Make your own hand made walking stick holder

Create a Walking Stick Holder

        What do your do with all your walking sticks you made? How do you display or store them? This section will give you a couple of ideas on how to display your walking sticks or staffs with a bit of class.

Step 1: The idea is simple idea of how to store your hand made walking sticks and you have two ways to do it. Find a log slice that is at least 10” thick and 20” in circumference. If you have many walking sticks you will need to get slices with larger circumferences.     

      The thickness is needed to give it some weight. When the log section dries it looses 40% or more if it’s weight due to water loss. yes, you can add weight to your walking stick and hiking staff holder to keep if from tipping over.

Step 2: If the bark is interesting then do not remove it. If it is damaged or you like to see the wood grains then strip the bark and sand the wood.

Step 3: Get a wood drill bit that is larger than the measurement of each sticks circumference. You are going to drill holes into the top of the wood section to hold the walking sticks made by you upright. Placement of the holes is critical so all your sticks fit in place and provide a pleasant arrangement. Make each hole location with a pencil.

        Do not overcrowd the holder or it will be an eye-sore. The best holders hold odd number of sticks. Create a circular pattern with the hole marks and then place 1 or 3 in the center.

Step 4: Now drill the holes 7” to 8” deep. Then test each hiking stick or walking staff to make sure it fit in the holes. Making walking sticks presentation holders is a get add-on to your hobby,

 

Step 5: Finish the wood with stain or other finish. Now you have a completed walking stick holder for the wood staffs you made by hand.

How to make hiking sicks self collected wood

    Spring is here now and its time to check your walking sticks that you are curing from the wood collected in the fall. Depending upon your location and wood type you need to cure wood self collected for making walking and hiking sticks. Curing properly greatly limits wood splitting and cracks than can destroy a walking stick making project. Most people collect walking sticks wood when the sap is not flowing because it decreases the time it takes for the wood to cure and the chances of cracks as the hiking staff dries out.

    Wood should be cured in a climate controlled environment that is low in moisture. Here in south Florida this means inside a home with A/C. We are in a tropical environment and curing walking sticks outside is not an option with our high humidity.  If you are in an arid area you can cure the wood for your hiking stick making project in a garage out of extreme heat that can cause warping of the walking stick wood. The walking stick guides give more details on how to cure wood including methods to prevent wood warping.

     Yes, depending upon the variety of the wood you are collecting you can collect during other times of the year. Collecting wood to make walking sticks is half the fun with this hobby. Whether you want to make a hiking staff, walking stick, wizard stick or walking cane it better to prevent hobby frustration and problems before they happen.

Hand made walking sticks

Walking sticks and hiking staffs are an great asset when ascending or descending hills during back pack trips. What even better is using your own hand made walking sticks and hiking staffs from wood collected during your hiking adventures.

I live in South Florida but venture to all areas of the USA exploring the national parks and state parks. Hand made hiking sticks and staffs are tolls and in many areas a fashion statement. People continually ask where they can buy hiking sticks like ones I made. I tell them its hand made.

Using the walking sticks will save you energy and possibly from injury when traveling in the back country
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With airlines travel restrictions and so forth a hand made walking stick may be to long However, there are ways to make a hand made walking stick or staff to fit into your luggage. Look for an article soon on how to split your handmade walking sticks and adding connectors in the middle of them so you can pack then in normal luggage.