Hawthorn, whats it good for?
- Thread starter tombear
- Start date
Nice work Tom
If you have a bit with a natural curve (where a limb joins the main trunk) a straight helve but with a shallow curve at the end (like a shallow curved hockey stick) thorn wood was traditionally used to make rat sticks years ago - a nice variation on a hitting stick!
Not many people know what a rat stick is now - but with your love of history I suspect you do!
Red
If you have a bit with a natural curve (where a limb joins the main trunk) a straight helve but with a shallow curve at the end (like a shallow curved hockey stick) thorn wood was traditionally used to make rat sticks years ago - a nice variation on a hitting stick!
Not many people know what a rat stick is now - but with your love of history I suspect you do!
Red
Ta! No you've got me there Red, I had to google rat stick (as opposed to rat-on-a-stick) and even then there was no pics except for a forked version used in the far southwest of the US that was twisted to tangle in the fur of the rat before pulling it out of its hole. Funny find of rats they have there, long haired.
ATB
tom
hacking at the next stick with a RAF Estwing Hatchet...
ATB
tom
hacking at the next stick with a RAF Estwing Hatchet...
Is a rat stick not a bit like a hockey stick, where the curve makes a greater surface area against the ground in which to whack a rat whereas if you tried doing it with a regular straight stick the chances of hitting it with just the end are minimal.
Just that redneck. If you imagine a normal curved walking stick handle, if you "whack" the ground with it, only a tiny part makes contact. A rat stick has a much more gentle curve (so that if the stick is straight up, the "handle" seems to be pointing upwards at 45 degrees). People often confuse them with walking sticks - you see them in antique shops in the "walking stick bin". They never have a ferrule (because you don't use them as a walking stick) - the "handle" is actually the part that hits the ground (for clobbering rats). They would be really uncomfortable to use as a walking stick anyway!
This sort of thing with the green hitting the ground
Usually better finished - like an old bent wood walking stick!
This sort of thing with the green hitting the ground
Usually better finished - like an old bent wood walking stick!
Cheers! Interesting stuff there.
Today I used the other half of the quarter (I think I erroneously said I was into the second quarter, this is the bit that came from the bit of wood from under where the big handle/head of the first stick was cut on the first quarter) to hack out a shorter (currently 38 inches without the end trimmed or a ferule fitted) walking stick.
I've slapped on 5 lots of oil and its still gulpiung it down so I think I'll stand the handle ends into a big jar of oil and see how much it soaks up overnight. I mainly used a Estwing RAF survival kit hatchet and various surforms, a much underrated tool which produces lovely fine shavings for use as tinder. The hole I driilled with the bit that fits into a yankee screwdriver which produces a very clean cut with (so far) no splitting or chipping. I'll sort a wrist strap when I have oiled it to my satisfaction.
The blank had a usefull slight bend at one end which I exagerated when I was carving it into shape to make the hand grip. I finished it with 40 grit sand paper.
I now need to source a ferule, ideally a weighty brass one. The ends currently round section and a gnats over 1 inch in diameter and I wont finish it until I have something to fit on it.
On to the next make!
ATB
Tom
Today I used the other half of the quarter (I think I erroneously said I was into the second quarter, this is the bit that came from the bit of wood from under where the big handle/head of the first stick was cut on the first quarter) to hack out a shorter (currently 38 inches without the end trimmed or a ferule fitted) walking stick.
I've slapped on 5 lots of oil and its still gulpiung it down so I think I'll stand the handle ends into a big jar of oil and see how much it soaks up overnight. I mainly used a Estwing RAF survival kit hatchet and various surforms, a much underrated tool which produces lovely fine shavings for use as tinder. The hole I driilled with the bit that fits into a yankee screwdriver which produces a very clean cut with (so far) no splitting or chipping. I'll sort a wrist strap when I have oiled it to my satisfaction.
The blank had a usefull slight bend at one end which I exagerated when I was carving it into shape to make the hand grip. I finished it with 40 grit sand paper.
