Shepherds crook and Alpen staff .

K

Kevin the grey

Joined
Aug 26, 2005
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I just watched Sherlock Holmes :The final Problem: with Jeremy Brett .
He had an Alpen staff in there that was wicked bad . The crook or hook looked to be made of carbon steel and was pointy as an I:R:S: agents head . I have heard Shepherds would hook the crook of their staff around the neck of a coyote or wolf and with the beasts natural tendency to pull away could end its life most efficiently . I don,t know how true that is . I do know if you hooked this alpen staff into any part of any anatomy there is going to be a hot time in the old town to-nite .
I,m using a poplar staff right now and occasionaly my boken . I,m up to roughly two mile hikes over grasslands and hills . I hope to be over three miles of hilly terrain to get me reasonably ready for my next archery tournament . I sure would like one of those alpen staffs for my jaunts .
 
Kevin the grey said:
I just watched Sherlock Holmes :The final Problem: with Jeremy Brett .
He had an Alpen staff in there that was wicked bad . The crook or hook looked to be made of carbon steel and was pointy as an I:R:S: agents head . I have heard Shepherds would hook the crook of their staff around the neck of a coyote or wolf and with the beasts natural tendency to pull away could end its life most efficiently . I don,t know how true that is . I do know if you hooked this alpen staff into any part of any anatomy there is going to be a hot time in the old town to-nite .
I,m using a poplar staff right now and occasionaly my boken . I,m up to roughly two mile hikes over grasslands and hills . I hope to be over three miles of hilly terrain to get me reasonably ready for my next archery tournament . I sure would like one of those alpen staffs for my jaunts .
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Try the feed store. Many have stout "hog canes" and longer shepherd's staves. They even have straight sticks. All usually made of stout oak or hickory. Not romantically expensive, but hell for strong. I can't remember paying more than $5 or $10 for any of mine.

Here's one I customised by burning a pattern into, and shaping the end of the crook. I also widened the crook, to accomodate my own peculiar style.

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Thanks Howard . Thats a neat staff .The feed stores around here are pretty tame . There are a lot of thorn trees around here with a lot of interesting wood .Very tough . I might try to make a boken . If that works out I,ll try to find a piece long and straight enough to try steam bending a crook on my own .
 
Kevin the grey said:
Thanks Howard . Thats a neat staff .The feed stores around here are pretty tame . There are a lot of thorn trees around here with a lot of interesting wood .Very tough . I might try to make a boken . If that works out I,ll try to find a piece long and straight enough to try steam bending a crook on my own .
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You might try the old Irish way. Dig up the thorn rootball and all. After seasoning you can shape the root to be a knob or handle on the end of your staff.

The khuk is a good tool for digging/chopping out the thorn root.
 
Kevin the grey said:
I just watched Sherlock Holmes :The final Problem: with Jeremy Brett .
He had an Alpen staff in there that was wicked bad . The crook or hook looked to be made of carbon steel and was pointy as an I:R:S: agents head . I have heard Shepherds would hook the crook of their staff around the neck of a coyote or wolf and with the beasts natural tendency to pull away could end its life most efficiently . I don,t know how true that is . I do know if you hooked this alpen staff into any part of any anatomy there is going to be a hot time in the old town to-nite .
I,m using a poplar staff right now and occasionaly my boken . I,m up to roughly two mile hikes over grasslands and hills . I hope to be over three miles of hilly terrain to get me reasonably ready for my next archery tournament . I sure would like one of those alpen staffs for my jaunts .
Click to expand...

i've got a six foot 1.5" thick white wax wood staff that is hella strong. they come thinner too... i've been thinking that putting some kind of ferrule thang on the end would make it perfect as a walking stick. the wood is very pretty - WHITE with blue veins. mmm.

nifty

bladite
 
Howard Wallace said:
You might try the old Irish way. Dig up the thorn rootball and all. After seasoning you can shape the root to be a knob or handle on the end of your staff.

The khuk is a good tool for digging/chopping out the thorn root.
Click to expand...

Howard I just couldn,t jab , twist or chop into the dirt with one of Yangdu,s excellent creations . I guess I,ll get over that eventually . It is also a cement company landfill/garbage dump where I forage . They are good enough to let us use their land . They were not good to the land . There is enough metal in the form of twisted machinery and old barrels to deter even an ardent digger . Thats an excellent suggestion as far as the rootball goes . One of the cantina members even suggested waxing the dickens out of it and putting it up a fireplace chimney to cure/harden . I may do as you counciled one day .

i've got a six foot 1.5" thick white wax wood staff that is hella strong. they come thinner too... i've been thinking that putting some kind of ferrule thang on the end would make it perfect as a walking stick. the wood is very pretty - WHITE with blue veins. mmm.

nifty ,bladite

Bladite that waxwood sounds interesting . I have never heard of anything like it . Do these blue veins run through the wood through-out ? It does sound like it will make a unique staff .
 
Kevin waxwood is great stuff:thumbup: Flexible, but very strong. I think they use it a lot in Chinese martial spears and staffs. Plus it's very cheap. Even at Cold Steel's inflated prices, they aren't that much. There are a lot of places on the net that sell the Cold Steel brand and have them at a very reasonable price.
Personally, i like my blackthorn stick. Light, strong, and very sheeple friendly. It doesn't have the huge rootball, just a little one that is ever so hooked. It would be great for jamming into a pressure point or hooking and pulling at the back of the knee should the need come to be.
However, I am on the lookout for an oak "sappling" with a large rootball and a trunk diameter of 2.5-3". I plan on cutting it down to 24", shaping the shaft, curing it, then boring a few holes in the knob and "loading" it with a little molten lead;) If anyone runs across one, lemme know:)
I've always fancied running a little Irish Pub/sports bar one day. Sitting on the shelf in plain sight among all the bottles and the mirrored backboard would be the oak cudgel cradled next to a statue of the Archangle Michael (I'm not Catholic, but it would make its point:D). Letting the greasers, the socs, the rockers, the mods, the bikers, the jerks, and everyone else in between that at the end of the day hoopla in my pub won't be put up with;)

Jake
 
Steely unless you are a linebacker do you really think you need to load an oak cudgel with anything ? It sounds awesome as is . I,ll keep my eye out for an oak sapling . I have not seen any as of yet . Thorn trees might make a substitue . We all have our druthers .
Having an angel and a cudgel behind the bar sounds very fitting . Angels were used to protect or punish and could get darn right vengeful at times .
I look forward to sipping a glass of Irish sunshine there one day . One thing ? No karaoke nights ! L:O:L

B:T:W most of my buddies who run bars prefer a one handed cudgel so that they may grapple or postion with the other hand . I,m very nice when in their bars ! L:O:L
 
a little bit "out of topic" but Jeremy Brett really is The Man when looking at his incredible Sherlock Holmes play,

i am a big big big fan of this TV series,

Alex
 
AlexCA said:
a little bit "out of topic" but Jeremy Brett really is The Man when looking at his incredible Sherlock Holmes play,

i am a big big big fan of this TV series,

Alex
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Of all the television Sherlocks offered Jeremy is by far the best . I honestly believe he rivals even the great Basil Rathbone . Did you see the episode with the great Robert Hardy ?
 
Thanks Hollow . The leg crooks are neat .I don,t think I,d like my leg crooked . Its barely straight as it is . L:O:L
 
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