looking for info/sites on: walking sticks, lanyard and fob tying

[Mongo]

Hey all, I'm going to try my hand at making a walking stick. Looking for advice on what wood to look for, do I harvest live or use dead/fallen wood?, also advice on how to do a handle wrap and lanyard with paracord.

Whatcha got?
Mongo

 

[silenthunterstudios]

Hey all, I'm going to try my hand at making a walking stick. Looking for advice on what wood to look for, do I harvest live or use dead/fallen wood?, also advice on how to do a handle wrap and lanyard with paracord.

Whatcha got?
Mongo

Harvest live and store it in your garage or somewhere similar and let it sit for a while. I am trying my hand at carving walking sticks too.

 

[Cougar Allen]

Cut it long and paint the ends with something to slow drying -- paint, melted wax, linseed oil, whatever's handy. The ends might crack anyway, that's why you cut it long.

 

[Guntotin_fool]

also call around to your local landscapers/tree surgeons, ask them if they ever cut black locust as trimming yards. If so ask them to save you some pieces about the size you want. that makes the best sticks in my mind.


as far as lanyard loops etc here try this smaller scale but the ideas the same
http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=106012

 

[Esav Benyamin]

Lanyards & Cordwrap

Animated Knots by Grog
http://www.animatedknots.com/

Boondoggle Man
http://www.boondoggleman.com/

Folsom's Knots
http://www.folsoms.net/knots/

Ropers Knots Page
http://www.realknots.com/knots/index.htm

International Guild of Knot Tyers
http://www.igkt.net/index.php

LightHound Paracord Lanyard Weaving & Braiding
http://www.lighthound.com/info/lanyard_weaving.htm

Chris Reeve Coil Knot
http://www.chrisreeve.com/knotright.htm
http://www.chrisreeve.com/knotleft.htm

HANDLE WRAPS

Strider Wrap
http://www.striderknives.com/html/handlewrapping.html

NorthCoast Knives - Cord Wrap Handles
http://www.northcoastknives.com/northcoast_knives_tutorials_CordWrap.htm

Throwzini Cord Wrapping Your Handles
http://www.throwzini.com/cord_wrapping.html

The Art of Tsukamaki
http://pages.prodigy.net/tlbuck/tsuka/tsuka.htm

 

[metallicat]

wow Esav I am impressed what a fountain of knowledge :thumbup:

 

[Saberman]

Esav nailed it when it comes to online resources.

As for wood, I would suggest walking along streams and rivers looking for Beaver cut branches. Ususally they'll be cleaned off and something about being in the river cures them real good.

 

[Esav Benyamin]

Thanks. phatch recently suggested a knife resource and I posted a number of my Palm Desktop memos on that thread: Suggestion: A Knife WIKI. I try to keep adding to them as I find more relevent links and i post each one when I see a question about the topic.

 

[phatch]

For the stick I'm currently working on, I cut some volunteer maples out of my yard after letting them get the right size of course.


Do the shaping, then coat with a spar varnish for water protection. Then add the cord wraps. Some people mark the staff with measurements for guaging water depth or fish they caught.

For the tips, I'm partial to trimming them down to fit a copper plumbing cap. Attach with epoxy. Flush with the rest of the wood looks best. Others prefer to install a button compass in the top or a camera mount.

For the ground end, you may want a removable spike. There's a furniture screw that works well, but I don't know it's name. The outside has a very coarse thread, the inside fine thread. Installed on a leg end, you can adjust a screw in the inside threads to adjust the height of the furniture so it's level. Drill a hole in the end of your staff as described for the size screw you buy. Drive in the screw. It's easy to split your staff doing this. You might consider installing the copper cap first to hold the staff together. Drill out the copper cap and install that first

Then buy a capless screw--I think they're called a stud--that fits inside the furniture screw. One end, shape into a point. The part that sticks out, cover with a nut. When you need the spike end, undo the nut and unscrew the spike. REverse it and screw it back it in to the right height. Replace the nut.

You can cover the nut assembly with a furniture cap or crutch cap for non-marring uses and quiet.

For the cord wrap, I like a specific whipping stitch as illustrated here.

http://www.xmission.com/~phatch/whip/perfectwhip.jpg

This leaves an invisible start/finish and holds pretty tightly. Like all wraps, it can slip though. So on the current staff, I'm recessing the area for the cord wrap with a right angle edge to hold the wrap in place.

I find you need to adjust the lanyard for a good fit for uphill and a different fit for downhill. I like to braid the cord for the lanyard, a singe strand braid being the most elegant, though not as multicolored as some might like.

http://www.xmission.com/~phatch/BraidKnotInstruct.jpg

The single strands thread through the whole more cleanly than the whole braid. And they're easier to tie to adjust the lanyard.

Phil