Walking Sticks & Canes.

[Viola]

Hope you don't mind a lady popping into this thread... or me, anyway.

I like the look of a cane, though I think of it as more Victorian or steampunk than Golden Age vintage. I also have ongoing issues with my left foot: I don't limp at the moment, but I have before (rather gruesomely, actually) and do occasionally if I've had a bad day or taken a spill or whatever.

But were they EVER really used by ladies or is that more of a Marlene Deitrich sort of menswear-chic look? Or should I get a reinforced, solid, non-folding umbrella/parasol?

 

[avedwards]

My grandmother had a simple wooden walking stick with a small rubber ferrule (not as big as on modern sticks). I say had because unfortunately she lost it in a shop once, which was a shame as I was told I would otherwise inherit it one day. She said that the stick came from her mother, which would have been some time between the '20s and '40s. So women were allowed to use a cane for medical reasons.

 

[Inusuit]

Sword Canes and Blackthorn sticks

There's an old post in this thread that talks about sword canes. Be advised that in most jurisdictions, it is illegal to carry them.

I have wanted a genuine blackthorn stick for some time. Does anyone know a good source?

Thanks,

Inusuit

 

[H.Johnson]

A source of Blackthorn

I make blackthorn sticks and I would say that a good source is old, well established hedgerows, the older (and wilder) the better.

You're looking for prunus spinosa, the common sloe or blackthorn. Some stick makers often select a promising example of a bush years in advance of harvesting it, and visit it periodically while guarding its location carefully. Yes, I know of several 'good sources', but I'm not telling...why not find your own and make yourself a stick? (The secret of a good stick is in the root ball, by the way...)

Some makers even 'train' their selected bushes by stripping the bark above a 'rod' or branch and winding the rod around the main trunk to form a decorative spiral. Romanies used to talk about 'teaching a stick to be straight'. A fascinating and rewarding topic.

There's an old post in this thread that talks about sword canes. Be advised that in most jurisdictions, it is illegal to carry them.

I have wanted a genuine blackthorn stick for some time. Does anyone know a good source?

Thanks,

Inusuit

 

[Slim Portly]

Here's a fascinating article from a 1901 issue of Pearson's Magazine entitled "Self-defence with a Walking-stick: The Different Methods of Defending Oneself with a Walking-Stick or Umbrella when Attacked under Unequal Conditions." Now here's a martial art that a gentleman can appreciate!

 

[shortbow]

Evan. In my neck of the woods, blackthorn does not exist. I'm not even sure you can find it any where in NA. I also have wanted one, only places I could find offering them are in the UK.

However, we do have the odd bit of hawthorn in these parts. It is quite difficult to find a piece strait enough for a stick, but it can be done.

If you could make do with one of these, I could rabbit around for a piece, cut it and send it to you green, you would then have to splint it to something strait and set it in a hot dry place for several months, year is best, then you're off to the races.

The postage would be a bit heavy, rest of the project would naturally be gratis. LMK.

HJ: Bet you could post your sticks in the classifieds and get some decent $ if your were of a mind to.

As to self defence, there are actually schools that teach fighting with a cane/stick, also good info out there about the Japanese Bo, which is quite easily adapted to our canes.

 

[Creeping Past]

I make blackthorn sticks and I would say that a good source is old, well established hedgerows, the older (and wilder) the better.

I'm trying to find a 39" long blackthorn stick and not doing very well. Is this a long shot? Should I give up and try another kind of wood? What would be as slender and strong as blackthorn?

 

["Skeet" McD]

Lather away with the shtickeen!

As to self defence, there are actually schools that teach fighting with a cane/stick, also good info out there about the Japanese Bo, which is quite easily adapted to our canes.

I'm not prepared to offer a personal opinion as to the authenticity of this material, but am prepared to say...I believe that an actual, authentic, Irish style of stick fighting did exist...

http://www.geocities.com/glendoyle/bata/

"Skeet"

 

[wintergreen]

I'm trying to find a 39" long blackthorn stick and not doing very well. Is this a long shot? Should I give up and try another kind of wood? What would be as slender and strong as blackthorn?

Hi My first post here but feel I may be able to help out.
I have been making sticks for a few years and happen to have a few well seasoned lengths of blackthorn lay around the place.
If you would like to get in touch with me via the board I am sure I could let you have a blackthorn shank of any length you want up to about 57".
Just let me know if I can help.

Steve

 

[Lovely Leah]

A cane is a constant accessory for me

Hope you don't mind a lady popping into this thread... or me, anyway.

I like the look of a cane, though I think of it as more Victorian or steampunk than Golden Age vintage. I also have ongoing issues with my left foot: I don't limp at the moment, but I have before (rather gruesomely, actually) and do occasionally if I've had a bad day or taken a spill or whatever.

But were they EVER really used by ladies or is that more of a Marlene Deitrich sort of menswear-chic look? Or should I get a reinforced, solid, non-folding umbrella/parasol?