I now need to source a ferule, ideally a weighty brass one. The ends currently round section and a gnats over 1 inch in diameter and I wont finish it until I have something to fit on it.
On to the next make!
ATB
Tom
Problem solved, herself ordered me a 25mm steel ferrule off of eBay, with postage it's cost a couple of quid but what the heck! Will pin it on when it arrives.
The oils gone down by about a Inch so far, I wish I had measured how much I had put in the pot so I could see how much has been absorbed after 24 hrs. Just curious. The submerged parts already feel noticeably heavier but when the sticks are reversed I assume gravity and capillary action will spread the oil about. I need to score three foot of 2 inch pipe and a waterproof cap to make a soaking tank!
atb
Tom
The oils gone down by about a Inch so far, I wish I had measured how much I had put in the pot so I could see how much has been absorbed after 24 hrs. Just curious. The submerged parts already feel noticeably heavier but when the sticks are reversed I assume gravity and capillary action will spread the oil about. I need to score three foot of 2 inch pipe and a waterproof cap to make a soaking tank!
atb
Tom
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It's taken me until I am 44 before I have braided something. It took about 15 gos and I was swearing like a trooper before it was done. Uneven but it will do the job. I've wetted the knot so it should dry tight.
I think this one will replace my Leki for day to day use were weight don't matter.
atb
Tom.
I think this one will replace my Leki for day to day use were weight don't matter.
atb
Tom.
One thing you should be very aware of, tombear; if you slip or go over at all, especially on a wet slope, that cordage won't snap, Hawthorn certainly won't but your wrist will. The other thing that almost always happens in this situation is an ankle or other leg injury as the stick can't fall clear of your body and you get tangled. It's a very good idea to put a "break link" somewhere on there.
I'm posting this not to be a doom- monger but about fifteen years ago I broke a wrist and spent a Spring and Summer in plaster due to exactly the scenario described above..................atb mac
I'm posting this not to be a doom- monger but about fifteen years ago I broke a wrist and spent a Spring and Summer in plaster due to exactly the scenario described above..................atb mac
Good point and I should have pointed out that the three strandsI used are part cut through inside the hole through the stick so they will snap with a half decent yank. The leather thong is a lot weaker than it looks, I tried using it a thonging on a pair of gillies I made but it snapped every time I tried to pull them tight! After going **** over tit tangling myself with a pair of Leki sticks strapped to the back of my hands back in about '92 I didn't break my wrists but did fall into a beck, bounce off a boulder and compound fracture my left tib and fib. 3 operations and six months on crutches drives a Lesson home.
i use the wrist loops on my sticks so they can dangle while I use my hands for open gates, lighting my pipe etc or for hanging the stick up.
You make a excellent point I should have made myself. The thong on my neck knives and even the cord on my compass and whistle are part cut so they will break before my neck will! Why they still sell stuff with cords that can strangle the user is a mystery to me, ok some manufacturers do have break away clips but not even most. It's well worth sacrificing a bit of whatever cord your using to test how thin you have to make it so it will snap before you do.
Cheers!
Tom
i use the wrist loops on my sticks so they can dangle while I use my hands for open gates, lighting my pipe etc or for hanging the stick up.
You make a excellent point I should have made myself. The thong on my neck knives and even the cord on my compass and whistle are part cut so they will break before my neck will! Why they still sell stuff with cords that can strangle the user is a mystery to me, ok some manufacturers do have break away clips but not even most. It's well worth sacrificing a bit of whatever cord your using to test how thin you have to make it so it will snap before you do.
Cheers!
Tom
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Cheers Tom; It's sometimes awkward to post things like this for fear of coming over preachy and prissy.........................but you're obviously experienced enough to know all this already, and you are of course right about a lesson learned, I'll never forget that time in plaster!......................................atb mac
No worries, it needed saying as it wrong of me to omit it in case some one thought, I'll copy that ( which is flattering) and then mangled themselves because I neglected to mention a safety precaution. I actually like tutorials that assume I am dim as I learned more from them than those which assume you know everything. But some folk will take the **** if you go into too much (for them) detail, so you can't win!
just need the ferrule to turn up, a 1 inch OD steel job I can slip a rubber ferrule over if its going to be used on hard surfaces to stop it slipping.
