# Kinda stuck



## Batakali (Feb 28, 2016)

Hey gang! Here's a couple that I'm not quite sure how to proceed with. I like the color contrast but I don't know if I want to keep the bark on or strip and stain them. Any thoughts?


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## Rodney (Jun 12, 2015)

I have one cane with bark left on the handle. It's birch. The only problem with it is the bark isn't as durable as wood. The cane is less than a year old and the bark is showing wear already.

Yours might be different, being a different species and being roots instead of limbs they might hold up better.

Both look great.

Rodney


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## MJC4 (Mar 6, 2014)

1 each way. Suggest strip and stain the 1st one if you don't like it you have the other to leave au' natural.


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## CV3 (Jan 30, 2014)

If the sticks are well cured and the bark is in good shape going down the shaft, I would leave the bark on the shaft below the handle and would clean off the handle ares giving two piece look tho the stick..


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## Gloops (Jan 23, 2015)

AS suggested earlier one of each - alternatively if you leave bark on finish the stick and don't like the result you still have the option of removing the bark then and reworking.


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## cobalt (Nov 14, 2013)

go to agree with gloops leave it on 1st. at least you then have the option


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## LilysDad (Sep 25, 2014)

What species are these? I'll give you more choices; leave the bark on, sand the outer bark just smooth, leave just the inner bark on, take all the bark off.


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## CAS14 (Dec 28, 2012)

My beech stick has a very hard bark that was stuck like glue. It seems to be impermeable, except where the stems (now knots) were. After several years and miles of walking and hiking it is still in the same condition as day 1. That is my only experience with leaving the bark on, except that with red cedar, I like the interplay of colors when I sand through varying amounts of bark after the fibrous outer bark is removed.

However, judging from the oak and hackberry sticks that fall into the back yard and then lie on my woodpile, untreated those barks loosen and ultimately spall off.

I wonder this: for permeable barks, do any finishes have adhesive properties that would serve to bind the bark to the sapwood? I suspect that the various oil-based finishes do not, but that the varnishes do. But to know the answer would require a good deal of experimentation.


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## Batakali (Feb 28, 2016)

LilysDad said:


> What species are these? I'll give you more choices; leave the bark on, sand the outer bark just smooth, leave just the inner bark on, take all the bark off.


both ash which I've always found to have very "tight" bark that has never spalled or chipped on me. It's just a dull greenish gray.


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## cobalt (Nov 14, 2013)

ash makes a good walking stick. i have used the wood .never had taken the bark of .you dont need to it wont come of .its just down to choice so its a case if you like the bark on or of. American ash has better properties than English ash that's why American ash is used for croquet mallets .the grain is slightly tighter


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## Rodney (Jun 12, 2015)

Looks like it's down to personal preference then.

Rodney


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## LilysDad (Sep 25, 2014)

cobalt said:


> American ash has better properties than English ash that's why American ash is used for croquet mallets .the grain is slightly tighter


American Ash is of three varieties; White Ash which is a strong tree, Black Ash which is favored for basket making because it can be made to separate into 'splints', and Green Ash which is a fast growing tree.


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## Sean (Dec 29, 2012)

I would sand down one from outer bark down to inner and see what the color looks like. You might be able to get a nice contrasting design with outer, inner, and sap wood.


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