shalalee????????

[wolf]

Can any one help?im interested in making or should say finding a shalalee in the bush?i think ive spelt it correct,its the irish cudgel.Has anyone made one?whats the best wood to use,or do you use a tree root?thanks...

 

[Big Bad Stu]

I've got a thumb stick which is similar and it's made of hazel.

Stewey.

 

[Phil562]

Blackthorn

 

[gregorach]

Yep, blackthorn is the traditional wood for a shillelagh - because it tends to cause septacemia if it breaks the skin. Jolly effective in the days before antiseptics and antibiotics. (On a related note, the real danger from shuriken and shaken, aka "ninja death starts", was contracting tentanus from the wound)

Just be careful to make sure it's a good walking stick, or you could be looking at an offensive weapon charge...

 

[dommyracer]

Its spelt 'shillelagh', and like phil said, its traditionally made from blackthorn.

 

[bushtank]

so whats a shillelagh i asume a kind of big club come walking stick

 

[Matt Weir]

My Mum and Dad have one hanging up on the landing. It says 'welcome to eire' on it

Matt.

 

[gregorach]

Yeah, it's a traditional Irish weapon - basically a blackthorn stick cut where the branch meets the trunk, so it's got a big lump at one end, often with a kind of hook or spike on one side. Pretty nasty, actually.

 

[bushtank]

Cheers Gregorach

 

[wolf]

thanks for the info,id thought id spelt it wrong...

 

[gregorach]

Come to think of it, the septacemia thing is just something I heard somewhere - I'm not entirely sure that it's true. I suppose it could just be something to do with the physical properties of blackthorn, but I'm not familiar enough with it to say...

 

[scanker]

Wikipedia's always good for this sort of stuff.

 

[sam_acw]

I'm sure there is a link between the number of sucessful Irish bars in the world and the number of club type "cultural artefacts" you can have arrayed behind the bar!
(P.S. - Seriously - I used to work in one and the business end of a hurley has wonderful persuasive powers )

 

[pataviking]

um hi glad to be here wow 2nd post. a shillilagh is made from blackthorn sapling inch to inch and a half in diameter, 'bout 3 feet longthe little bumps on the shaft are where the branches were trimmed off. the nob on the end is from cutting it off underground leaving the mass but trimming off the roots. i have done this in the states on oak and hickory when clearing sprouts from a new feild. sometimes if you can bend the sapling over and chop off the main tap root, in the dirt use old axe, the tree will pull loose. then it can striped of bark smoothed / sanded, then oiled and or waxed. have a great day. pat