# hiking poles/walking sticks?utilitarian



## cobalt (Nov 14, 2013)

Hi JJIREH

Was interested in your comments regarding sticks and why people have them .you thought that they where just for utility use , I think for a start they are, but as people use them regular they wish to define there character or there personnel interest in things.This is why there is such a wide range of designs and ideas regarding there use and looks.

Most of the people who make there own do it for interest and take pride in there work and once the interest develops strat making others before you know it you have far more then you need.

I dont think there is a ideal stick just different ideas on it , for me theye have to be the right height and have the right design carved on it,it needs to be strong, light and look the part.

I am always looking at design and what i can use as a design and probably spend as much time researching designs as making them.

I was in the moutians just outside Nice (france) recently and came across a shop selling them ,most of which where carved toppers of local animals such as the moutain goat and the marmite .interesting all the same.

A nice commercial outlet for local people i think but also some where carved in a moderen art style a stim






ulating design always stirs my interest and always makes me look further into ideas.

I am wondering why the thumb stick isnt so popular in the US? the bone carved thumb stick is popular in the Uk

It would be interesting to hear views on this from this site whether from a carver or some one who just uses them.

this dam keyboard keys are still sticking i will have to change it

cheers


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## Rad (Feb 19, 2013)

cobalt said:


> I am wondering why the thumb stick isnt so popular in the US? the bone carved thumb stick is popular in the Uk.
> It would be interesting to hear views on this from this site whether from a carver or some one who just uses them.
> this dam keyboard keys are still sticking i will have to change it
> cheers


I've only seen them recently for the first time -- and that was on utube, someone from England was making them!


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## cobalt (Nov 14, 2013)

thanks rad but suprised bone ones are pretty good looking and comfortable to use


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## Rad (Feb 19, 2013)

I might have to try one some time -- I think a stick collector ought to have at least one of everything!


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## Rad (Feb 19, 2013)

BTW -- what kind of bone is used?


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## cobalt (Nov 14, 2013)

sorry rad its not bone but horn my mistake.there is a lot of buffalo horn around just need steam to manipulate it , its quite a skill, not something you can learn overnight

Most of them i have seen are deer or buffalo i prefer the buffalo ones there are rams horn and cow horn al of which you need the same tools to work


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## cobalt (Nov 14, 2013)

YOU can buy a buffalo thumd piecs of ebay in england they are pretty cheap there advertised at the moment at 7.5 £ to 110£ i think not dure of the exchange rate sorry think its the same as the eruo about 1.2 to the pound. what the postage cost would be dont know, but should be resonable by a courier.This is provding of course that you could import them?,

I would have thought so could be a good market over there for them


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## Rad (Feb 19, 2013)

Yes -- horn and antler products are easy to come by! I'll have to give it some thought!


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## cobalt (Nov 14, 2013)

just a sample of a buffalo horn thumb stick its been drilled in the centre to insert steel rod to attach to shank.The shank in the pic is ash but i will fit it to chestnut as it the bark has such a rich colour. use expoy resin glue or putty to fix it to shaft. I think this buffalo horn came from india


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## JJireh (Feb 7, 2013)

Rad, most people don't realize that most horns get flimsy as they move away from the tip. there is a process where the horn is pressed/compressed into forms. It looks interesting, I haven't tried that yet.

Thumbsticks don't have to be bone/horn, they can also be just a fork in a saplying that has been smoothed a bit. I've also seen some nice burl thumb topppers as well as other hardwoods.

I can't be sure of why they aren't more popular in the US except to go back to my other statement, that most people in the US only use sticks/canes as utilitarian items. No going to market sticks. They aren't the art form they are over there. If they have seen one, they probably didn't recognize it for what it was. Thumbsticks are usually shorter than what a hiker would think to use or too tall for a cane. I like them, I think they are quite comfortable.

What you say is true, there are people who do want personalized and special items, but as a culture it isn't common. Most aren't willing to pay for these either. They choke at 60 bucks for a cane let a lone 125+  Thus the reason we see soo many wood spirit walking sticks on ebay or in stores is once you have the pattern down, you can knock them out quickly on found wood and keep costs low for the masses.. I have made a few specialized canes and sticks, but they aren't the staple. This is a topper I made a couple of years ago.

.


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## Rad (Feb 19, 2013)

cobalt said:


> just a sample of a buffalo horn thumb stick its been drilled in the centre to insert steel rod to attach to shank.The shank in the pic is ash but i will fit it to chestnut as it the bark has such a rich colour. use expoy resin glue or putty to fix it to shaft. I think this buffalo horn came from india


I do like it! I will have to give it a shot! The ones I've seen made on Utube were just hazel wood, no horn, and they were all one piece.


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## Rad (Feb 19, 2013)

JJireh: what's that topper made out of? I like it! I'm not much of a carver though -- I do more wood turning than I do carving. No matter how easy people say that it is -- you still have to have a special talent for that kind of carving! My hats off to you!


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## cobalt (Nov 14, 2013)

Well rad dont agree with you about horn being flimsy .It is not flimsy in any way if treated corectly .yes if you take all natural material out the centre it is thin like glass,but its not the way to work horn.

