Elshasho's thread and you guys talking about walking sticks/staffs got me curious. I've been thinking about making some in the shop but have no idea what dimensions (height & diameter) would be comfortable.

I'd like to see pics of yours or read about sizes.

Thanks

Tall enough to act as a monopod when standing.

Stout enough to put a hurtin on something if you hit it with it.

General rule of thumb is you want the height to be at least the height of your elbows. That's the ergonomic placement for your hands. They can be taller of course

As Sniper says if your two handing just walking. Fit them that way he describes.
Im kind of the opinion that its very dependent on what your doing. What you chose to carry at any given time. I'm at a place in my life where I pretty much require a stick just to move around now. Most like me use a cane for that. Doctor even ask why I used a stick not cane. I've just always been dialed in to a stick or sticks and I have several.
I started out using a stick mostly when water trapping. That morphed into a stick I carried for water rescue work. Which is simply a heavy wooden mope handle. I have an inexpensive adjustable one with little plastic cradle on top. I use that now for several years while hunting as a shooting stick. Realized I should have been using one many years ago. But years ago I was so mobile didn't like dragging one more thing along in woods.
Anyways maybe later I will lay them out add a picture to this post. I have 4 that live in back of my truck.

Mac

I use a wading stick when I am out lure hunting. I have found that an old handle from a shovel is the best - stout but comfortable to the hand. I screwed a hook on the end for picking up trash and lures.

Made this for my boy's 12th birthday. It is a branch from a mulberry tree that was in his grandma's yard.

Looks good slydog. Mulberry is a good choice.

heard diamond willow where desirable for walking sticks ???

How do you guys finish them to make them pretty? Just wood stain?

I have both longer and shorter walking sticks. One I have had over 55 years and the other I have had about 15 years or so. The shorter one I was lucky enough to find it on a beaver dam when trapping a drainage while in college in the 1970 time frame.

It was a near perfect fit for me height wise and width for strength. I have used it all these years. The other I bought at a trappers convention. It is handy as it has a hook V on one end for grabbing slide wires and fishing out other odds and ends I have needed to recover or look at due to curiosity.

The tall stick has a fitted brass end cap to help reduce friction ware. Both have seen lots of use. When scouting or mushroom picking one or the other is always in hand. They have saved me from many a potential bad spills in the field. Sometimes I use both in very rough terrain.

I have used mink oil and a paste wax blend over the years when I feel it is needed to help protect the wood grain. LInseed oil would be great.

I use boiled linseed oil or paste wax.

An old taxidermy book I have mentions rubbing linseed oil on antlers so that makes sense

Shot a bunch of Coyotes off of my “Walking Stick”.

I made this one from a red delicious apple tree. I left a sucker branch grow from the main branch for a couple of years until it was the right size. It's made to be a crutch if I would need one. Sure wish I would have had it with me when I broke my ankle setting bobcat traps.
There's about half a pound of lead in the big end with an antler base and a brass cap I made for it. 2 brass 3" screws hold the base and cap in place on the business end
When I need it I will cut it down for a cane.
Her name is Betty and she needs a new dress

Every winter, I’ll find a nice six foot stick that beavers have cleaned up. I always take them home.

co-workers of mine gave me a beaver-chewed walking stick as a retirement gift.

Always liked ash.
But if not kiln dried, stamped,
and alfa approved it will infect and wipe
out 80 percent of walking sticks WW.

Yeah, having a hot miserable shift over here lol.
Ny mewest is mulberry?
It checked bad but no one cares,
it's a stick.

I've been making walking sticks out of the buckthorn I've been cutting in my woods. First, I use a draw knife to rough scrape off the bark. Next, I use a belt sander to clean the rest that remains. Then, I use a medium sander to smooth it. Finally, I use a sander with fine sandpaper to make the wood really smooth.

I use a tack cloth to take off any dust before I stain the stick. I have different colored stains I use such as American Walnut, Italian Walnut, Rosewood (my favorite), and several other stains. I have some buckthorn that is nice and straight, but I prefer the odd ones with a natural blemish or slightly crooked, etc. I think it gives the stick more character.

