When to harvest sticks??

Vampire Hunter D

Vampire Hunter D

Joined
Nov 26, 1999
Messages
406
Two questions:

I've always heard that it's best to harvest saplings in january, but would it be O.K. to grab one now?



How does Hawthorn (Crataegus douglasii) compare to Irish Blackthorn ( Prunus spinosa)? I know that they are both part of the Rosaceae family, but are they equally dense?

I want to use this stick for a walking/beating stick so all you woodchucks let me know what you think. I'd use oak but I'm not sure I could find a good sapling and I don't want to wait for it to grow if I buy it at a nursery, plus it's expensive.

- D
 
Okay Dan...you've forced my hand.

I generally cut one when I need it...

Pretty scientific, eh?

The stick never seemed to notice the difference.

.
 
Dry and cold is best but I don't think it is necessary as long as you let it cure properly. Now migh be a bad time though because of the increased sap "flowing" through the tree. I'd just give it a go and find out!

Whenever you harvest, make sure you debark the sapling as soon as possible and store in as dry and warm a location as possible to avoid checking. it should also be hanging or sitting on spacers of some sort to avoid contact with floors or walls.

I'm no wood expert now so take it with a grain of salt!

I've got a pretty extensive collection of wood and woodworking books. I'll check them and let you know what, if anything, it says about the strength and density of the woods you mentioned.
 
I always try to cut my stuff in the winter when they have less water in them and are pretty dormant. Reduces the chances of a great piece splitting on you. I then usually let them sit for a year or so flat and out of the way. That way if they split they will do it before I spend time working them up.

Last batch I cut on Halloween(earlier than normal for me but it had been cold enough for long enough).
 
Alright thanks.

I'll go grab one now and see what happens and I'll also go buy a hawthone shurb from a nursury and let it grow until winter hits and see what happens.

My usual curing time is 6 months to a year with wax on all of the sawed or clipped ends. Does that sound about right?


- D
 
Guess I'm of the cut-em, strip-em then use them school. I tend to do this when out with my boy on cub scout camping trips, so have to settle for what I can find after the scouts have foraged. Did get a great striped maple stick last year that is an optimal combination of weight and strength, in my mind at least. I tend to lash the handle section and do some ornamental knotwork bands as well (Turks heads and the like). This one was so nice I brought it home and covered it wtih some marine epoxy I had left over from a kayak building project. Seems to be holding up well. As I recall I cut it last fall during a cold snap though...

The densest stick I've made is from a hickory sapling from up in the Adirondacks. I found that to be too heavy for my tastes at about 1 1/2" diameter, but it sure is rock solid. Did start to split a bit after one season so I may have to look into this wax trick of yours

Looking forward to boy scout trips where fixed blades are acceptable. Then I can bring along a kuk... I'll be some kind of choping, limbing stick making fool then.

Though what the difference is between a fixed blade and my old heavy duty Schrade LB7 is I certainly can't tell.
 
Totally OT:
I love watching my friend make latticino. He makes it lool so easy that I thought I would try my hand at it. It was funny. Or, at least everyone else thought so!


Back on topic: I am curious about what waxing the ends does. Maybe I am missing something but it seems like that would keep moisture in the wood to me, not help it cure.

But then, I am having trouble keeping wood from checking here myself(too hot and humid) so I probably just missed something.
 
OT response. Yes I had a recent try at making it as well, with the master: Fritz Driesbach on the other end of the stick no less. Man can that guy pull some cane! You a hotworker roughedges?
 
Latticino said:
You a hotworker roughedges?
Click to expand...
Not really, I dabble in it at best! Same as most other crafts. My friend Danny has a pretty good setup so whenever he is around I try and learn something. Its difficult without constant access though. Once the shop is set up proper I'll probably try and dedicate a corner to glass work since I really do love the medium.

But man is a good torch expensive!
 
Painting the ends slows the evacuation of water- controls the departure so hopefully there will be less splits.

I have 20 or so outside in the garage. The ones that split will be burned.


munk
 
Thanks for getting that Munk. Yeah, painting or wax. I was taught to use wax so there ya go.


I just dropped the wife and the kid off at the train station to go see my wife's sis for two weeks and on the way back I stopped at this park by my house. While I was wlking around I found an oak sapling that looked like someone fell on it. I'd say half of the roots were exposed so I yanked it out and now it is in my shed. When the wife gets back I'll see if I can get some pics up.

- D
 
I've cut lots of sticks in the summer. If you don't want it too crack take the bark off and rub it with a helluva lot of oil every day for a couple of weeks. After that you can slow down to every couple of days for a couple of weeks and so on.
If perchance you see any small cracks starting you aren't putting enough oil on it usually.
The last one I cut was a heavy hickory sapling for a Big Assed Creek brother. He kept it oiled down like I told him and it came out fine. You can use about any oil but generally cooking oils smell the best if you have to leave it indoors.;) :D

Tom just sent me some really nice, and straight, Sourwood branches, (Thanks again Tom!!!!), and he waxed the ends. So far no cracking at all.:D
But if you do it that way leave the bark on to let the wood dry slowly.

Ain't there any wild Hawthorne where you live? The woods here have several varities in different places, gotta know where to look.;)
What I'd like to find is some Prickly Ash but not for walking sticks, natural toothache medicine instead.:D
And no, it's not for me, although I do like the taste of the berries.
Trouble is you can't eat more than a couple at a time or your whole mouth goes numb! :rolleyes: ;) :D
 
Kis,
thanks.


Yvsa,


You would think that there would be loads of wild Hawthorn, but I haven't seen any yet. I'm going to the Sandy Bottom nature park tomorrow to see what I can find. I really only want the hawthorne because it looks like an Irish bata, but the oak is also traditional and probably stronger. No reason to take more than wht I need. I once heard that the Irish stopped using oak sticks because they didn't have enough oak in the country due to the English cutting it all down for furniture.


Oh yeah forgot to say thaks to ya Yvsa!
- D
 
I use hickory, but I have noticed that if I strip them before they dry they slpit.
I wait till its cured to strip'em
 
I was able to cut some ash and let it set for 2+ years. It has made some great staves! I like to cut them long so I can cut them down once they dry.

I don't tend to pull the bark and have had good luck myself. Will try pulling the bark next time around.
 
Interesting stuff.

Some time back, I asked a friend more knowledgeable than myself about any local woods that would make for a decent spear shaft.

"Madrona," he said.

"Madrona? Madrona? When's the last time you saw a straight madrona you damned fool?" I replied. "Damned fool" was not exactly what I said - my original statement was phrased more strongly - but you get the idea.

Yesterday, on the fenceline, I found a straight madrona. A few of them, actually, but one that happens to be nearly the right size. I couldn't believe it.

I'll probably leave it where it is...I never could bring myself to cut down a perfectly healthy tree that wasn't causing some sort of a problem, but I'd like an idea of how to go about it if I happen to spot a dead one. (Come to think of it, I don't recall ever having seen a dead madrona.)

Of course, madronas are usually missing most of their bark at any given time anyway. I guess that problem is taken care of. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top