out great.
Once the bark hardens it is just like oak wood itself.
A little more fibrous.
I like the old look it gives.
Just put some paste wax on them.
I don't hunt and am more into fishing.
But this knife works well in the kitchen cutting almost anything.

JW

[Miller Bro's]

Now that is different!

Looks very good

[cato]

TURNED OUT NICE!!!!

[jmh58]

That is KOOL!! Nice job!! John

[FRJ]

I like that home made look, JW. Nice job. How thick are the slabs?

[knives-are-quiet]

I like that home made look, JW. Nice job. How thick are the slabs?

The bark was from a pretty large white oak tree.
The piece of wood is at least 3 feet across.
The inner bark was around 1 to 3/4 inch thick to start with.
I sanded to about 1/2 inch of the sides that touch the knife handle. (The side without the gain pattern)
When drying the inner bark it must dry slowly or it will crack.
I did it by spraying the bark a couple of times a day with water and kept them out of the direct sun.
Took 2 to 3 weeks.

Here is a picture of the slab of wood I took the bark from.
I made a small table out of it for my front porch.

JW

[philco]

Love the handles. Love the table. But what did you do to bend that blade so badly?