Walking Sticks in the Forest of Unknowing

A staff is a great help when walking. It helps a lot when going down steep hills, bouldering, crossing streams, etc. I like a light one, about chin height. I have a crutch tip from the hardware store on the end. It helps give a better grip on rocks.

The one I've been using for the last several years came from a sucker off an apple tree. I let it grow for a few years until it was thick enough. After cutting and peeling, I burned rings around it every foot, for a measuring tool. It also has my name burned in. Every once in a while I give it a coat of linseed oil.

I just remembered I put a picture of that one in the FAQ a few years ago. I guess me and that stick have been bopping around for a while now.

BagCarry1.JPG
 
Josh Feltman said:
Yvsa--I've got a walking stick made from sassafras wood, but not the root. My understanding is that Sassafras has been found to be slightly carcinogenic, hence the relative dearth of sassafras for tea these days. It's a shame, because it sure tastes good.
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Thomas Linton said:
Have you tried Sumac?
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Yeah Josh. 5,000,000 grams gave two lab rats a small dose of curable cancer so now it's #%$@*&%#@g
carcinogenic.:rolleyes: :grumpy: ;) :D
I still drink it when I can get it; kinda like Uncle Bill and his Camel's.;) :D

Tom I love Sumac Tea!!!! We have the small Sumac down here in this part of the country that doesn't get nearly as large as the Staghorn Sumac that grows up north.
When the leaves turn red in the fall they are great for picking, drying, and then crumbling up for use in tobacco like some other good plants.:cool:
The seed heads make a wonderful lemony tasting tea!!!!:D
We also have another variety called Skunk Sumac who's seed heads mature a bit earlier, when it's still hot. I like too gather and munch on them when I'm walking where they are about; makes for a good thirst quencher and are much stronger than the little Sumac.:D
 
For a stick or a staff you might want to consider cured burnt rattan, very light yet can hit (objects) very hard with little if any shock to the hands very study and it even floats.
 
Stephen Hamilton said:
Just wondering. . .

Stephen
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Stephen, do you know what Sourwood is and what the tree looks like?
I Googled it once and got a bunch of information on it. Seems that a lot of bee keepers like too place their hives near them as the flowers are supposed too make excellent honey.
The reason I'm asking is that several accounts I have read say that Sourwood was the wood of choice for the Traditional Cherokee Pipe Stems.
We're going too be near Ashville NC later this summer if everything goes alright and I'm going too see if I can find any trees that I can get some reasonably straight branches or suckers off of.
I'm assuming the smaller branches, up to 1-1/2" have a pithy center like Ash and Sumac that was also favored for Pipe Stems.
A good friend of ours has me a finished Pipe that he's going too present too me the next time our path's cross. Since it's a Cherokee Pipe I would dearly love too have a traditional wood stem for it.:D
It's supposed too grow in your neighborhood too.:cool:
 
Ahh, you must know more than your saying. I've seen that type in the dojo. :D
 
I got one o' thems yuppie poles around Christmas. Haven't had a chance to test it out though. I think the straight stick offers more variations for gripping than the ski pole thing though.

The only thing I didn't like about the long staff or stick is when you had to "slither" up some steep rocky section you had to throw the stick ahead of you or something similar. Maybe attaching a tactical assault sling or a piece of cord would help.
 
BruiseLeee said:
The only thing I didn't like about the long staff or stick is when you had to "slither" up some steep rocky section you had to throw the stick ahead of you or something similar.
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If you learned too shapeshift into a lizard you wouldn't have any trouble slithering up a steep rocky section of mountain slope.:rolleyes: :p ;)
Of course if you knew how too shapeshift you could turn yourself into a mountain goat and go sans walking stick.:D
 
sams said:
Nice stick, nice khuk, nice scenery, and what the hell a good guy. :)
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Howard reminds me of Stan, the Walker River Paiute Tribal social worker when I was with the tribe as Compliance Officer. I had 5 years experience on him. but he had more just plain common sense in him than anybody ought to be allowed to have. Stan was head of Tribal Social Services, last I heard.

Another thing Howard and Stan have in common is when they talk with you they listen to you at your level, as equals. Really - it comes across and you know they are being genuine.
 
Yvsa said:
Stephen, do you know what Sourwood is and what the tree looks like?
I Googled it once and got a bunch of information on it. Seems that a lot of bee keepers like too place their hives near them as the flowers are supposed too make excellent honey.
The reason I'm asking is that several accounts I have read say that Sourwood was the wood of choice for the Traditional Cherokee Pipe Stems.
We're going too be near Ashville NC later this summer if everything goes alright and I'm going too see if I can find any trees that I can get some reasonably straight branches or suckers off of.
I'm assuming the smaller branches, up to 1-1/2" have a pithy center like Ash and Sumac that was also favored for Pipe Stems.
A good friend of ours has me a finished Pipe that he's going too present too me the next time our path's cross. Since it's a Cherokee Pipe I would dearly love too have a traditional wood stem for it.:D
It's supposed too grow in your neighborhood too.:cool:
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Yvsa, as you probably discovered, Sourwood has a native range into southern Ohio and PA and as far west as southern Illinois. These days, nurseries are selling it west of the Mississippi, like in Nebraska and Missouri, and in northern Ohio. It is hardy to Zone 5, although it grows even more slowly there.

Does the wood need to be from the area you mentioned or gathered with ceremony? If so, I understand. If not, I could look for some.
 
Thomas Linton said:
Does the wood need to be from the area you mentioned or gathered with ceremony? If so, I understand. If not, I could look for some.
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Tom, please drop me an email. This would be better taken offline. And many thanks!:D
 
As a note for you Sassafras fans, one of the sites I went to had many walking sticks made in that wood.



I notice Howard's stick is thin, as many like them. Should the stick be able to hold your weight? I think so.



munk
 
munk said:
Should the stick be able to hold your weight? I think so.
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He looks lean'n mean in that pic. The stick actually doesn't look that thin. Maybe an inch or so in diameter just under his hand. :confused:

That's one thing I don't like about my yuppie stick. It'll take my weight but it flexes a little under my full weight. It might be good for absorbing some of the shock though. I'll post a report when I test it out.
 
I went hiking one fine winter day, and there was this stick that a construction crew must have broken off. Not sure what kind, and it didn't much matter. It was just straight, fresh, long, with beautiful white wood, and it called to me. I cured it and worked it with nothing but improvised technique that felt right. It's too pretty and special to be a user, but it is a piece that I will be proud to give to my kids. It is, I assure you, vastly more precious to me than the titanium trekking poles in my room!

Nam
 
Used to have one made from a euclyptus branch. When dried Euclyptus is one tough wood and fairly light.
 
Most of the nicer walking sticks I have seen for sale are way too short for me. They brag that they are 53-55" or so, but that is just too short. I think the ideal length is about like the one that Howard shows in his pic, that at least reaches to your chin. Even for shorter person I think 60" or so would be about right.

I believe the last Windlass Steelcrafts catalog I got showed several turned quarterstaffs towards the back, that would seem to be great hiking staffs as well as defensive weapons. They were made of some kind of synthetic I think

Regards,

Norm
 
I've found that Century Plant (Agave) stalks work great for hiking sticks. They are basically the desert analog to bamboo.

Since I pretty much always have a significantly large knife or a hatchet with me when I'm backpacking, a lot of times I'll just make a new walking staff on location during each trip. It saves a lot of space in transit getting to the location.

Lots of people nowadays seem to really like the lightweight telescoping walking poles that look like ski poles.
 
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