We made a couple of them by turning decorative knob handles that sit atop perfectly straight shafts of exotic woods of unknown origin (honestly, they’re just commercially made push broom handles 🙂 ) and a couple of them were made from young Birch trees that we cut, peeled and carved.
Each one is about 56″ (142cm) long and from 1 1/8″ – 1 1/4″ (2.5cm – 3cm) in diameter. They are all finished with just a couple of coatings of tung oil. One of the carved ones had a bit of stain brushed on to darken the carving.
Here are some more photos showing a closer look of the top of the hiking sticks:
This one has a turned Mahogany knob handle:
This one has a Cherry knob handle. We call it the Salt Shaker 🙂 :
Here’s a carved one that features a ball at the top and crisscrossed handle section:
And this one is the thinnest, and lightest, of them all that features staining and carving not only on the top but also on the bottom:
And here’s a full length shot of all them:
In addition to being functional they are also fun to make, especially the carved ones. Sitting out on the patio with a stick and a knife is a great way to spend an summer afternoon.
As avid hikers we are often on the trails so hiking sticks are often in use. Though D now opts for the TrekPod for all of it’s photography capabilities I still take along a traditional wooden one. This way, whenever I forget to take one along it’s just a matter of grabbing a fallen branch or stick. You know, they seem to work quite well too. 🙂
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