Blackthorn Hiking Pole Splitting

[bearbait]

I decided to make myself a Blackthorn hiking pole, nothing posh: just a hiking pole that can double as a tarp pole occasionally for lunch stops.

I found a suitable one, cut it and trimmed the spikey bits, branches and all the bark. I left it in the unheated garage to dry slowly. However it's started splitting along its length after only around a week since I cut it.

How to do stop, or minimise, splitting?

Ta.

 

[Broch]

Ah, yes, the age old problem of peeled greenwood poles splitting

In the past I've cut two ash poles, treated them exactly the same, and one has split to the point of being of no use whilst the other had no splits at all! From that and years of other stick making I now follow some basic steps:

1) cut longer than you need
2) trim the ends but leave the bark on (still leaving it too long)
3) Oil the ends
4) Leave to dry for a minimum of two weeks in a cool environment
5) Peel (if required), trim, and oil the pole (note than many 'country' sticks are left with the bark on).

However, most woods are much easier to peel green. If you have to/want to peel green leave it only a day, or two at the most, before you start oiling it. Keep oiling every other day over the next couple of weeks.

I would start oiling it straight away now but it may be beyond recovery I'm afraid.

Apologies if you knew all this; it's impossible to tell from a short post.


Edit: BTW, I have known peeled poles split within hours if left in the sun

 

[Robson Valley]

The split follows a natural line of weakness in the wood. Once begun, impossible to stop.
Just bad luck in that some species shrink (and crack) a lot more in drying than other species do.

Let it go. Eventually, you may decide to make a features out of it by filling the crack with colored methacrylate or epoxy got for scrap excess in a boat building shop.

Typically here in the Pacific Northwest, a cut is made up the ugly side of a pole but of course that's not something you wanted to do.

 

[Nice65]

Wood cracks when dried too quickly or unevenly. You must leave the bark on and seal ends with glue, gloss paint, whatever you have. Keep on the lookout for a straight pole the right diameter, trim the thorns with secateurs so as to leave bumps and not tear the bark. If it’s a longish staff, don’t lean it against a wall, it’ll bow from the slight weight and uneven drying. It’s best hung in the garage or whatever, some people hang a weight on the bottom to keep it straight.

 

[Robson Valley]

The fact is, the stick has already split. What to do next won't help with this one.
What to do with the crack? Turn a flaw into a feature.

The diamond willow rustic wood shop down my street harvests 4-5 cords of DW every spring when the sap flows.
They strip all the bark and stand the 8' sticks in an old horse barn of stalls. They judge 1 " thickness per year of drying.
They strip the bark because of the DW wood figure. If you cut a fairy plain stick, the above posted advice is very useful.
Hard dry bark is best pulled with a draw knife, same as they do here with $25,000,000 log homes.

I'm not interested in carvings which can be viewed from all sides. Consequently, I cut about 1/4 of the log out of the worse/back/ugly side to relieve drying stresses.

 

[Buckshot]

The trick is to slow the water loss as much as poss.
The wood cracks because the fibres are forced to move too quickly as the water evaporates and the weaker areas seperate.
What can you do with this piece? put some form of barrier around it to reduce the water loss. that could be paint, oil, water etc.
It might not stop it. sometimes you take all the precautions you can and still the wood splits!

In the future cut a longer length, leave the side shoots long (3 or 4 inches), leave the bark on, paint the ends with something to stop water engress and all the other things people have said.
this means the stick will take longer to season than otherwise. the general rule of thumb, at least in the UK, is 1 year seasoning per inch diameter.
I usually cut my sticks at least a year in advance. Often 2 or 3 because the stick I'm currently using lasts longer than i expected.

Best of luck

 

[Broch]

Blackthorn was the traditional wood used to make Shillelaghs. The stick would include the root ball to provide 4 or 5 'knobs' on the handle. A stick cut in winter would typically be seasoned for six months; one cut in summer would be left a year. Traditionally, some makers would wrap the stick in oiled paper or rags and 'season' them in horse dung heaps! I've never tried that, but I have dried blackthorn sticks wrapped in oiled rags and it results in a very strong and supple stick.

Sticks with splits in remain surprisingly strong and if the stick you have is particularly nice other than the splits, do as RV says and make a feature. You should oil it now to slow down drying and you can add leather thong binding in a few places if necessary.

It should be pointed out that there is no prescription for this. I've got sticks made from 2-year seasoned wood, and sticks cut green, peeled, and used straight away, just oiled when I got home, that have lasted twenty years. The old masters of this game say to season from six months to two years but it's surprising what you can get away with as long as you slow the drying by oiling.

I also make greenwood chairs from Hazel, Ash and Holly and find the wood is too dry after only a few months.

I'll be starting coppicing again in a week or so; if you want hazel sticks to play with drop me a line

 

[Nice65]

The fact is, the stick has already split. What to do next won't help with this one.
What to do with the crack? Turn a flaw into a feature.

Ah, but that wasn’t the question. The question was how do I stop or minimise splitting?

 

[bearbait]

Phew, thanks for all the info guys.

What oil is used? Teak oil, or similar?

I'll try again with another piece of Blackthorn this week, but I've got sort-of attached to this one now - one always remembers the first! - so I'll also have a go with some filling of its currently appearing imperfections and see how I get on, as RV suggests.

 

[Billy-o]

Bind it with silver wire at the appropriate spots

When I just now went to look at the cost of a finished blackthorn walking stick, I suddenly realized that I had done it before and somehow managed to hide the memory from myself. The prices are roll-around funny.

 

[Broch]

Phew, thanks for all the info guys.

What oil is used? Teak oil, or similar?

I'll try again with another piece of Blackthorn this week, but I've got sort-of attached to this one now - one always remembers the first! - so I'll also have a go with some filling of its currently appearing imperfections and see how I get on, as RV suggests.

I'm a cheapskate; I use my own mixture of beeswax and rapeseed. I know most people won't touch rapeseed but I have found it very effective over the years. I'm never looking for a hard finish mind; I like a natural dull wax/oil sheen.