Birch tar amount?
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I haven't used birch tar, but I have used pine tar. People generally use anywhere from 2% to 20% as a part of their soaping oils. If you are looking for scent only, go with a low percentage -- maybe 2% to 5%. The odor does lighten and mellow with age, so don't judge the odor based on what you smell in the can or in the newly made soap.
You might already know this, but just to be thorough -- Wood tars do saponify, so be sure to include the tar as part of your soaping oils, not as a separate additive. If birch tar is not specifically listed in your soaping calculator, I think you would be safe if you treated it in your calculations as if it is pine tar.
You might already know this, but just to be thorough -- Wood tars do saponify, so be sure to include the tar as part of your soaping oils, not as a separate additive. If birch tar is not specifically listed in your soaping calculator, I think you would be safe if you treated it in your calculations as if it is pine tar.
dixiedragon
Well-Known Member
I have never heard of birch tar, or any "wood tar" besides pine tar! I am very curious! What does it look like and smell like?
Interesting. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birch-tar No coffee yet and I've already learned something new.
I always thought of using birch tar as a base note to impart leather, tar, smoky, and wintergreen notes.
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Miz Jenny
Well-Known Member
Where does one get birch tar?
I had recently heard of $15 birch tar soaps and was curious to know what it smelled so I looked online and when I read it smells like a campfire I had to buy some (not the soap but the birch tar itself).
I just opened the bottle for a few seconds when I got it yesterday and the entire room smelled like fire, that's why I was worried of putting too much. It looks like a black liquid but it's in dark glass bottles and I haven't poured any out yet.
What does Pine tar smell like? Is it very different than Birch tar?
I bought 2 small one ounce bottles of it on eBay to try making soaps, and maybe even candles with it. I had recently bought a candle that's scented like wood fire which I love and it smells almost exactly like the birch tar, I don't sell candles but every now and then I do make one for myself and a birch tar candle will probably be my next one.
Have you actually got the tar, or do you have birch tar essential oil? I could only find the EO online
It's from another country in a language that doesn't even use our alphabet but I can ask the seller, what difference does it make?
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boyago
Well-Known Member
I think if I lit some candles and started to relax I know my mind would wonder, I'd smell the candles and then I'd have a heart attack racing for the fire extinguisher.
Miz Jenny
Well-Known Member
It makes a lot of difference. We have a boatload of birch trees around our house. My hubby says he can tap one of the trees for sap/tar. I would rather have the real thing as a local product than buy an essential oil.
EG: If it works, I'll send you some.
Raw tree sap is not the same thing as tar. The tar is a oil resin that is a by product of burning wood.
The difference between a EO and the actual tar is important. EO would be used as a scent only while the tar has a SAP value and needs to be figured into the recipe.
Miz Jenny
Well-Known Member
Thanks, Obsidian. We'll burn some branches and get the sap. Actually, I think he's planning to take one down this summer, then we'll burn some in our firepit. He loves the chemistry.
boyago
Well-Known Member
Not sure but I think they make the pine tar by cooking it in an anaerobic environment, kind of like a pressure cooker. Not by actually burning the wood more like how they make char coal but in a sealed container. Not trying to crush the dream, if I had a woodlot full of Birch I would give it a go.
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It's true, these days its a single sealed pot that they make it in.
As for oil or essential oil, if it is a little bottle up to 100ml, then it is likely to be EO - use just a very small % like you would use any other EO. If it's a larger bottle, I think it would be actual oil - use a larger % but make it part of the planned recipe.
Can you take a picture and show us?
As for oil or essential oil, if it is a little bottle up to 100ml, then it is likely to be EO - use just a very small % like you would use any other EO. If it's a larger bottle, I think it would be actual oil - use a larger % but make it part of the planned recipe.
Can you take a picture and show us?
Miz Jenny
Well-Known Member
I'm not willing to sacrifice my pressure canner for birch tar. :-D I will have him tap one of our trees for some sap though and do a test batch using some of it. It has a very distinct scent and, of course, makes wonderful syrup. Would use it instead of sugar in my soap. (I use birch syrup instead of honey or sugar in spent grain bread I make for a vegan customer.) Soap will birch eo and birch sap could be a very interesting soap and I love the idea of it representing Northern Ontario.
Good discussion & good info, y'all. Thanks!
You can also use a tin and a couple of old plant pots -
http://www.primitiveways.com/birch_bark_tar.html
http://www.primitiveways.com/birch_bark_tar.html
Miz Jenny
Well-Known Member
I emailed hubby the link and he's already figured out how to do it.
They are 30 ml bottled but the listing said 100% birch tar, if this is an indicator I can tell through the bottle that it's very liquid almost like water, not thick like molasses which I was expecting.
Here's a listing like the one I bought mine from:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Natural-Bir...ural_AlternativeTherapies&hash=item19e8e972b7
I'm also interested in trying Pine tar, does anyone know how the scent compares to birch tar? I saw this larger bottle of pine tar I'm interested in buying, I confirmed with the manufacturer that it's 100% pine tar with no additives:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mueller-Pin...647?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4acabea51f
Thanks
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