I also make thumb sticks with mahogany an rosewood,but still think horn makes the best one.

As for people not paying for quality i find thats not true,like single malt whisky if you buy a cheap , one not so clever, but try over15years and the differance is amazing.

Dont think it is a culture thing as you say,think that americans are very responsive to most things, the americans i have come across have always been very friendly polite and look into things before responding and would consider alternatives if offered to them.,But you would have to look into the market there i do know that a lot of americans go wild fowl hunting so things like ducks and drake head toppers would probaly go down well along with wading sticks.

But i do like the dog and the origInal checker work on the shank gives individuality and that with quality will sell

the size of thumb sticks oftern are slightly smaller normally they are the size from floor to the min .hieght you hve your arm held at 90 degreesand the armpit

You could pick up a buffalo thumb topper for 10$ so price shouldnt be a issue and once there polished set against a white boner spacer on a chestnut shank with the bark left on look good

All the same good to have reponse in any discussion

many thanks


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## Rad (Feb 19, 2013)

cobalt said:


> Well rad dont agree with you about horn being flimsy .It is not flimsy in any way if treated corectly .yes if you take all natural material out the centre it is thin like glass,but its not the way to work horn.
> I also make thumb sticks with mahogany an rosewood,but still think horn makes the best one.
> As for people not paying for quality i find thats not true,like single malt whisky if you buy a cheap , one not so clever, but try over15years and the differance is amazing.
> Dont think it is a culture thing as you say,think that americans are very responsive to most things, the americans i have come across have always been very friendly polite and look into things before responding and would consider alternatives if offered to them.,But you would have to look into the market there i do know that a lot of americans go wild fowl hunting so things like ducks and drake head toppers would probaly go down well along with wading sticks.
> ...


Your talking to the wrong person! I wasn't the one who said they were a little flimsy -- I think you meant to respond to JJireh!


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## JJireh (Feb 7, 2013)

We'll chalk it up to miscommunication ... Maybe that whiskey. 
Yes, that is what I was saying, horn is made up of layers of material like fingernails. as it expands from the tip, as the layers spread out causing it to be softer. When they make thumb topers and crooks, the press the horn into forms to create what they want.

To your point of the american's you have experienced, I didn't say they wouldn't look or buy, I said a majority would not. People who understand a fine aged single malt and a nice custom market stick are not the majority (I know the difference of both  )

My statement is that culturally, here, 90% of people don't walk around with canes or sticks for the pleasure of having a piece of art. And those that do, usually look towards americana/appalachia style that is in abundance and lower priced as a generality. It isn't the gentry of the US usually that profer canes/sticks. Yes obviously some do and that's great, but people aren't beating the doors down if you know what I mean 

Cheers


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## JJireh (Feb 7, 2013)

Rad thanks, its walnut topper on a wild cherry shaft. Used watercolors to lightly color then sealed


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## cobalt (Nov 14, 2013)

yes rad your right sorry

but jjireh has a piont about 90% of the population

I do think tho it depends where you sell then , yours would go down well with those who like dogs ,certain breeds are more popular and walking, Some of mine are somewhat of beat but it pays dividens as they rember me and ask me to design and make certain carvings which you would get a premium price for..but i would have to be interested in doing it .its not the money

mostly i carve just for the hell of it, but people are interested in such items, depends what you want to get out of making them, for me mainly its pleasure like you .

I am not sure where you come from but there are many more people who hunt in the USA which should open up a bigger market so many more hiker sand such a vast coutry , but the climate money wise is a lot more difficult now.

If i dont fancy doing what i have been asked for i wont do it, i dont earn a living from it.

However a stickmaker i know has a 6 mnth waiting list on his books so it can be done average price he asks is about 220$ but the he sells stick accessories etc and does get aliving from it

so im lucky i dont treat it like work , i like to what i want when i want , my full time working is over

its like the puppets i carve it just started by my grandaughter asking me to take her to a punch and judy show couldnt find one locally so made the full set up along with a performace for her. Got a pucn and judy booth on my hands! , BUTnow.i have made loads of them for other people its word and mouth. the main thing is getting something out of it usually satisfaction.

A good stick well carved fetch 180-200+$ here.

If you sell on ebay lucky to get 60$ so its not easy to establish yourself if its a living

so enjoy what you doing but do try other ides as well

enjoyed that, good discussion i think its the best way of developing your own ideas on where to go with it next

thanks


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## cobalt (Nov 14, 2013)

JJIREH

the use of water colour is interesting does it bleed when you seal it ? I have used perminant inks never tried water colour

you just use it to enrich the colour?

so how did you seal it by spray varnish? dosnt the varnish pick up the colour?


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## JJireh (Feb 7, 2013)

Watercolor is basically just pigmenting the wood a shade of color like inks, you can still see the grain patterns beneath. Depending on the amount of color I want, I use more or less water. I do use spray sealant and give it a few coats( usually polyeurethane) You do have to be careful not to smudge on the first pass, but it works great.


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