Preferred wood to make walking sticks from

silenthunterstudios

silenthunterstudios

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I dabble in woodcarving, I was passionate about it last year, trying to get some artistic drive for the craft right now. I usually just find a good stick, cut the bark off, and might carve a neat staff head. Maybe stain it. I also have some beautiful walking staffs made by a friend of mine north of Chambersburg PA. 5 of them to be exact, and they are top notch, with intricate carvings, that I only use at very nice social occassions.

What type of walking sticks would you recommend for light hiking, walking on the road, something to leave in my truck? Most of what I've worked with has been cherry. Also, the sticks I bought were made from wood gotten at a mill, the sticks I make are ones I've found in the woods and dried out. Also want a good head for nosy 4 legged creatures (and meddlesome two legged ones as well ;)).
 
Chinese White wax wood. Look it up it's some tough stuff. It's what they make those pratice swards and staffs from. Cold Steel sells them in their catalog and on the site. I have a walking stick that I made myself from this wood. It's tough.
 
I have a piece of rivercane that I cut last year. It is lite weight and would make an excellent walking/hiking stick. But I don't think that it has the strength to pry and having a good pry tool can be important when traveling in the bush.
 
Any wood will do... as long as it's knot free.

I've tried everything from pine to oak, including ash, holly, boxwood, maple, hickory, tamarack, spruce, laburnum (watch out it's toxic), even poplar and birch... beech, too... All great, though I find pine to be very lightweight and surprisingly strong for it's weight. Probably my favourite.

Right now I have a bamboo stick, about 5' long, feather light and very tough too...

Cheers !

David
 
Hornbeam, also known as American hornbeam, aka American ironwood. Grows allong stream banks, low places, and is recognized by the ridges looking like muscle that runs along the length.

This is a very strong wood that rivals hickory in toughness, but is hard to find in strait lengths, as it is bent and sometimes knarled looking. Trick is to fins a young sapling, and dig around the root, and if it has an interesting root shape then dig it up by the root. Cut it off a foot longer than you need to and let it age down the basement for at least 6 months. Sand and polish the root handle, leave the bark on it and polish the bark with 0000 steel wool. Stain and varnish to your taste.

This will make an incredably strong, rustic looking stick. I have two walking sticks I have made this way, and a hiking staff that is about mid-ribs high and looks like something Gandalf would carry. Due to the dense grain of the hornbeam, it can be a bit heavy, like hickory, but if you let it age at least that 6 months it won't be that bad.
 
I have an ironwood staff I've beaten the heck out of. I would mainly need it to support my 350 frame, smack dogs away from me, and give a good warning to any two legged mammals that might decide to interrupt my walk... Thanks for the suggestions! Keep em coming.
 
Well I might be old and senile, but I have had good luck picking up beaver sticks, which usually are softwoods, but they are already debarked and some of them have very interesting markings on them, courtesy of the beaver's teeth.
 
Ditto on diamond willow - up here there's lots of it. Once you get the bark off, carve out the knots, varnish, etc. - very nice.

- gord
 
Hedge apple, aka Osage Orange, makes a very tough staff. It is very dense yet elastic and has a beautiful color. It starts out as an electric yellow color and turns to a dark orange brown with age. You will have to remove the cream color sap wood to get down to the heartwood though. This wood is also one of the top two woods to use to make a self bow. Yew being the other.
 
I have a rather large piece of wood that is now well aged. It's probably 3-4" inches across and 5' long. I have no idea what kind of wood it is, but really don't mind if it just ends up being "practice".

My question is, since this is so wide, can it be split and used to make 2 walking sticks, or should you always just thin down from the outside keeping the core in the middle?
 
Hardwoods are the best. Cherry is really pretty wood. Oak and hickory are tough and are probably the best. Ironwood is really hard to work with. But it is certainly an interesting wood.

Sassafras makes an interesting walking stick. It is pretty stained or varnished. You see them at the craft fairs and so forth.
 
DGG said:
Bamboo makes a great walking stick (and you can fish with it too!).
Click to expand...

Do you use anything special on the bottom of your stick? I have one but it's being chewed up on the bottom by rocks, etc.

By the way, a couple of other interesting walking sticks are Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina) and American Basswood (Tilia americana). They are nice and light weight, but not particularly strong. The good thing about them is that you have wood for friction fire with you at all times. (especially the Basswood).

Doc
 
Thornwoods are usually great but heavy . Even if they have a couple of twists in them that just adds character . Irish shilelag (sp) are shaped , heavily waxed (rubbed in waxed) and then put up a fireplace chimney to harden . I guess the wax stops it from overdrying and the constant heat/smoke hardens the wood . I would find out more about this particular practice as waxed wood will proabably be pretty flamable .

I have an Ironwood walking stick that was carved into the shape of a Boken practice sword .http://www.sworddemon.com/productimages/bdk_white/main/BK758_BK759.jpg (If you move the cursor over it it will prompt you to magnify it . It comes in sharper .) Mine does not have the small guard . The guy who shaved/carved it for me uses his in practice and broke the store bought oak boken of another practicioner . I don,t use mine for its intended purpose . Even the store bought oak ones are very tough . If you got one or carved one you would only have to make sure it is the right length for what you want .
I mostly use mine when I go in a park after dark with my dog .
Sometimes there are drunk stoned kids in ther who might forget themselves and bother a man with an eighty pound Malamute .(You would have to be drunk or stoned .) The ironwood walking stick would proabably handle what was left over .

Doc ? The only bamboo cane/walking sticks I have seen had a steel tip on them . Real slippery on rocks . If it is just for walking a short bamboo cross country ski pole would work . I just cut off the basket on the end of it they usually have hardened steel tips that will last a while . I have taken an old construction glove Finger that just fits over the end of a stick and glued/stitched it in place . It will wear out fairly quickly . Good thing ? You will have four more leather fingers you can sew on . L:O:L
 
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