ATB
Tom
just need the ferrule to turn up, a 1 inch OD steel job I can slip a rubber ferrule over if its going to be used on hard surfaces to stop it slipping.
ATB
Tom
When it arrived about a hour back the ferrule turned out to be brass rather than steel, but since I originally was going to have brass that's not a big deal to me. It's fitted and I've pinned it on with a 1/8th brass rod and will now slip a big rubber ferrule from the local cobblers over it as ill be mainly using it on paving stones this week.
oh they took my cast off on Friday so I'm gently getting back into walking everywhere.
ATB
Tom
oh they took my cast off on Friday so I'm gently getting back into walking everywhere.
ATB
Tom
Might be steel with a "wash" of brass tom - I found some I had scratched and were steel underneath
Good news on the cast - bet you feel weak though?
Good news on the cast - bet you feel weak though?
Get a pair of old shoes or sandals, punch a disk of the same diameter as the tip, drill a small hole from the tip towards the handle just big enough to take a small masonry nail and glue all together with a decent two-part epoxy. I make and use a lot of sticks and this method has worked extremely well for me for many years. You can substitute tyre rubber for shoe sole if you get a tyre without the steel mesh, e.g. wheelbarrow, mower etc.
The other thing I've had good results with is to use a road nail from a farrier and leave the tungsten tip proud of the tip - great for a stick used in winter ice and snow; hope this is of use,............atb mac
The other thing I've had good results with is to use a road nail from a farrier and leave the tungsten tip proud of the tip - great for a stick used in winter ice and snow; hope this is of use,............atb mac
Red, I had a good look at what came out when I drilled the holes for the brass peg and its brass all the way through. Well at least it won't rust! Aye the first day it was off after two months with it on felt really weird, like my left leg was two niches too short. In such a short time I've lost all the muscle definition in my lower legs I was so vain of. Oh well it will come back.
Mac, damn good tip that, I'll definitely try that. The kids have bound to have grown out of last years Teva type sandals so I can take my punches to. I've some masonry nails left over from using them as engraving tool tip things. The big granny stick rubber ferrule does look naff .
Now to use them!
ATB
Tom
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Mac, damn good tip that, I'll definitely try that. The kids have bound to have grown out of last years Teva type sandals so I can take my punches to. I've some masonry nails left over from using them as engraving tool tip things. The big granny stick rubber ferrule does look naff .
Now to use them!
ATB
Tom
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Here's the first spoon I've carved in about 20 years, from the hawthorn log and treated with one coat of walnut oil so far.
never actually use wooden spoons for eating, prefer horn or a Ti spork so I did this one for cooking with a nice deep bowl. Done entirely with a Mora, sand paper and a carboot sale 1/2 inch gouge and light mallet.
atb
Tom
never actually use wooden spoons for eating, prefer horn or a Ti spork so I did this one for cooking with a nice deep bowl. Done entirely with a Mora, sand paper and a carboot sale 1/2 inch gouge and light mallet.
atb
Tom
I have a thumb stick I made from a suitable piece of ash.
I cut a chisel end on it to use as a fire hardened digging stick as well as rambling/walking but I found out last weekend that it's no use on metalled roads as the tip keeps slipping so now it's my "off-road" stick!
I might copy the tyre idea and make a "tarmac" tip for it; kind of like changing tyres on a rally.
I cut a chisel end on it to use as a fire hardened digging stick as well as rambling/walking but I found out last weekend that it's no use on metalled roads as the tip keeps slipping so now it's my "off-road" stick!
I might copy the tyre idea and make a "tarmac" tip for it; kind of like changing tyres on a rally.
Does anyone know, Very roughly, how big a block of wood do you need to make a dug out dough trough?
Atb
Tom
Atb
Tom
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