Processing retted lime tree bark

Lime-tree, linden or basswood are common names for Tilia species, here I use Tilia cordata.

The innerbark from lime is is built up of many thin layers. To seperate the layers and get thin strips of bark you need to ret it. To do that you put the bark in water and let it ret until the bark layers seperate easily. This can be done in a stream, lake or a bucket. If you use a bucket you need to change the water every so often. If you overdo the retting the bark starts to rot and the fibers get weak, therefore you need to check the retting process continuously.

I harvest this bark from a wrist thick trunk. The bark is more or less uneven in thickness which effect the retting process. Thicker parts take longer to ret than thinner but the best part of the bark, for cordage making, are the bark closest to the wood. So the retting process don´t really need to go through the whole thickness of the bark.

This piece of bark was in the stream for just over three weeks. The bark gets a bit slimy when retted so even if the layers have seperated they can be tricky to seperate cause the slime makes them stick together. Therefore a knife can be handy to just pull the bark layers apart. The bark strips will be dryed and then used for making cordage.

Hope you enjoy.
Cheers.