Making a walking stick

[fish]

the mistakes are part of the learning!

[OKBushcraft]

I cut when I need it. I have a hickory staff that is about 5ft 6inches, it is not strait but has a nice mild curve towards the top end. I cut it 18 yrs ago, it was late summer early fall and the bark peeled off nicely. I scraped it with my pocket knife and oiled it with veggie oil. I still have it and use it. It only developed a couple cracks while in storage when I moved. I oiled it with boiled linseed oil last year. It has been on many outings looking for arrow heads, mushrooms, berries, greens and just because. It has moved many a snake out of the way also.


Rough Leafed Dogwood should be cut in the winter, it will split badly in the wamer months even if cut long. I will cut and bundle dogwood shafts for arrows and let them dry with the bark on.
I like my walking staffs to have some character in them, straitness matters only slightly.

[H-rig]

At the moment i have a few hours spare in the evenings where i can sit outside in the sunshine while it lasts. I want to have a go at making my own walking sticks. Is now not a good time to start collecting and working with suitable wood due to the season ?

[Woodwose]

At the moment i have a few hours spare in the evenings where i can sit outside in the sunshine while it lasts. I want to have a go at making my own walking sticks. Is now not a good time to start collecting and working with suitable wood due to the season ?

Now is the time to start. If I see straight hazel I cut it no matter what time of year. (Just cut 7 sticks this morning) When the sap is going down is the best time to cut hazel. October to March would be the best option.
Hazel doesn't really split that much at the cut ends no matter what time of year it's cut. I use white spirit and wire wool to remove any flaky loose bits, then sand down any knots then a wipe over with a cloth and white spirit. Finally a coat of wax. Varnish doesn't do it for me.

[RobbC]

Sorry to kinda jack the thread, but can you use willow to make walking sticks?

Robb

[Peter Mackley]

How do I get a piece of hazel suitable for a walking stick with a nice "knob" on the end?

[FishyFolk]

Sorry to kinda jack the thread, but can you use willow to make walking sticks?

Robb

Used my willow stick all trough summer. Just get the bark off and it's dry in a few weeks. A least for my purpose. I don't do any carving on it. Holds up fine. All I do with it is strip the bark off, and sand it down to make it smooth. Use mine mostly as a monopod for my camera. just stick the cam on my gorilla pod and attach the pod on top of the stick. If I want to do a hands free shot, I just stick it in the ground and it stands.

[fish]

dont forget some before and after shots!

[paul standley]

How do I get a piece of hazel suitable for a walking stick with a nice "knob" on the end?

Basically (for sticks with handles), you need to find a Hazel stool (old ones are best) with a large diameter stem (approx 7cm - 10cm Dia that has another stem growing out of the side of it (approx 3cm - 4cm dia where the joint between the two has the right shape, size and orientation of wood that suits your needs.

Cut between Nov & Feb when the sap is down.

Most people look for an upside down "T" joint so the best ones are where the large stem is growing horizontally and the secondary stem is growing vertically but these aren't common so you may want to compromise.

Cut the large dia: stem approx 15cm either side of the joint to allow for some end splitting as it dries.

For "knobs" - do a similar thing but cut the large dia stem just 2cm - 3cm either side of the upright. Sticks with knobs are easier to find as the "T" joint symmetry is less critical. The Knob bit is created from the joint section.

If possible dry for 6 months in a shed/garage but if not, the radiator is Ok if you rotate it frequently to stop it setting into a bend on one side. Just watch that the cut ends of the "T" joint don't split as a result of accelerated drying.

Paul.