The best time to debark your logs with any kind of tool is springtime. During the spring, trees are actively growing, which makes the layer just below the bark slippery, wet, and much easier to peel than it would be in autumn, after the wood has had time to dry.

Is it bad to debark a tree?

Removing bark from a healthy pine tree or other kind of tree always endangers the tree. Harvesting bark for craft projects or other pursuits should be done on dead or cut trees and never should be attempted on a healthy tree.

What is the easiest way to remove tree bark?

The most common method is to use a peeling spud and drawknife combination. A peeling spud is a tool that removes the bulk of the bark by prying it off. This works best on non-winter cut wood. In log building a peeling spud is used to knock off the majority of a log's bark.