Viola,

Because of a congenital disability, I have to use a cane or sometimes a wheelchair. Over the last few years, I have acquired about twenty canes. Since my disability limits the kinds of shoes I can wear I buy canes the way ladies shop for shoes.

 

[bobalooba]

Dixon - That is a wonderful collection of mementos you have from your dad! :eusa_clap
The dislpay looks very classy.
I have always wanted a fancy walking stick but do not have occassion to use one.

Sadly I am in the same boat, I would love a walking stick (swagger sticks always intrigued me) but there is no place or time appropriate for me to use it.

 

[shortbow]

Welcome to the Lounge, Wintergreen.

 

[H.Johnson]

A generous offer from our new member, which I feel cannot be refused. I was going to make a similar offer, but instead I will defer to Wintergreen, congratulating him on his user name (it's an old type of rubbing liniment that used to make men out of us boys) and say that I welcome him to any discussion of stick making and/or collecting.

Hi My first post here but feel I may be able to help out.
I have been making sticks for a few years and happen to have a few well seasoned lengths of blackthorn lay around the place.
If you would like to get in touch with me via the board I am sure I could let you have a blackthorn shank of any length you want up to about 57".
Just let me know if I can help.

Steve

 

[H.Johnson]

If I want to make a staff of that length I usually go for hazel (I have part ownership of a wood that has some good coppiced hazel in it). I like blackthorn for the shorter, stouter type of stick.

I'm trying to find a 39" long blackthorn stick and not doing very well. Is this a long shot? Should I give up and try another kind of wood? What would be as slender and strong as blackthorn?

 

[H.Johnson]

A flask cane

Not a stick, but a cane. Here's a silver-capped, leather-bound Edwardian flask cane.

 

[wintergreen]

Thanks for the welcome.

I do preffer to use hazel for sticks, I find it is lighter, strong enough for anything I have ever needed and easily replaceable.
I generaly use a stick when out with the dogs, it is a valuable tool over rough ground and irreplaceable when it comes to seperating terriers although since the ban on hunting with dogs my kennel has now been reduced to a couple of running dogs and a couple of terriers.

 

[Creeping Past]

Hi My first post here but feel I may be able to help out.
I have been making sticks for a few years and happen to have a few well seasoned lengths of blackthorn lay around the place.
If you would like to get in touch with me via the board I am sure I could let you have a blackthorn shank of any length you want up to about 57".
Just let me know if I can help.

Steve

Welcome Steve. Or WG.

That's a very generous offer and I should like to take you up on it. If I may, I'll PM you when you've notched up a few more posts.

Beyond that matter, however, you and HJ have piqued me.

I've no particular attachment to blackthorn, except some probably mistaken idea that, pound for pound, it's the lightest and strongest wood for a stick. Also, it's knobbly and black and therefore looks the part. Yes, I know. But go easy, I'm no countryman.

Would a hazel stick be a better tool for hillwalking? If this is so, may I PM you, HJ?

 

[wintergreen]

A working stick - one used for a purpose as opposed to one carried for effect is very much a personal thing. If you intend using the stick for hill walking I personaly wouldnt recomend blackthorn as I find it a little heavy but like everything else in life you have to find what you like and feel comfortable with and take it from there.
I preffer hazel as it is much lighter and readily available and plenty strong enough for anything you may ever need to use your stick for.

 

[Macheath]

A flask cane

I'll bet the cane comes in handy after you've gone through the contents of the flask. :beer:

 

[H.Johnson]

True on all counts. Blackthorn is heavy and (at the root) is thicker when mature and usually comes with a noticeable taper. If you're after a short, tough, heavy stick with a pronounced 'top weight' (and all that implies) I would go for blackthorn. However, a blackthorn stick over 32-33 inches long is likely to prove a burden to even the hardiest walker. For me, it's a traditional thing that goes with my (equally anachronistic) heavy tweed suits and leather boots - a 'posing stick' if you like. In fact it's a cudgel that doubles as a walking stick. No apologies there, by the way.

Hazel (especially from coppiced stock) tends to be remarkably straight, even (i.e. not tapered) and light in weight. For a staff or walking pole, I'd go for hazel for its practicality.

This is rather like the heavy, stiff leather jacket issue, isn't it? As Wintergreen (I can smell it now) says, it's a personal thing. Goretex is probably 'better' than tweed and so is Leki's titanium (or whatever) poles are probably 'better' than hazel - but, hell, you won't get me wearing or carrying either!

A working stick - one used for a purpose as opposed to one carried for effect is very much a personal thing. If you intend using the stick for hill walking I personaly wouldnt recomend blackthorn as I find it a little heavy but like everything else in life you have to find what you like and feel comfortable with and take it from there.
I preffer hazel as it is much lighter and readily available and plenty strong enough for anything you may ever need to use your stick for.