Best Wood For Making A Walking Stick

Hardwoods tend to make the most manageable and sturdiest walking sticks.

Best wood for making a walking stick.

By stephanie mitchell when you make your own walking sticks you must choose between using dry wood or green wood. Also softwoods become gummy when you work with them are harder to sand and don t take finishes as well. Make sure you check out our full range of wooden walking sticks before committing to one. Like hickory oak is hard and strong but very heavy.

The stick i m using is birch. Woods to collect for walking stick making are aspen maples willows basswood birch and many other deciduous tree limbs. If weight is not an issue most types of hickory ironwood and birch are all incredibly strong and make excellent walking sticks. Blackthorn wood the strength of the wood makes them particularly useful for country or hiking sticks which can be seen throughout our blackthorn walking sticks category.

Durable hard and in a stunning light color with a prominent grain these qualities make oak wood walking sticks a desirable choice for vintage wooden walking stick and ladies walking canes. Good options include maple alder cherry aspen and sassafras among others. This density makes hardwoods more durable and better suited for this purpose. For more on carving walking sticks see hand carving your own walking stick by david stehly.

While beech ash hazel chestnut and blackthorn are the most common types of wood for making walking sticks that are both attractive and durable there is a whole sea of wooden walking sticks out there to choose from. Black locust branches are among the strongest possible choices and they are relatively resistant to decay and abrasion. You can also use maple and many other woods. Carve beautiful wildlife walking sticks with step by step projects ready to use patterns an inspirational color photo gallery and advice on wood sourcing and finishing.

Using green wood often results in stronger more customizable finished products. Hardwoods oak maple and walnut to name a few are denser than softwoods pine and spruce. Then slide the axe machete along the bark to remove any twigs and knots. Look for fresh hardwood but never cut from a live tree to make a walking stick.

Oakwood is a rather popular hardwood for wooden walking sticks for its unique characteristics of robustness and aesthetics. The book is available from fox chapel publishing for 14 99 plus s h.