When making walking sticks on of the least explored parts is the actual making of the hiking stick leash or holding area. Many people settle for a simple string or leather cord through the wood. However, if you are making your own walking or hiking stick why settle for an ordinary hand leash or cord?

The image to the right are cords available online from several sources. they come in many colors, styles and even widths. You buy the walking stick cord making material by the foot or yard.  www.Strapworks.com is my favorite. Type to match the cord color to the wood or own hand made walking hiking stick style Are you making a southwest design? Wood spirit hiking walking stick wood carving? Or using a staining walking stick making technique?

When you get the cord feed one end through your home made walking stick and then use the palm sewing tool sew the ends together. It's simple and adds a great touch to your hiking stick making project.

Trick: heat the end for the strap with a match to prevent fraying of the cord.

Now if you really want a custom look when making your walking  hiking sticks then learn some simple rope weaving techniques, such as the one in the walking hiking stick making guides. Rope weaving handles and walking stick hold areas prevent hand slippage and gives you added versatility.   Making hiking sticks from wood you collected from the metal tips, carving, staining and even handle making is a great hobby for all ages.  Hwo to make walking hiking sticks and staffs encompasses wood collecting, curing, staining, carving, rope weaving and many other techniques to make unique one of a kind walking and hiking sticks staffs.

Wood carving: How to make walking sticks and staffs

Walking stick making is a great hobby , but just like all hobbies if you have set it a side for a few months you will become rusty. Here in South Florida the winter is reserved for most do it yourself type people for home remodeling and landscaping projects due to the summers excessive heat and wet weather. this past winter/spring was no exception - I spend most of the time time doing landscaping projects around the house so I have time to enjoy the summer. As a result, when I do start wood carving hiking sticks and staffs in late Spring or Summer I need do some practice projects before using my good wood to make walking sticks.

I usually start with simple wood carving projects and wood burning images on small pieces of wood. carving wooden knifes is a great starter because it uses wood of similar diameter as when making walking and hiking sticks.  Carving wooden knives take about 1 to 2 hours each depending upon the size of the knife and the hardness of the wood. in addition, I carve wooded vases as described in the How to making unique walking and hiking stick guides  bonus projects and decorate them using wood burning techniques from the same hiking tick making guides.

Walking stick making encompasses may wood working techniques. some people just sand, stain and then put a hole through the wood walking stick. While people who make walking stick making a long time hobby use rope weaving techniques for making handles/grips, wood carving and staining to design unique walking sticks designs and finish their walking sticks with their own hand metal made tips and caps.

Whether you plan to make this a long time hobby practicing wood carving, staining and other walking stick making techniques is always a good idea first. when collecting wood for you walking sticks project on your vacations or around your are collect a few extra sticks. Practice wood carving on the extra sticks and start with simple designs. Otherwise you may wreck one of your favorite sticks  by making a wood carving mistake. Have a great summer!

How to make Walking Stick wood carving project

In an earlier post I showed this stick when it was collect and stripped of bark. Now that it is properly cured/dried I started to make this wooded hiking stick carving of a elk. Wood carving hiking and walking sticks take practice and you should always tried on practice walking staffs and sticks first.

  The first step when making your own wood walking sticks is selecting the wood and maybe even envisioning the end product before you cut the tree branch or sapling. Branches and roots are not things in the way but added enhancements to your own hiking stick making project. Notice the way the branch was left on when collecting the willow branch to the left. I did not think of an elf before I collected the wood to carve for the walking staff or stick. But from experience I know to leave some branches on to give design options when I started to think of how to make a hiking stick.

When I collected the willow I stripped the outer layer and did a rough sand. Then I left the wood to cure for several months (this one was actually left for a year). The shape and the under curve of the wood walking stick gave me an idea of either a deer, elk or other animal with antlers type. I did a quick search on the net and selected a elk that had a big white circle around its eye area. Collecting the wood to make hiking and walking sticks is only half the fun. Learning how to stain, inlay, rope work and carve wood to make unique walking and hiking sticks is a great hobby and a way to bring you trips home with you.

Wood carving walking sticks making beginner tips

Making walking hiking sticks is a great hobby. However, you can not always collect your own walking stick wood from vacations due to restrictions and problems bringing back long sticks on planes. First, if you are a beginner to wood carving walking and hiking stacks staffs stick with woods known to be easy to carve:  basswood, willow, butternut, aspen and similar woods. Hold off carving diamond  willows, walnut, hickory and other more difficult woods until you have some experience.

