Out and about walking stick tip?

[vestlenning]

Plenty of skiing sticks in this country that works fine but I want a classic homemade "out and about walking stick" so the other day I got a suitable birch (sorry for chopping you down in your youth ...) and the project is underway. The stick is coming along fine but I'm wondering about the tip - should I enforce it and how about some kind of mud basket? Stuff like this can be bought but I'm thinking DIY - any suggestions?

 

[C_Claycomb]

I would strongly recommend purchasing a rubber ferrule from one of the many stick making supply businesses that sell bits and pieces for stick making. I have a very simple hazel stick and started off with a metal ferrule (not a spike) and found that it slipped and skidded on rocks. The rubber one was a simple push on and has been solid for many years now. No need for mud baskets, unless you plan to use on snow, in which case...errrr...no idea. No need to "reinforce" the lower end of the stick, beyond fitting the rubber foot.

If you do not fit a foot, and only walk on soft ground, the stick could still hold up for a a very long time. My mum has a broad leaf maple stick that I made over 30 years ago, no ferrule, no foot, just the wood. She only uses it in woodland, or on the sand dunes at Merthyr Mawr. If used on roads, or rocky mountain trails, rubber is the way to go for a home made stick.

As for a DIY ferrule, well, the bought ones are very inexpensive and matching the durability in a DIY solution is going to be difficult I think. Certainly more time consuming than the job warrants. Next best I suppose would be some sort of tube, maybe small plumbing or copper tube, with rubber bungs or sealant up inside it, slid on and glued to the end of the stick.

I am interested to know how the birch turns out. Most of the young birch in the UK that I have seen have a little too much taper in the length for what I would want in a stick. Local conditions probably make a lot of difference!

Good luck

Chris

 

[Buckshot]

Most people i think will either varnish the stick, soak the end in some oil and/ or fit a grommet to protect the end.
Grommets are usually the rubber kind but i have fitted a used shotgun cartridge to the end before which worked well. punch out the primer and use the hole to put a nail in or tack through the plastic wall of the case into the wood

 

[Buckshot]

Beat me to it Chris

 

[Riven]

Like the cartridge end as a ferrule, will steal that idea for my next stick. Cheers.

 

[Broch]

To be honest it depends what you want a stick for. Most folk living and working in the country around here don't bother with any kind of tip to the stick. Personally I can't stand the noise any kind of metal ferrule makes on a hard surface and all my stick are left 'naked'. I do have the benefit of lots of hazel, holly, blackthorn, ash …. to cut my next stick from but I'm still using sticks on a daily basis that I made over twenty years ago. OK, if you inspect them, you'll find the tip 'furred' over but I suspect they'll all outlive me

 

[Robson Valley]

My corroded sense of balance means that I walk with a cane all the time, to keep from falling over.
Custom-fitted diamond willow, tougher than bone. The topper is 2" wide so it does not dig into arthritic hands.

I can have any tip I like. Since I bought it, I've had a typical rubber stopper sleeve-style tip.
It's silent in the summer on floors and pavements of all types.
Pretty much non-slip in the rain.
Does not skate around in winter on compacted snow.
I walk unevenly so nearly 1/2 the cap is worn away, I'll get a new one fitted before the snow comes to stay.
I like the idea of an ornate brass spike tip. But they are known to skate on ice and damage floors.

If I were descending on a stoney path from a hike in the mountains, I'd use a lengthy hiking stick.
Diamond willow again, thumb notch, wrist thong and brass spike tip.
The rustic furniture shop down my street in the village makes them 50 at a time.
They are always finished with MinWax Tung Oil Protective Finish, 4 coats to water-wet glossy.

 

[Laurentius]

I really do delight when people ask me about my walking sticks. I use them because I need to but the realy wow factor goes when I say that I grew the wood that I made them from. I use plumbing to make a ferrule, a copper pipe cap and then I put a rubber ferrule on top of that. Boiled linseed oil is what I use to preserve them.

 

[vestlenning]

Thank you everyone! I have ordered some rubber tips to start out with, might try some kind of metal cap/spike later on.

 

[Tipi]

i had a stick once that someone made a ferrule out of about 1/2" copper pipe held on with a small tack, the stick was shaved down for a good fit.
It lasted a good while till the dog chewed the handle end!

 

[Woody girl]

I'm making a new stick too. Defiantly a rubber ferrule for silent walking mode, and it protects the end beautifully. Funny story... wanted a new ferrule for my stick. Walked into millets and got brain freeze. .asked for a rubber thingy for the end of my wotsit. The poor girl serving didn't know where to put herself and my fella almost collapsed in confused laughter. .... well I knew what I meant! I did finaly get what I needed when fella got his breath back and explained to the young lady what I meant.