Walking Sticks

[Red Dirt Girl]

Very cool! Where are the pics??

[Scorp]

I still haven't gotten around to figure out how to upload them in here rather than the gallery. I will soon!

Originally Posted by Red Dirt Girl

Very cool! Where are the pics??

[DCStone]

I am so happy there is a thread about walking sticks. I hope we can have more discussions regarding carving. Anyway, I bought a great walking stick in the hills of West Virginia many years ago. One thing I really liked about it was that it had a small compass fitted into the top of it. Since I can be challenged with direction in the woods, I loved the idea. It was a beautiful piece of wood that was also practical for hiking etc.

[Scorp]

Hi DC & welcome to the thread!

Carving is a bitch. I'm so not a carver but am trying and still don't know what I'm doing. I just let the tools take me wherever we end up. Like I mentioned in one of my prior posts, mine looks so juvenile, but still, it's my very own creation.

Have you tried going to YouTube to get some ideas? There are some things for beginners, but in my opinion it still takes years of experience to learn. Maybe one day I'll surprise myself and make something extraordinary.

That stick you mention sounds very cool. I would love to see a picture of that.

Looking forward to hearing more from you.

-Scorp-

Originally Posted by DCStone

I am so happy there is a thread about walking sticks. I hope we can have more discussions regarding carving. Anyway, I bought a great walking stick in the hills of West Virginia many years ago. One thing I really liked about it was that it had a small compass fitted into the top of it. Since I can be challenged with direction in the woods, I loved the idea. It was a beautiful piece of wood that was also practical for hiking etc.

[Scorp]

Now that Spring is here, I'm getting revved up to make more walking sticks. I saved tons of branches from a tree we had cut down last year and have them bundled in the shed. There must be 30 or so.

I think I'm gonna try something different for a little more variety by applying a different color to the each stick. There is a blue shellac and garnet shellac that I want to try out. I've used the amber and walnut shellacs a lot last year. My favorite though is clear shellac. There's just something about the finished product that looks rich and sharp.

I find doing this to be theraputic for me. Therefore, I can't wait to bust out my carving tools and few knives I use specifically for the sticks.

It will be interesting to see what comes out of it. Like I've said in earlier posts, I don't have anything specific in mind. Wherever my tools take me, that's what the outcome will be.

Happy carving folks!

[~ocean]

my grandfather ccarved w, wood .. he was amazing !! everything that was left i treasure to this day ) enjoy ur hobby scorp !

[Amber2010]

I have used walking sticks but not as much as I would like. Great pictures Jess of those walking sticks. I can't pick which one I like best. lol
I have always wanted to try those two walking sticks they sell now for fast pase walking but never have.

[macele]

i've bought a couple in the smokey mountains, tn. great place to cane shop, ... see first hand how creative others are.

great creative adventure, scorp.

[girl_dee]

There was some really awesome sticks at the resort in Oregon where i worked and lived, made by a local fella, of course they were way overpriced but they were pretty awesome..i couldn't find a website to show you but i found what i loved about walking sticks is no two are alike and each different kind of wood brings a different energy to the person using it. i found a couple of my own around the place but the old *helpful* men thought they were kindling i loved using one to walk the pups around, so 1) they wouldn't knock me down and 2) i felt protected

Since that time i've looked at walking sticks anywhere i can and one day i am so gonna make me one!



i found this very interesting!




Native American teachings speak of trees as 'The Standing People'.
These Native teachings speak of the special lessons and gifts each Standing Person has to give humankind.

Birch gives the essence of truth. It is considered the 'giving tree'.

Walnut teaches us clarity and focus, using our mental gifts wisely and how to best use our intelligence.

Oak teaches us strength of character and how to keep our bodies strong and healthy.

Cherry teaches us the lessons of clearing the pain of the heart and relating to others in a compassionate manner. Cherry is the tree of the heart.

Pine is the tree of peace.

Ash is peace of mind and promotes good health.

Maple is the tree of offering, giving of one's self so that others may benefit.

Arbutus (aka Madrone/a) amongst all the trees of the Pacific northwest, the Arbutus or Madrone Tree holds the title of most sacred tree to the original inhabitants of this vast region. In the legend of the great flood, the Salish First Nation describe how the Madrona tree provided an anchor for their canoes to hold steady and not drift away. On the British Columbia West Coast, the Salish Nation also honours the Arbutus Tree as their Tree of Knowledge because it knows how to find the sun. (source)

In Druid and Celtic mythologies Birch is valued as the tree of inception and beginnings. Birch is also a wood with great powers to purify and discipline. Birch is about new beginnings, fresh starts, creativity, procreation renewal and rebirth, purification and service. Birch is associated with the element of water. It is a tree of the sun and the planet Venus. It's herbal gender is feminine. Birch is considered to be a Goddess tree, the symbol of summer ever-returning.

