Walking sticks

[BobD]

Should I shave the bark off, or let it dry with the bark on?
Is it worth it to treat the ends with the anti-check chemicals?
Bob

If you shave the bark off right after you have cut the limb from the tree then you will definitely need to seal the ends with some glue, wax or other anti-checking chemical.

The best advice is to let the sttick dry out anywhere from 6 months to a year before debarking.

Well I've got to ask about the Diamond willow. I carved a spirit face in a diamond willow stick this morning, Did most of it with my chisels, and then finished sanding and trimming it with the power tools. My question , my diamond willow is fuzzy to say the least, is this a peculiarity of the diamond willow from this area, or is this an on going thing wilth the willow. When I use hard woods, it isn't as nice a stick, but I don't get the fuzz. I have been using the torch to get rid of most of the fuzz, and then sanding to clean it up. Carving the sticks is new to me, and its a nice change.

I'll add a little bit - I live in the south:

Sweet gum - Easy to find. Carves easy when wet, but can be tough dry. Checks without treatment if carved wet. Bark is interesting and a majority is left on the stick for interest. The wood is clear and pale. Can usually find with twisted trunks due to vines. Can find anywhere.

Sassafras - strong, but hard as a rock when dry. You can carve it green, but it will check unless treated. Bark is interesting and the wood finishes nice too. Not so easy to find without a little looking.

Poplar - light, easy to carve - even dry. Will check when carved green. Bark is not very interesting and wood is also not very interesting. Paints well. Bark is usually stripped. Abundant.

Black gum and sourwood are two others that can be used. They are a little harder to find - depending on the location.

Treatment - keep a bag or wrap on carved area to slow escape of moisture. Use 'Pentacryl' to greatly reduce checking - that's the 'treatment' referred to above. If carving is near top of stick, I usually just dip that end in the chemical and it drain back into the can - otherwise, brush it on and then put the cover on. It needs to sit as long as you can stand it let it to dry

[Kenny_S]

Hugh, Try wadded up Brown paper bags. Smaller ones work best. It does not sand down the features or detail as bad as sandpaper. May have to do it several times. I usually try it first then Poly the stick then paper sand it again.

BOBD, may want to seal the ends with Paraffin or paint or PEG. I cut mine longer than needed to account for the checking also. Also lay it up out of the wheather. Rafters is where I place mine.

Now I gave my favorite wood for walkinh sticks /staff but I am carving one out of basswood. Had my neighbor turn the stick down. Seemms a waste of good wood but done none the less.
Hope this has helped

Bob you should be able to find diamond willow over in your area quite easily. Just take a walk around a wet area, swamp, river or creek bed, lake etc. I've done some trout fishing over near the Gap years ago and remember seeing alot of it!

My opinion on bark - peel it off before you dry it unless you plan on leaving it on and carving through it. Peeling it off leaves the stick clean, if it's dry and you have to cut and scrape it off, you're going to cut and gouge the stick and otherwise scar it!

Kenny, where did you hear that stuff was poisonous? I've messed with red sumac all my life and the only thing poisonous on it is the berries. In the Scouts, we'd boil the roots and eat them like potatos on our camping trips and carve whistles from the branches. Can't speak of Sassafras, never messed with it but know they make tea from it.

[Ky_Whittler]

That's a loaded question Al. I don't really have a favorite I guess. I carve maple green not only because it is easy then but because it will not check if you just wait a week or so before carving.

Sasafras is great. Nice to carve and holds fair detail. It also gets a fungus type of scar like Diamond willow but it is rare for me here. I get my hands on one once in a long while.

Ash may be hard as a rock by the time it ready to carve . It does hold good detail and left natural the color tone changes from light to dark honey color up and down the stick are wonderful to me.

Elderberry is easy to carve and occasionally mother nature gives you a treat. Rabits love the bark in the winter and leave a small scar that heals up much like a deer rub. These will be close to the base and I hide the woodspirit in that hole.

I think devils club is a relative of the elderberry. Woods are similar in color and same growth habit. Both have a pithy core and are best used as hiking staffs.

Red cedar is nice carving wood. The change in core wood and the outer sapwood make for some great looking sticks. The best ones come from deep woods areas where growth is slowest . They have less sapwood than faster growing trees.

Other than maple it is best to season all stick materials with bark on. Sealing the ends on some of the species I listed will only get you a large check down the side if you go ahead and peel the bark. At least that is what has happened in my area where we have a problem with humidity and it's constant changes. Whittler

I've found that stripping the bark off right away make life a whole lot easier. cutting whips in the spring or early summer also helps....the later in the year, the harder it is to get the bark off. That diamond willow is called Bebb Willow if you are looking in any of the ID books for it. It grows in clumps that are narrow at the base and spread like flowers in a vase, usually along the open edges of heavier forested swamps and on the edges of open fields.

Look for a dark gray, heavilly furrowed bark, often with moss or lichen growing on it. The diamonds are not obvious at first, but if you look close you will see flat or recessed spots in the bark....that is where the diamonds hide. A similar tree (shrub) with no diamonds, is the tag alder that grows in the same areas with similar clumping growth, but the bark is smoother and the bases of the clumps tend to spread out more. Look in among the alder clumps and you can spot the willows.

Another good area to look for the DW is along old railroad grades that still have some open sun lit stretches.

Al

[BobD]

Randy,
I live on one of the tributaries of the Swatara creek (in North Annville Township). The stream cuts right down through my back yard...I might even have some in my back yard? I've got to get an ID book now!!!


BTW where were you fishing near the Gap?
Bob

I have some pictures of standing Diamond Willow on my web site. http://diamondwillowwood.tripod.com
It might give you an idea of what it looks like standing around in all of its glory

Merry Christmas
Gene