Curly Birch for Professional Makers and Designers
A little piece of Finland in your hands
Curly Birch, also known as Karelian Birch or Masur Birch, is a rare Finnish wood valued for its distinctive appearance and dense structure.
Since 1995, we have supplied our favorite wood, Curly Birch, to professional designers, makers and manufacturers around the world. We dry it, stabilize and color it (when needed), and stock it in our own facilities in Jakobstad. Yes, we deliver from the source, in Finland!
And it goes beyond that: holding a product made with Curly Birch truly feels like holding a small piece of Finland in your hands. Our nature, our arctic conditions and even our twisted beauty!
Due to its very distinct appearance, every item you make with curly birch immediately makes your think of the Nordics; but two products will ever look exactly alike. This means that each piece your customers receive will be the only one of its kind.
Welcome to Brisa Curly Birch!
What you will find in this first page
If you already know about Curly Birch and just want to ask for samples, project feasibility or pricing, go directly to contact us.
If you want to learn more about this unique Finnish wood, in this front page you will learn why each item made from Masur Birch is unique but shares also the same Nordic soul than other items made with it, some technical details about the wood itself and applications, formats, how we work with B2B professionals, and finally more about our processes and experience: making our own knives with Karelian Birch since 1995!
All part of a collection, but each item is unique
The distinctive look and feel of Curly Birch is, by itself, one of the reasons designers and makers around the world choose this rare wood for their products.
A collection made of Curly Birch will possess a very specific Finnish essence while giving the chance to each product owner to feel their piece is the only one in the world.
Without any treatment, the raw wood presents patterns, waves, embedded growth flame-like shapes that captivates the audience. If you add stabilization, heat treatment or coloring, you can push even further the boundaries of natural design.
We provide a broad range of coloring options, and we are proud to share that our stabilization does not require the use of epoxy raisin.
Beautiful, dense and perfect for designers and makers
It is not only a pretty wood…
While Curly Birch never leaves audiences indifferent due to its distinctive markings and elegant shapes, it is also a serious technical hardwood with a high density:
Air-dry densities around the 700-730 kg/m³ (at circa 12% moisture levels), with Janka hardness values approx. 5.600 N.
Stabilized pieces go up to 1.200-1.300kg/m³ .
When we discuss your design and manufacturing needs, we are aware that the aesthetics are only one of the aspects, but density, grain structure and dimensional stability are equally important.
We can supply Curly Birch in different qualities and finishing:
Grades: standard, super, extreme (ask us for pictures or, even better: samples!).
Finishing: raw (dried), stabilized, colored, hybrid, heat treated, x-cut.
Applications
Curly birch is currently used in multiple lines of products:
Knives
Pool cues
Pens and fountain pens
Eyewear
Watches
Jewelry
Musical instruments
Furniture and home accessories
… and more!
Contact us, let us know what you design you have in mind!
Available formats
We can provide blocks, customized shapes or full planks. For example, we often supply the smallest blocs for pen makers, the medium for knife designers and the longest for pool cue manufacturers. And we can go even bigger…
All cutting and treatment, if any, will be done strictly following your instructions.
Packing, if special requirements are needed regarding packing sizes, distribution of load, documentation or origin or for customs, or any other request, can always be arranged.
If you have read enough and wish to ask us a question or receive more information
We work with professionals
We serve the whole world
Since 1995, we have been supplying premium curly birch and also other raw materials and accessories, even our own Brisa knives!
Based in Finland but internationally oriented, we are always ready to embark on a new journey of design, production and shipment to a new shore.
In the cases where tariffs of conflicts stops or slows down the operations, we will discuss those conditions in advance.
We can ship bulk volumes, by the box, the pallet or the container. We can operate delivery at destination or pick ups from our warehouse.
Please note: historically, Curly Birch has been quoted “per kilo” and not “per m³”, but we will give you an equivalence between the pieces your order, or the kilos, and the volume of the shipment.
Learning or specialist: we can help you
We are happy to serve you whether you are looking for a few pieces, or a test order, or know exactly what you want. We are really here to guide you and provide all the answers you are looking for, including in the form of samples, or comply with your specific instructions if you are seeking a professional quote.
From initial concept discussions to more in-depth specifications: let’s talk about Curly Birch!
MOQ & samples
Since we work only with professionals, we do enforce a small minimum order quantity (MOQ) to truly focus on designers and makers who believe in Curly Birch as much as we do.
Samples are not included in MOQ calculations: we are happy to provide those for you to help you see and feel, in your own hands, the different types of wood qualities and treatments.
Small initial orders are also welcomed provided the scope of the project is in place. In fact, we might recommend you begin with a fraction of your final order to familiarize yourself with the wood, the dimensions you ordered, and ask us questions as you start ramping up.
So, for B2B professionals looking to launch a new line or model with Karelian Birch: contact us.
For single purchases or small volumes, we strongly recommend you to visit our webshop: Brisa Knife Supplies – Curly Birch, you might already find what you need and can easily create your own account.
Our process
We source our Curly Birch from carefully selected suppliers based in the center of Finland or the Karelian broader region. Some of those relationships go back 20 years, and consistency in lead times and quality are essential for our operations.
We receive the wood and stock it in our own facilities, in Jakobstad, where we proceed to dry it, naturally, and later on cut it and further customize it when needed: heat treatment, stabilization, coloring.
We prefer to work directly with designers and makers, we feel it makes us closer to the end product, and we take pride in seeing the wood that passed through our life go on to become extraordinary products. Working directly with you also allows us to make sure you receive exactly the type of wood, cut and treatment required for your manufacturing needs.
However, if you are a wholesaler or reseller, you can of course contact us too: we already supply, for example, knife blocks (curly birch scales) to several companies around the world.
Our experience
We have been making our own Brisa knives in Curly Birch since 1995…!
The Trapper, the Nessmuk, PK70, Bobtail… so many of our own Brisa knives are shipped across the world with their Curly Birch handles. Sometimes natural, others stabilized, and also colored (black, blue). We are proud to send our own collections so people around the globe can also hold a small piece of Finland in their hands (with a mean steel!, but that is a story for another day…).
You are always welcomed to ask us questions about working with the wood, preparing for your own manufacturing: we are here to assist you, as we have been doing now for more than 30 years.