Bay Laurel Walking Stick

[tjswarbrick]

I love my BK-16, but it feels a little big in the barely-suburban open spaces I get to hike near my home. But I felt under-prepared when I heard something growling (this is mountain lion territory) and all I had on me was a sway-back jack.

I picked up a pre-owned, but I believe unused, Ryan W High Uinta:

Went for a walk in the woods a couple weeks ago. Okay, so it's a fire road in an open-space preserve. It's in the lower foothills on the eastern side of the Santa Cruz mountains. Lots of oak, eucalyptus, manzanita and California bay laurel. If I head up shortly after sunrise, I usually see deer, turkeys, rabbits and quail. This day I didn't start until 10, and it was already hot. All I saw were lizards and sparrows. Heading back down, I found a nice fallen bay branch (any Oregonites may know this as myrtlewood.)

As you can see, it's darn near 4 feet long. Slightly bent, but the point comes down almost directly below the hand.
My ski poles are 52". This doesn't poke into the surface like those do - but I think it's still just an inch or two short for my ideal.
Regardless, it's what I have, so I'm going to work with it. If something better comes along, I'll probably gift it to my wife.

Since it's primarily a bushcraft knife, and what I had on me, I'm using the Ryan W to strip the bark and smooth the knots.
I'm going to try to have it stripped by Thanksgiving, and let it dry 'till spring, when I'll sand it down and either hand oil it or apply some urethane.

 

[Jack Black]

That's a bautiful knife you have there, it'd be nice to see some more pics Good luck with your walking stick project :thumbup:

 

[Mossyhorn]

I use a walking stick all the time, even on short hikes. I'm in the process of curing some good wood myself. I made the mistake of taking the bark of a couple of osage orange pieces that I had. Even though they were stored out in the shed, the wood split. I have a good straight piece that I wrapped in plastic wrap so it would not dry too fast and end up cracking. It will make a great walking stick even though it is heavy wood. I also have some holly and black locust that are seasoned and ready to begin working on.

 

[PB Wilson]

Black Locust ought to give you support and "whomp-a-bility" for years. I fear for those mountain lions.

 

[A.P.F.]

Holly makes a fine walking stick. Great spoons as well.

 

[tjswarbrick]

That's a bautiful knife you have there, it'd be nice to see some more pics Good luck with your walking stick project :thumbup:

Thank you.

I finally assembled a lightbox-like apparatus, and took a few shots:

Note the tapered tang and shaped scales:

Here's the edge:

Profile shot:

Stuck into the end of the work-in-progress stick:

With a couple friends for comparison - BK16 and RMD, in case you couldn't tell:

Tonight's big project:

I should have used one of the above to cube the pumpkin and chop the pecans, but I grabbed the as-wide-as-a-BK16 Henckels 10" chef's knife instead.

 

[Jack Black]

Thanks for the pics