Walking Sticks

jimh0220 said:
Check out the biggest river site. There is a hardwood stick for about $10 shipping included that includes a spike foot and rubber ferrule foot. I picked up a set for the whole family for $40. They weigh next to nothing, and are solid as steel. Not sure what wood they are, but they are the best. PM me if you need the particulars and I can look it up.
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Those Chinese sticks are made of a softwood, the Chinese arborvitae (Platycladus orientalis; formerly: Thuja orientalis).
Lightweight wood, comparable in strength to most pines. The nice color is the result of the staining used during the manufacturing process.
These stick are sold as made of “bianbai wood”, the Chinese term for this arborvitae species.

I bought one from a local hospital gift store out of curiosity and because they were cheap. Some of them were pretty, others were poorly stained or badly scuffed or marred.
They are definitely lightweight, but I wouldn’t compare them to steel. They may come also decorated with different kind of carvings: flowers, deer, bear (which looks like an ugly dog) etc.
They are cheap, light duty sticks perfectly adequate for the occasional hiking.

If you want strong and durable for wear & tear, you should get a hickory or a dogwood stick. Right now there is a dogwood stick for $10 + shipping here:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/59-DOGWOOD-...549?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item338395ef6d

Over the years I got several of these dogwood sticks for my family, and they definitely can take a beating & come back for more. :thumbup::thumbup:
 
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I always like to keep a selection in the umbrella stand by the door. Take one anytime I go out. Teddy Roosevelt hit the nail on the head about carrying a big stick. :D

Mix of Irish blackthron and American hornbeam.
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Jackknife, those sticks are beautiful. :thumbup::thumbup:
I have read about them in your other posts here on BF and on other forums too.
It is nice to see them pictured.
 
It's a lot of fun to prowl around the woods by a stream to find a nice hornbeam sapling. Dig around the root with a small garden trowel to see it it has a root ball that would make a nice handle, and then cut it off. Take home, age down the basement for a year, and finish up into a nice stick. I've done it several times now, and they make nice walking sticks. Hornbeam is a very very tough wood, with lots of character, and is the only wood that we have that rivals the Irish Blackthorn in toughness.

WQhen you're finally done, you have a stick that is yours.

Carl.
 
Another vote for http://www.lollysmith.com/. They show pictures of individual canes. You know exactly which walking stick you are buying.

Shortages are because Ireland joined the European Union. Somehow that gave the EU the right to regulate the height of Irish hedgerows.

That means blackthorns of the right size for walking sticks are rare. It’s no surprise the price has doubled.
 
Cold Steel has a great Walking Stick that you wanting I think. I'm considering getting me one but I'm disabled so it would justify two uses. I hope this of some help.
 
gajinoz said:
I've decided I want to get a walking stick. Not that I really need one but I can think of uses for it.

What I'm looking for is something sturdy, looks good and could, if the nasty stuff hits the fan, be used in a self defence scenario.

Any and all suggestions welcome. Links to places that sell them, production or custom, would be good.

Thanks.
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what about the blind fury made by Paul Chen ?? It is a walking stick but has a real use sword in it. It pulls apart. here is a picture of it.
 

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Staghorn sumac and buckthorn both make nice walking sticks, the sumac being light and easy to work, the buckthorn being dense and works into a stout cudgel if you need one. Both species being abundant make them good choices for taking what you want without running into issues of taking rarer hardwood saplings. In fact take all the buckthorn you can, it is ruining the woods in many areas.
 
I've made quite a few hiking staffs over the years in material ranging from red oak to hornbeam and maple. While they are great for short day hikes - and shorter ones are good for self defense, I almost never carry them when I go out on a longer hike.

In those cases, I reach for my Leki carbon fiber trekking poles (as others have mentioned). They weigh just a couple of hundred grams each, are height adjustable, come with a couple of different tips for terrain, and have shock absorption built in. Great stuff.

TedP
 
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