Walking Sticks

To All,
A friend at work asked today what kind of branch or tree should he use to carve a walking stick from. He has tried to harvest carving material from a ravine near his home with mixed results. He said his best samples came from branches he pull from under water in a breaver damm. He wants to select some small trees in the woods for projects this winter. Please help me come up with an some intelligent answer.
Ah chip
PS: We live in central ILL.

[FatEddy]

I think the real answer is in how the stick is treated after it is harvested. There are those who will disagree with this, but I like to leave the bark on and seel both ends (elmer's glue works good because you can carry the bottle with you to the woods and seal it immediately). Put the sticks in a good warm dry place until next year and then go ahead and carve away. The quick alternative is to cut one stick and carve it green. You are lucky where your at because youll get a good cold winter and can get sticks when the sap is down which helps. As for type of wood anything light and strong should work unless its just for decoration than your choice. My favorite stick was make for a pruning off a plum tree behind the house. A few small cracks and knots add character (a little crooked doesn't hurt either). Anyhow, that's my thoughts for what they're worth.

I would guess it depends on how much carving you want to do on those walking sticks. *Maple saplings make excellent walking sticks as they are strong and finish well. *they carve readilly when green, but are bears when seasoned. *Aspen sticks are readilly available most everywhere in the northern US, and are fairly soft and easy to carve either dried or green. They are also light weight so if they are actually used for walking, are easy to cary. *Diamond willow, *(Beb Willow) is a favorite among carvers because of its intricate diamond shaped red patterns, and ease of carving. Northern Ironwood, (hop hornbeam) one of my favorites if not carving, is strong, relatively light and can be stained and finished naturally, woodburned , but is HARD carving!

My two cents......

Al

I have recently started carving walking sticks and am presently using both diamond willow (dried) and maple (green).
Both have given me very good results.

Branches off a large tree do not work as well for walking sticks as does the main trunk of a sapling.

??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ???

Don't ask me why, that's just the way it is. :P

I have made sticks from diamond willow, basswood, alder, aspen/poplar, birch, maple, and even oak. I also prefer saplings and get my best results from them. I have peeld and carved both green and seasoned sticks and can say that I prefer to cut the sticks long, peel, and carve them ASAP. The cracks that sometimes develop just give the stick 'character'.

Good whittlin, Cliff
http://www.geocities.com/cliffordpar...ffsSticks.html

[don]

I haven't tried stick carving yet but was wondering how thick a sapling are you using? If you peel it and then carve into it how thick should you leave the uncarved core? Don

[Kenny_S]

I have used diamond willow, aspen,sassafras,hickory, maple and birch. The only one that is hard to carve is hickory.
I use melted parrafin wax on both ends and stack them for several weeks and then peel the bark off. Then let them dry for several months.
I have carved walking staffs for Eagle Scouts and Boy Scout leaders. The boys who make Eagle Scout from our Troop gets an Eagle topped walking staff. Some of these have been up to 4 inches in diameter and 5 to 6 foot long.
Personally I like the diamond willow as it tend to finish prettier than the reat, then sassafras with it reddish out wood going into a yelloeish inter wood. Of course it graws in abundance in the Ozarks around our lake house.

You will probably find many different ways to prepare, dry and finish the sticks and I believe all to be correct.

Ken

[FatEddy]

I'm doing someting wrong, I haven't been able to carve one that walks yet???

[pyrogite]

Tulip Poplar is fairy easy to find, at least in Indiana, so it should be there too. I have had very good experience with the saplings, even if they only cure for a few weeks, they carve well and don't split or check nearly as much as most woods. I do a lot of stick carving using the tulip poplar, and have never had one that was unusable. Along with all the other advice of course
I also like carving plum branches from my back fields, they are hard, but look great.

Donna