Walnut holds the powers of the breath, teleportation, astral travel, and inspiration. Symbolic of confidence and mental wisdom. Black Walnut wood has medicinal properties that are useful in the prevention and treatment of disease.

Juniper (and Juniper Heart Wood which is simply the heart wood of the juniper tree) holds powers of protection, strength, healing, health, peace and love. Juniper is connected to good health and banishing anything injurious to health. Juniper is associated with Jupiter and the element of fire. Juniper is a symbol of longevity. In the language of flowers Juniper symbolizes perfect loveliness. In Ireland, the Juniper is called IUBHAR CREIGE "Yew of the rocks". The fine-grained, pinkish red to brownish red heartwood is fragrant, very light and very durable, even in contact with soil.



Maple is somewhat rebellious and tough. It holds the qualities of creation, communication, binding, revolution, rebirth, healing, beauty, art, and abundance. Full of imagination and originality. Maple is a traveler's wood. Those who are always on the move and changing will feel right at home with this type of energy. It enhances intellectual pursuits and learning.

Oak is one of the most sacred trees. It carries the energy of kingship and wise rule, personal sovereignty, authority, power, protection, sealing or opening doors, endurance, and invocation of wisdom, fertility, and abundance.

Cherry is imbued with the powers of making and doing, achievement, and self-assertion over obstacles and critics. It is the pure energy of will and desire. The cherry fruit is magically linked to the root chakra and so to sex and birth: the life force of attraction and renewal.

Ash carries the qualities of ambition, trustworthiness, faithfulness.

Beech holds the power of the creative. It is also about leadership and companionship.

Olive offers insight, inspiration, and aids communication.

Willow is a tree of emotion, love, intuition, and poetic inspiration.

Spruce The spirit of the spruce tree holds great knowledge about healing, especially in relation to the metaphysical causes of disease. Its spirit is gentle. It is not unusual for those who attune to the spirit of spruce to find that there follows an increase in animals within that environment.

Hawaiian Koa is a sacred wood used for centuries to build canoes, ceremonial bowls, musical instruments, tools and utensils. It has come to represent integrity and strength, sensitivity and protection. The energy associated with the masculine aspects of this wood are duality and balance. Koa in its feminine aspect brings a fiery energy with creativity, beauty, and wisdom and strength.

Rosewood has compassionate and lovingheart qualities. The energy of rosewood is primarily feminine, and focused on spiritual, intuitive health and beauty. It is spiritual and nourishing. Rosewood is especially effective in spiritual healing. In matters dealing with beauty, rosewood can be very effective. Carried or worn as a charm, this wood will enhance female beauty and feminine grace. Frivolous energies will not be enhanced by this wood.

Purpleheart is a spiritual wood. It enhances energy dealing with creativity and knowledge. One of the best woods when dealing with spiritual healing and health issues, purpleheart would be especially useful in eradicating the negative energies that create strife in the home.

Eucalyptus is one of the strongest healing woods known. It has been used for medicines for centuries as well as for ritual items pertaining to healing. The energy of this wood is good and pure, clean like the earth from which it is born. This wood is highly recommended for any purpose combating illness or promoting good health.

Grenadilla or African Blackwood is often mistaken for ebony, since it is such a uniform black color. However, African Blackwood is not part of the ebony family. Rather, it is a part of the rosewood family, and the black color is actually an extremely deep purple. This wood is strongly aligned with the energy of Saturn. It acts as a conduit between the physical and spiritual realms. African Blackwood is useful for exacting creative and intellectual changes in life and removing communication barriers.

Mahogany Spiritual growth and guidance are Mahogany's primary properties. It is an excellent wood for emotional and spiritual healing though since it is a brittle wood is best used as a band on a ring rather than as a main wood.

Zebrawood The primary associations of this wood are the moon, love, luck, wisdom, creativity, and beauty.

Birch Bark . . . since the dawn of human kind, birch bark has been highly valued and utilized for all manner of things of benefit to us 'two legged's'.... It is after all, the bark of the giving tree. The birch bark we use is lovingly collected from the ground around where we live. Rings with birch bark inlays or braids are beautiful and striking but are not the best recommendation for everyday wear. By it's nature, birch bark remains forever pliable so it can be easier to scratch and mark.