One great place to obtain reasonably price walking stick blanks is on ebay. Ask is the wood is green, air or kilm dried.  Depending upon the wood this make a big difference.  Some walking hiking stick woods when green work well, however, you may discover a cracking problem as they dry.  Also, cure your wood first before working which is explained int he how to make walking stick guides.

If you live in an area that receives heavy spring storms, look for fallen limbs and other wood in you area. If you are a beginner do not worry about the type of wood just look for ones that have the right size and shape to make walking hiking sticks and staffs. When I first started I just collected wood and experimented. I live in a tropical area (Southeast Florida) which usually means the woods are either HARD, very sappy or spongy/porous which are hard to work. However, just by trying different woods I discovered Flame Buoyant that has great color and it can be to wood carved walking hiking sticks! Is it a wood for beginners hiking stick caving - no because it's stingy. However, once you do learn to make hiking stick you are rewarded with a very strong great color hiking stick made by yourself.

Finally,m do not rush into carving wood spirits hiking sticks. Learn the basic how to make hiking sticks skills from wood selection to wood carving unique walking sticks. I know several walking stick making people who do not carve at all. They use staining, rope, inlay or other hiking stick making methods and tun out fantastic one of a kind walking sticks.

Walking hiking sticks making using paint to finish project

One area I did not cover in the How to make unique walking and hiking sticks extensively is colorizing your carved wood walking stick project.  I could barely do the paint by the numbers. However, I have learned less is better in making hiking sticks wood carving stick out. The how to make walking stick guides does cover how to make things appear older or how to use white/gray paint on beards is you desire. 

Look at the previous posting covering carving a walking stick fall leaf project. You will notice that each leaf is painted to make them stand out. Carving walking walking sticks takes a bit of guidance a some practice. The fall leaf project carving of the walking hiking stick staff  is a project designed for a beginner wood carving project using the techniques learned in how to make unique walking hiking sticks by hand.  It uses many of the guides ideas from the basic walking stick making to the wood carving.

The image on this posting shows the paints used on the fall project. Notice I using model train paint designed for wood box cards and other train wood projects. The great thing about train wood paints is the variety available and shades. The main thing I want you to remember is to SEAL your wood before applying he paint unless you want the paint to flow along the grains and into areas you may not desire. Again, practice you walking stick making on spare wood or left over wood to prevent destroying work you already completed. Use how to make walking stick guides and bonus material.

If you have a walking stick carving how to questions please post it here. Thank you and enjoy the hobby of making unique walking hiking sticks and staffs.

How to make walking sticks and staffs carving wood

    One portion of making hiking and walking sticks and staff is wood carving. Several people have requested information on how to start carving walking sticks wood spirits even before they know the basic of how to make a walking stick or staff. This is a big mistake. Wood carving images on hiking staffs and walking sticks with details takes practice.   Just like painting you need to know basic hiking stick making how to's before jumping into portrait painting.

   First you need to select the right wood and we highly suggest aspen, basswood, willow and similar wood for making your walking stick.  Stay away for hard woods at first because they require more effort to carve and more knowledge of wood grains.

  Now use practice branches smaller pieces of wood to carve basic shapes. Try to carve straight lines around the walking stick. Then do simple wood carving such as one described How to easily make unique walking an hiking sticks guides. I have seen many people trying to do more detailed wood carving then their experience and destroy great walking sticks and staffs. Making hiking and walking sticks is a great hobby. Take it step by step or you may fall into the trap of becoming frustrated with the hobby.

  if you have questions or suggestions please post it here for a quick response. Have a great time making your wood hiking sticks and walking staffs!

How to make walking sticks: Collecting walking stick wood to carve

First, not all wood is good for carving. In addition when collecting wood for hiking stick making the time of year plays a factor in most parts of the US. First, if you are in a snow bound area look fro fallen branches to wood carve practice and to used to make a hiking walking stick. Remember to cure the wood first. In other words, collect wood for hiking stick making now to use in the summer or even fall.

If you live further south now is the time to look for tree trimmings.  This is the time people start to think about spring  storms and tree trimming.  Walk around your area for trimmed oaks, popular,  cypress, fruit trees and other trees for walking stick making. In fact, I have talk to neighbors while going through their piles and now I have them looking for branches the right size/shape for me. I get on the average 20 to 30 great walking stick branches each season to making hiking sticks and staffs.

Check out the How to Making unique walking and hiking stick guide for details information on how to easily make unique  walking sticks and staffs. Learn how to carve wood, use wood burning to make images on wood simply, create you won rope handles and metal ferrules. It does not take any special skills to learn to wood carve a walking stick.