Silver birch

[woof]

Is it any good for making walking staves ?.

Rob

 

[gabrielsdad]

Im not an expert by any stretch, i have a birch and a rowan stave, just simple lengths dried and sanded, ive had the birch 3 years now. Im sure more knowledgable people will know better, i just know it works for me. Ray

 

[Perrari]

No reason why not if you can get a suitable length that you like. Hazel is good as you can get straight lengths of it.

 

[Macaroon]

I've made many sticks and staffs from Birch over the years and all have stood the test of time................Strongest is to leave the bark on, and if you don't want to wait for it to season give it a couple of coats of Danish oil
with 24hrs between coats, put the first one on and rub in gently with 00 wire wool so it penetrates a little into the bark..........a bit of beeswax on the raw ends and any exposed bits to stop it loosing moisture too quickly.
The other thing to do straight off is to get a ferrule onto the bottom of the stick, although birch is very unlikely to split or splinter, it will wear down quickly if not fitted with a good ferrule.

Hope this helps a bit, ...............atb mac

 

[woof]

Thanks for the advice folks. I have one in the garage that i cut 3yrs ago, but i have noticed that there seems to be a huge amount of very straight ones growing in the wood where i go at the moment.

Rob