Sassafras Trees for Walking Sticks

 Walking Sticks  No Responses »
May 272011
 

About a year ago, as part of my interest in wood carving and creating walking sticks, I have found that many other walking stick carvers like to use Sassafras.  They say that they Sassafras trees make strong walking sticks and smell good while you carve.  That got me interested in trying to find some Sassafras trees to try out.

After doing some research about what the Sassafras tress look like and the leaf shapes, I set out to find some Sassafras.  I finally found some less than 1/2 mile from my house.  There are several small Sassafras saplings growing along a fence row.  In fear that they fence row may get cleared before the trees get big enough to use for making a walking stick, I attempted to transplant about 9 of them about a week ago. Continue reading »

Wood Spirit (Hillbilly) Walking Sticks (May 2011)

 Walking Sticks  No Responses »
May 262011
 

In the past couple weeks, I have started to work on some walking stick ideas again.  My focus when I first started wanting to learn wood carving, was on woodspirit walking sticks.  I have always thought that they looked really neat and would be fun to do.  Getting the faces to look like human faces, is the challenge when attempting wood spirits.

Hillbilly walking sticks 7

I call them wood spirits, because that is what they are known as primarily, but I really don’t like the name “wood spirit”, it may imply to others that we are worshiping the wood or making some sort of idol out the walking stick. That is not my intention at all.  So I try to make my “wood spirit” walking sticks look like hillbillies.  Therefore, I sometimes call them Hillbilly Walking Sticks. :)

Here a couple hillbilly walking sticks that I have worked on in the last couple weeks, and one that I did the last part of 2010.  The first two are my current hillbilly walking sticks in progress: Continue reading »

Make Uniform Spirals on a Straight Walking Stick

 Walking Sticks, Wood Carving Tips  No Responses »
May 262011
 

One of the coolest walking sticks that I have seen, has a spiral design incorporated down the walking stick.  You can look long and hard and still not find a good way to lay out the spiral so that it is uniform all the way down the walking stick.  After much trial and error, and some tips from other experienced walking stick carvers, I have come to the conclusion that tape is the answer.

Here is a great way to create a spiral template.  Use electrical or masking tape and start at the top of the walking stick.  As you move down the walking stick, wrap the tape around the walking stick, leaving your desired width between lines.  By using tape, you have the freedom of moving the tape around slightly to make the spirals precise and the tape will also stay in place fairly well.  Continue reading »

Finishing a Walking Stick

 Walking Sticks  2 Responses »
May 172011
 

Once your walking stick is done up the way that you like, it is time to use some type of finishing process to prepare the walking stick for years of use.  There are a lot of ways to finish a walking stick, all of which depend on what it’s intended purpose is.  You may be using the walking stick for decoration or you may enjoy using a walking stick on walks and hikes outside.

If you are planning to use your handmade walking stick, you may want to use a rubber boot on the bottom or a metal tip.  The rubber boots are good for using the walking stick on hard, potentially slick surfaces such as at home or in public areas where the added grip is beneficial.  If you plan to use the walking stick for hiking and as a support on long walks, you may find that a metal tip will provide stability with it’s ability to slightly penetrate the surface that you are on. Continue reading »

Decorating Your Walking Stick

 Walking Sticks  No Responses »
May 172011
 

After you have selected your walking stick, decided whether to remove the bark or not, and have the walking stick dried and carved, you are ready to decorate the walking stick.  There are a ton of things that you can add to your walking stick.  Here are a few ideas to get you started:

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