Another dead Hawthorn, another heavy walking stick

[tombear]

We took down another dead hawthorn yesterday ( no biggy, including 15 blackthorn we've planted 165 new ones in the last 3 years ) and the trunks out in the lower back garden to season and a couple of branches were straight enough to turn into heavy walking sticks.

I did most of the shaping with the sort of side axe I converted/made and a old draw knife on the shave horse. Then I resorted to my beloved surforms, power file, permagrits and finished with coarse garnet paper. I didn't go mad on the finish as my sticks get battered from daily use. It will probably split but to slow it down I've given it a coat of boiled linseed oil, it also brought out the spalting and grain etc. the handles very large to make it easy to grip with my slightly arthritic hands, the whole thing is quite substantial. I thought of carving something on the handle but partly by accident and a bit of selective sanding the patterning looks a bit like a dogs head...

It's longer than than my last one which had worn down due to me being careless about replacing the ferrules.

ATB

Tom

 

[crosslandkelly]

Lovely grain in that stick, nice work.

 

[Paulm]

Nice work, and it does look like a dog !

 

[badoosh]

Love hawthorn,nice and heavy.
Got one in the shed(unfinished project)been there five years. Keep picking it up and having a play.
Got a few splits in it but still holds my me without flexing if I put all my weight on it.
Was thinking about making a shelaghli(spelling) be handy for unwanted visitors.

 

[Macaroon]

Shillelaghs are Blackthorn, and are quite a heavy and unwieldy bit of kit. Unless you are going to use one for it's intended purpose, of course!

 

[Robson Valley]

Looks like it will be good in the hand. Now that I'm walking with a cane, the handle part is what gets my attention first.

 

[Klenchblaize]

Nice. Hopefully it won't split as its clearly done some in-the-field seasoning.

K

 

[badoosh]

Shillelaghs are Blackthorn, and are quite a heavy and unwieldy bit of kit. Unless you are going to use one for it's intended purpose, of course!

Sorry for hijacking your thread tombear

This is the business end macaroon,very hard and quite heavy.
Had a fettle and my fingers and palm sit quite naturally on it.

 

[Macaroon]

Looks like a very well fitted handle, badoosh

 

[tombear]

Aye very comfortable and just a little longer than the last one which suits me fine. I used it for precisely half a day then came down with the stomach virus the kids brought home from school and been flat on my back since 2 on Thursday. I've never slept so much in my life! Hopefully I'll be up today as I've kept some food inside me. it was kinda weird not being online for a couple of days or seeing a TV. We'd just picked up the 8m oak board I'd ordered to make the hearth tinderboxes etc I'd done drawings of then I came over all weak and tired.

atb

tom