Walking sticks

Gakker said:
I like the Gastrock Staff the best

GastrckHikingStaff.jpg


Although there’re many great walking sticks that they make:
http://www.gastrock.de/en/naturstoecke/marschierer.htm

DuluthTrading sells them:
http://www.duluthtrading.com/search/searchresults/95099.aspx?feature=Product_1

It’s a nice option to the composite or aluminum materials in modern staffs.
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This can be homemade for a fraction of their asking price, compass and all.
 
ranger88 said:
Go to your local home center, and buy a large industrial mop with a wooden handle. remove the mop head, and you have a great walking stick. And you didn't pay out the ying-yang for it.
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Great idea for a low-cost, no-brainer walking stick. If one wanted to take the concept further, you could make/re-fit various implements to accept the stick's threaded end; pick, spear, shovel, etc.

For greater strength by far, use a shovel handle. Plenty long and stout. I've used dozens of regular off-the-shelf shovels with wooden handles in my life. Every one was abused, beaten and cajoled into uses beyond its design; never have I had or seen a shovel handle break, even under extreme duress. (I'm not saying it's not possible to break one :) I'm saying I've seen shovels older than I am that are still in fine working order.)
 
I use a rattan walking stick. It has all the advantages of bamboo, but none of the drawbacks.

You can get a nice rattan staff in two lengths, either four feet or six feet, by purchasing a jo or bo staff from a martial arts supply store.

It's very light and flexible, but is solid and is not segmented.

Bear
 
And rattan can be used quite effectively as a self defense weapon.
Anyone who practices Arnis can verify that.
Very durable for it's weight
 
Poplar wood is good. It is a hardwood, but realtively lightweight.
Dries easily, easy to peel the bark.

if you want decorative, go with something that has more interesting grain, Poplar is "plain jane", but can be smoothed easily, and makes for a good hiking stick. You aren't going to do much prying with it. The lightweight is a trade-off for brittleness.
Poplar makes excellent kindling. When dried, it burns hot and fast.
You could use your walking stick for an emergnecy fire, if need be.

What about hollow walkers, like extruded aluminum? you could store supplies inside, and/or use it as a makeshift blowgun?
 
find a local tree trimmer and ask if he ever gets any black locust. hard as iron, nice patina when air aged. Will basically never rot, and will provide that nice hefty feel.
 
For Bamboo, you can make a wooden plug for the bottom of it, and shave it down to the size a rubber tip can slip over it. At the joint between the plug and the bamboo, put shrink wrap around it, or whip it tightly and coat the whipping in waterproof resin.
For sizing, generally, use the distance from the ground to your belly button for a low walking stick, and to your armpit for a tall walking stick. Don't go too skinny on the stick, you might need it to deal with side loads that would collapse an aluminum pole.
 
severtecher said:
I hike with a 6 foot Sotol walking stick. Very light and strong . Do a web search.
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Hey, I spend every Christmas in Tucson and I was thinking about looking around for Sotol this year for the purposes of making a walking stick. Do you know if anyone in town sells lengths of it or can I only get it finished into a walking stick?

Or is Tucson not the right environment for Sotol to grow in?
 
If you look on Ranger Ricks site, he makes a pretty servicable (and rather ingenious!) trekking pole/walking stick from a bamboo pole.
 
SkunkWerX said:
Poplar wood is good. It is a hardwood, but realtively lightweight.
Dries easily, easy to peel the bark.

Poplar makes excellent kindling. When dried, it burns hot and fast.
You could use your walking stick for an emergnecy fire, if need be.
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The Poplar can also be used as both drill and hearth for bow drill fire making. Similarly, Basswood (Tilia americana) makes a light, serviceable walking stick with friction fire capabilities.

Doc
 
I have used and made many walking sticks over the years but i have to say that my 15$ walmart expandable shock absorbing walking stick is really nice, light weight, and folds down to fit under the back seat of my car. I still use wood ones on some trecks but There really is something to be said about these ski pole type sticks.
 
bulgron, I will keep my eyes peeled for retailers and ask my sister. She is a former camping store salesperson. Lots of sotol in the Tucson and Rincon Mountain foothills. Make sure you are not in Natl. Forest land. I try to get some before the stick falls over or is completely dried out. They are favorite places for nesting wasps to bore a new home.
 
Gakker said:
Where can I get the wood and parts?
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Earlier in this thread, I mentioned commercial mop handles, But most home centers like home depot also sell long wooden dowls, about 1 inch thick. one of these would work just fine. In fact, it sounds like a project.

As far as the hardware, I would just drop the fancy tip, and slide a rubber cap on the end. The kind you see on the end of a cane, or crutch. (Hardware section at walmart). Now as far as the small compass. Ebay. They're called watch band compasses, and you can buy them on cheap lots. Just pull one out of the little rubber base and glue it into your staff.
 
severtecher said:
bulgron, I will keep my eyes peeled for retailers and ask my sister. She is a former camping store salesperson. Lots of sotol in the Tucson and Rincon Mountain foothills. Make sure you are not in Natl. Forest land. I try to get some before the stick falls over or is completely dried out. They are favorite places for nesting wasps to bore a new home.
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Hey severtecher, thanks for any pointers you can send my way.

I've been reading up on Sotol a bit. It looks like the stalk grows in the spring? What are the chances of my finding a stalk in december that isn't completely dried out and/or already on the ground?

I've been going to Arizona for Christmas for almost 10 years now, but somehow I never seem to get to do much more than a cursory excursion into the desert. I always end up visiting with the in-laws while the men watch TV and the women talk endlessly. :grumpy: But we're driving down this year instead of flying, which means I'll have my own wheels, which means I might have to go poke around some on my own when the constant repetition of football/basketball/NASCAR gets to be too much.

Know any good trails suitable for a 1/2 or 3/4 day hike somewhere in Tucson? I won't be able to sneak away for more than that, so it has to be a fairly short trail.
 
Today I saw some 62" rake handles at Home Depot. At closer look they seemed to be made of hickory, most of them with twisting/wavy grain, but some were straight. They have a metal ferrule at the end where the rake has to be attached, and are varnished roughly. Depending on the wood (dryness, grain, sapwood or heartwood) their weight varies by at least 30%.
A 3/4" rubber leg tip, also sold there, can be easily applied onto the ferrule.

It was priced less than $8, a four-pack of leg tips $1.60, and since 'tis the season, I chose one with the best grain (nice light sapwood and incidentally it was the lightest too.)

I was eying some nice and long hickory walking sticks for some time now, but at $30+ price I always postponed the purchase.
Now I have a functional hiking staff, which is long, strong, relatively light and springy. The traditional hickory hiking staffs made of saplings or branches might be somewhat stronger, but this rake handle ain't a weakling either.:)
 
Gakker said:
Where can I get the wood and parts?
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Go to Lee Valley and they have the staff tip available there. http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=40009&cat=1,250,43243 You can also get little compases (compai?) there, or just buy a cheap one at the local hardware store...

I have an area of woods near me FULL of maple saplings which I use regularly for making walking sticks for gifts or to replace the ones my kids lose...:D If you cut them off right at the ground, there's usually a little bit of a bend at the end that makes a nice gripping spot for a short walking stick. For hiking and hunting, tho, I prefer a walking STAFF of around 6'.

J-
 
I've had a bamboo walking stick since 1972, and I have more wear and tear on me than the stick does. Best dang thing around. You can use it for so much. Collin Fletcher and his book turned me on to it.
 
How about adding a threaded piece to one end that matches a Reeve one piece knife handle? Might make a nice pig sticker.
 
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