New Facebook page

So I've been working on some new sticks and shillelaghs and have decided to keep a record of my work on my new facebook page called Wiltshire Whomping Sticks.  Pop by and take a look.  Oh and I have started to sell a few on ebay under the same name (wiltshirewhompingsticks).
All the best.


Mark

So I haven't given up on stick making, just decided to concentrate on rustic knob sticks and shillelaghs.
Here's some of my recent projects:

Ash rootball walker / shillelagh

Ash rootball shillelagh / club.

I started off varnishing these sticks but have now switched to oil as I feel it leaves a more natural finish to the wood.

Blackthorn walker

Now this is one of favorites.  This is a heavy blackthorn walking stick.  I cut this quite a few years ago and let it season for about two years.  I didn't really need to do much with this other than a bit of smoothing and cleaning.  I was amazed at the beautiful red colors that came out of the wood as I carved it.  The only problem is that it's so think on the end I'm struggling to find a suitable ferrule for it.

Hazel walker/hiker

This is a slightly longer hazel stick.  Not as heavy as my old beating stick but the lighter weight makes it ideal for taking on longer walks.

Sycamore priest

This is a priest made from sycamore (I think).  I cut this in between drives one shoot.  I haven't worked with much sycamore but I found that it was quite easy to work and it has cured to quite a hard finish.  You can see from the pictures that I have loaded the head with molten lead.  This was just to give it more of a whack which makes it a more efficient "despatcher".  This accompanied me on many shoots and came in quite handy.

Hazel shillelagh style stick

This is an old shillelagh style stick.  I made this for beating on a local shoot.  As anyone who's been beating will know, these sticks have to stand up to a lot of abuse so they have to be of a stout nature to endure the harshest of conditions.

Hazel woodspirit

So I thought I would put up a few of my old attempts of stick making.  This one is a hazel wood spirit hiking staff.

Here I have started to rough out the face.

The next step was to smooth things up a  little.

Now I started to add the hair

I decided to add a bit of checkering just below the beard.

This is a very basic wood spirit carved with a Stanley knife and a Mora clipper.  I gave it a finishing coat of exterior varnish.  Due to its rather larger than average thickness I haven't yet been able to find an adequate ferrule.