I don't sell them, but have been giving them to all my friends who seem to really appreciate them. I have a class reunion coming up next month. I've been trying to make enough so each one of my classmates will go home with one.

My walking stick ...comes to my nose ..iam 6'2"

It's a hefty 1 3/4 inch diameter

Stout enough to whack something silly

Use it to walk to my beaver sets ..also to find depth of water..

And to check for muddy bottoms.

Has a notch in the bottom ...to retrieve my trap cables

I tried to add this to my first post for some reason wouldn't work. Here are my current different walking sticks I use at different times for different things.

Left to right
First is my trapping stick. Actually 3rd one I have had. First one was a hexagon wooden tent pole I scavenge from my grandfather old military wall tent. That got broken swatting some critter years ago. That was replaced by oak saw mill slat some where in the 1980s. That stick got broken swatting a critter in 2006. How do I know? When made new one also from saw mill slat. I stamped date in it.
The two wooden ones, one closet pole one mope handle. I used for water rescue work.
The blue sticks my wife bought me after my first hip surgery. The far right is stick I use when carry gun. Nothing fancy but works for me.





Date I stamped in my newest trapping stick after broke my older one.


This is my every day walking stick that now lives with me. Its actually a fairly expensive brand walking stick. I found it in with ski poles at restore gave $2 for it.




Believe I posted my fancy walking stick back when I first made it. Is small black walnut I cut from.fence line few years back.


Mac

On the rare occasion when I use one, not two (imo one hand must be free), I then use an old ski pole, I find the basket at the end indispensable. Elbow height.

I like mine just a little taller than me, And thick enough I can really put my body weight on it for support. I started out packing popular sampling I cut off so I had a mono pod gun rest for early seasion squirrel. found out how handy it was for support going in and out of ditches up and down hills ect.. AND absolutely love having a nice staff or stick. I don't get fancy just cut down on of the million nice strait saplings usually get a new one at the start of each season. It's become a very welcome addition since I have occasional balance and weak legs issues


After typing that I think I'm willing to admit I'm still young but hitting that starting to get older and realizing it phase of life.

My grandfather always used a walking stick, he wasn't particular just picked the first appropriate size off the ground, lol...My son and I made him a short staff for Karate training out of Ironwood, you better eat your Cheerios if you try to break that one...but basically you want a walking stick about head high, and about a inch and a quarter thick, pretty much any straight sapling will suffice.

A neat subject for thought and sharing.

The term stick, is considered different than a staff, in certain arenas.

A surprising amount of countries all over the world routinely use staffs every day for walking, resting on , herding, toting loads, fulcrum to lift, and defense.

In martial arts staff fighting , they are made for not only balance in walking, but for many multi usage tasks .

The staff I use is hand made from an instructor of four Japanese fighting styles.

These are all hand carved , stained or clear coated. The wood is very light, in spite of the thicker circumference. Red or white fir, or tamarack , what he finds in the forest. The bark left on in places resembles leather once it's clear coated. A nice effect.

His designs are all his own, but reminds one much of Australian and African designs. He often will make pointed ends for better traction and non slippage. Others he puts spear heads , as a javelin. One of them he wanted an outline of an Aussie saltie croc , that I scribed for him. Which is seen in the pics below. Those displays are all 7 to 8 feet long. Works of art, all different.

My staff, shown last, is around 6 feet tall and I use it all the time.

Thanks all, you's have given me a lot of good ideas.

This is my 45 year old Beaver chewed on both ends Walking stick. Used when I was in FCF .
*and a possible pouch I made ~Elk hide and rose Glass beads.9mm
Wood burned Eagle.

^^^ that is rad!

Lots of nice walking sticks on this thread.
I want a tall one like Gandalf just so I can shout “You SHALL NOT PASS!!!”

Thanks Smash0

Not a close up of the stick but 3 sticks cut in the woods in August of last year. Great rest as well as support. I didn't realize it had been clean shaved last year but there it is