I've been ready up on these birch bark handles people build on here (they look awesome by the way) and was wondering why don't they just put a thin layer of epoxy or permagloss over the handle to seal it up? Would it eventually crack or wear away? Was just curious.

Thanks, Trace.

"Reading"

Some people do just that.

............

How does the epoxy hold up after awhile does it look fine?

Epoxy is not the correct product for this. Either the Permagloss or a similar woodworking top coating product would be greatly preferred.

...............

Thanks tom been a help!

I use Tru-Oil on my Birch bark grips. Seals well and brings out the color.

I read that article when I joined the forum and was stunned. Beautiful grip! But unfortunately the advice was to harvest the birch around spring time for best result or I would definitely start the project asap. I would prefer to use a UV-resistant sealant on the grip. But I haven't searched for the the right product. Not sure if we got that Tru-Oil here

UV is not a factor with the Birch bark, but if you use epoxy to coat it can be. Birchwood-Casey Tru Oil is available pretty widely and can be gotten on Amazon.

So all in all tru oil must work better then permagloss? What if you were to put tru oil and permagloss?

Tru-Oil is a polymerized varnish. Permagloss is a moisture curing urethane. Different products but similar results. PG will be a little longer wearing and clearer. Tru-Oil may slightly darken the bark.

..................

I used Tru-oil because I liked the richer color it added to the birchbark. Both will work well. And I harvested my bark in the middle of winter in Michigan and let it dry out for about a month before
cutting it up. Worked great, no problems. FYI--I did not cut it off the trees. I took it off ones that had fallen or died so it already had been dried some when I got it. I also found that the oldest
trees had the best bark because it was thicker--sometimes by almost double.