Making A Walking Stick Handle Crafted From Natural Sources

Now that your walking stick blanks have begun to cure, and your patiently waiting for this drying process to finish so you can began the next stage of crafting your walkingstick, it’s now worth turning you attention to the walking stick handle. Handles for walkingsticks or poles can usually become crafted or made from other wood materials, natural horn, or even alabaster. An extremely highly sought after handle exists from either brass, silver, or even gold. This high value metal offers a really luxurious finish to your walkingstick handle.

However most of the time your walkingstick will implement another natural resource for that perfectly finished handle. Naturally occurring root handles or root base handles will not remain a topic of discussion on this hub. While you wait away the months waiting for that perfect blank to cure, you can craft away your time instead. A good supply of horn handles will come from a local zoo or pet sanctuary. Clipping horns for animals fortunately exists as a routine care procedure, so if you build up a good relationship with the right member of staff, you’ll have a limitless supply of horn. The best horns for walking sticks come from cow, ram, or buffalo. Asian water buffalo makes a fine interesting colour and pattern variant. Also antlers make fantastic handles. Cutting the antler into a desired handle shape remains extremely easy.

The horn’s bent into shape trough the application of heat or steam. Normally this procedure results from bending the horn through heat application. It’s achieved through soaking the horn in water, applying a wet towel to the horn, covering with tinfoil, and heating the area with a paint stripper gun. The steam forms from the wet towel staying trapped by the tinfoil. The foil also protects the horn from excessive heat damage. The horn’s then bent into the desired walkingstick handle shape.

Wooden handles remain traditionally bulbous in shape and made from another type of wood. Preferred choices include Ash, Oak, Walnut, Yew, and Birch all make fantastic handles. To get the correct shape it’s necessary to put the piece of wood in a lathe and work accordingly. The beauty of lathing your walking stick handle allows a perfect smooth finish to become easily obtainable. Use high grade sandpaper to soothe your wooden handle on the lathe.

Bringing out the natural colours and grain of wood’s truly an amazing discovery. As each colour swirls into the next its necessary to protect the raw wood, and help bring those colours and swirls to the front. For this you’re ideally going to want to use a good boiled linseed oil double application. Follow this with a coating of polyurethane. After the coat has dried gently rub with wire-wool until the surface becomes dull. Wipe clean, and then apply another coat of polyurethane. Once dry buff to a nice shine.

Connecting your handle to your walking stick pole or blank requires a fairly simple process. You will need to place a threaded boll connecting the handle and the pole. It’s advisable to use a double headed screw approximately 4” in length. Small pilot drill holes in your handle as well as the finished blank will allow easy connections to occur. You may also want to add a collar to hide the join between the handle and the walking stick. Many sizes and types can easily be purchased. When you’re ready to connect the handle, ensure the screw’s coated in a strong wood adhesive to provide extra strength combined with stability.

Alabaster handles have the unique ability to become a custom design created by according to a unique design. Rather like a liquid plaster once formed and dried, alabaster is smoothed and polished for an exciting finish. It remains tough as well as durable while looking perfect for most types of walking sticks and poles.