Heading out tomorrow - hiking staff hunting

[myright]

Hey fellas - I've finally found some time to head out. Myright Jr and myself will hit a 5 mile loop at a local park.

I want to find some good wood to use for my first hiking staff project

Should I look for deadfall, standing dead, or cut a piece of green wood?

I'll probably only be able to grab one since myright jr. will be on my back but we'll see what I can do.

 

[Mentor]

Tough call. I found a terrific piece of recently-cut green wood this summer, and I turned it into a great hiking staff. Usually, though, I use deadfall, as it is harder, drier, and needs less seasoning. Not very helpful, am I ?

Have a terrific hike with Myright Jr., and best of luck with your search for a staff.

Cheers,

- Mike

 

[myright]

Tough call. I found a terrific piece of recently-cut green wood this summer, and I turned it into a great hiking staff. Usually, though, I use deadfall, as it is harder, drier, and needs less seasoning. Not very helpful, am I ?

Have a terrific hike with Myright Jr., and best of luck with your search for a staff.

Cheers,

- Mike

LMAO - great answer - "all of the above" :thumbup:

There's quite a bit of deadfall where I'm going so I may have my pick from quite a few choices.

I'm actually pretty excited to try out making my first staff.

I'll post pics tomorrow of our trip.

 

[coote]

To me one of the most important things to consider is the species of wood. Some nice straight stuff we have growing here, for instance, is some of the weakest wood around. Our tough wood (suitable for axe handles etc) is often a bit kinked.

It is nice if you can find a bit of dead, standing wood of the right species that is seasoned rather than starting to decay.

Green wood is much easier to cut and whittle. And it will season quickly enough indoors.

I don't know anything about the types of wood in your area sorry.

 

[myright]

To me one of the most important things to consider is the species of wood. Some nice straight stuff we have growing here, for instance, is some of the weakest wood around. Our tough wood (suitable for axe handles etc) is often a bit kinked.

It is nice if you can find a bit of dead, standing wood of the right species that is seasoned rather than starting to decay.

Green wood is much easier to cut and whittle. And it will season quickly enough indoors.

I don't know anything about the types of wood in your area sorry.

Either do I

Thanks for your help, brother.

 

[Marcelo Cantu]

IMO you'll get a straighter piece for cutting a green sapling as it would be rare (I think to find a dead sapling. If you look around lakes you may find some Hop Hornbeam, sometimes called Ironwood (not the well known Desert Ironwood). It looks like a muscular forearm. It is some tough stuff, allowing you to carry a thinner staff. You should wrap the ends tight with jute before you age it to avoid cracking. Its bark is quite tedious to remove however. Good hunting.

 

[coote]

I guess you might be in the US. I understand that hickory or ash can make a good tool handle, therefore it should be a good choice of of staff wood even if it is a bit heavy.

Elm and types of maple can make a good bow, therefore I'd be looking for some to try as a staff.

You'll be OK. It would be fun to try a few different sticks to see which ones are the strongest.

If you just need a staff to steady yourself on a hill climb, then maybe it doesn't need to be all that tough. But if you are like me and want to have a stick that would make a good lever, club, or spear shaft, then I'd be seeking something relatively strong.

I'm looking forward to seeing the pictures.

 

[myright]

I guess you might be in the US. I understand that hickory or ash can make a good tool handle, therefore it should be a good choice of of staff wood even if it is a bit heavy.

Elm and types of maple can make a good bow, therefore I'd be looking for some to try as a staff.

You'll be OK. It would be fun to try a few different sticks to see which ones are the strongest.

If you just need a staff to steady yourself on a hill climb, then maybe it doesn't need to be all that tough. But if you are like me and want to have a stick that would make a good lever, club, or spear shaft, then I'd be seeking something relatively strong.

I'm looking forward to seeing the pictures.

Ha - I guess I should have mentioned where I am.

I'm in Delaware and yes I'll be posting plenty of pics.

 

[Bushman5]

Myright, bring a packframe and some rope, your handsaw and HARVEST a bunch of wood man! I love my forays into the woods to gather staff material.

I really do wish though that we had some hardwoods around here like hickory or osage......this is softwood country.....LMAO!

 

[myright]

Myright, bring a packframe and some rope, your handsaw and HARVEST a bunch of wood man! I love my forays into the woods to gather staff material.

I really do wish though that we had some hardwoods around here like hickory or osage......this is softwood country.....LMAO!

The pack I carry myright jr. in is a rigid frame pack that I can lash some stuff too. It gets a little unstable when he decides to jump around

If I do find some good wood I'll take more than one, I've got no problem with that. I like Sundays because I can mess around around and not worry about getting shot by a hunter :thumbup:

 

[dipbait]

I get my staffs from Osage Orange. Theres a lot of it here. Either a sapling or a green limb.