Best material for walking stick and self defense

Purchasing a walking stick for back country hikes. I've also read that these are frequently allowed on airplanes because they are canes/walking sticks.

Anyway, what hardwood would be best and why? Ash, oak, walnut, cedar, other?

Ash is the only one of those that might be suitable, but hickory or hornbeam would be much better.

You need a wood that won't break when side-loaded and that usually means you need a long springy grain. For self defense its good to have some mass as well.

We have dozens of threads on sticks for self defense here in NFW with some links to good sources for canes and sticks.

After seaching the various threads, you just might want to make your own. Oak is the most availabe here, but Hornbeam is my gold standard.

I don`t know what`s ...best but I`ve got an old shovel handle that`s about 4 feet long and solid as a rock, I take when i walk my dog early in the mornings. I wraped one end with a cover of duct tape, whick makes for a good grip. Not fancy but a weapon for sure if I need it. :)

I've made quite a few sticks and canes for SD work from Cocobolo. It makes oak look like balsa wood. African blackwood and lignum vitae are also good choices, as is teak.

My current everyday stick is 35" Chinese white waxwood with a brass head. It's light and amazingly tough. You can get sticks of this from Wushu suppliers.

Anyone ever seen a hornbeam crook cane? Or one with a natural knob? Understandable putting a crook on hornbeam may not be possible (I'm no wood expert), but a knob would be really cool. I'm trying to buy one as there's not really hornbeam where I live.

I've got a couple of hornbeam walking sticks I made with root handles. One has the root going just about 90 degrees to the shaft, and the other one has a root going about 45 degrees. Both polished up to look like fine briar like on a pipe.

Hornbeam root makes a very nice handle. You will need a belt sander to shape it though, it's hard stuff.

I took an old golf club, driver,with a metal shaft, and cut the head off..

Ash would be the top choice for flexibility and oak would be the best for impact going by your list. Ash dents quite badly from contact.

I'd have to agree with the many. Hornbeam, Black locust, hickory, and my personal favorite Osage orange. Can't really go wrong with any of these.

I like the Bois d Arc ones I have made and use around my place. They are heavy, strong, and solid. Wood also known as Osage Orange, Hedge Apple, Horse Apple, etc. I plan on trying my hand at making a long bow with some of t once I locate a good straight trunk to cut, split, and dry this winter. This was a favorite wood for bows clubs and throwing sticks used by Indians in the area.

Just had a big black walnut limb fall out of the canopy of a tree here. There are about two sections or leaders nice and straight for about 15 feet. Diameter tapering from about 6 inches or so.

Maybe I'll harvest some of it and make a walking stick.

I love my locust sticks. Each wood has properties that are unique and valuable. Like knives, IMO the shape and geometry matter as much as the material provided it's got some basic integrity.

Here are some tips...get a cheap wood rasp, that works well for shaping handles. Try a 1-to-3 mix of wood alcohol and water sprayed on (wood alcohol helps the h2o penetrate) to shape particularly hard woods. look for dead branches/saplings (clearcut areas are perfect) if you are impatient, because it takes a couple months for sticks to dry. Sand starting with 60 or 80, up to about 220 or even 400. Stain lightly. Then rub with oil or use a couple of light coats of poly with light sanding between. Ladder ends work well. 1" ends are usually what I use in my canes.

Oh, size-wise, I like something about 3-4" higher than the crook of my wrist. I call it a strolling stick.

Has anyone ever heard of iron wood? Its gray smooth bark very heavy for the size. I like hickory about 1" diameter. How do most of you guys picture the self defense usage. As a club?



Jim

has anyone ever heard of iron wood?


Yep, it'll make sparks come off a chain saw, and then you buy a new chain.:banghead: There is also another (probably correct) term for it but it slips my mind.

My vote is for hickory, just work it while it is green.

How do most of you guys picture the self defense usage. As a club?


NO, I practice, and have used mine similar to the old bayonet drill, thrusts to chest, butt strokes to face, downward slash to the clavicle. With parrys, blocks, hooks, and takedowns thrown in for good measure.

Ironwood is a generic term used for alot of hard woods. Desert ironwood is a specific species. Hop Hornbeam is sometimes called ironwood. There are others.

Not all would make a good walking stick. Desert ironwood is extremely dense. It sinks in water. It's also very decorative, beautiful colours and grain, especially in burls. It'd probably be too brittle to make a good striking implement with. I know that my knives only survive about 30 strokes on the stuff before being dull and burred up. It's brutally hard. About 3x as hard as rock maple in my experience. Think carving aluminum with a knife and you're close.

Hop Hornbeam, on the other hand, is a better choice. Still quite dense, but this stuff can float. Makes a slim stick able to deliver a real blow. I've only got limited experience with this stuff, but it's hard.

In the end, if you want a stick that will survive a whack, study up on the most manufactured and used striking weapons on earth. Baseball bats, hockey sticks, lacross sticks, etc. Their choice of wood is telling.

Hickory, Maple, Ash. Maybe some oak.

This wheel is long since invented.

J

Great explanation. Thanks. :)

J.

you nailed it!

Doc

"In the end, if you want a stick that will survive a whack, study up on the most manufactured and used striking weapons on earth. Baseball bats, hockey sticks, lacross sticks, etc. Their choice of wood is telling."


Hey! Ya forgot the Irish peasant arming himself with the trusty shileliegh. Used extensivly since the disarming of the Irish in 1603.

Blackthorn; hard to have a peasant resistense with out.

I use diamond willow. It is kind of a generic term for a willow with a blight that caused reddish diamond shapes around branches. The wood is a creamy white. They are light and strong.

Reading about all these wonderful canes and walking sticks has made me think that maybe my knee is busted enough to justify using one :). I don't know if I can get my hands on hornbeam, but I do have a lot of hawthorn available. Is it suitable material for a cane project?

I use lots of hawthorn- one of my favorites. Fruit wood is great too- some apple trees tend to throw off long, straight branchless suckers that make ideal walking sticks. Incredibly hard, dense wood.

Leadcounsel, I don't know where you are, but I would stay away from Western red cedar. It just doesn't have any strength. I rough shaped a bow out of some I had cut off my property just to see what would happen and it snapped in half the first time I tried bending it. I understand that what they call "cedar" in the Eastern US is something different altogether.

Vine maple is really nice stuff if you can find a straight piece long enough to work- it kind of grows in "swoop" shapes. Bigleaf maple, the dominant species around here, grows straight but is a lot softer and lighter.

I have found that in my experience, perhaps the best stick i've ever had and used both for walking and self defense(sometimes, I was the offender....). Is a sledge hammer handle. You can either knock the wedge out and slide the weight off, or saw the weight off, or break it off. But sledge hammer handles are fairly light, yet a dense enough wood that you're not going to break it if it makes contact with a human skull.
Sledge hammer handles and Axe handles both have to be sturdy enough to withstand repetative hard blows. If you slide the weight off rather than break or cut if off, you have and extra couple inches, which helps you use it as a walking stick. More like a cane than a walking stick, but it's still handy.

hickory or maple either one will make a great walk/weapon stick !

like some others said think handles ,bats,etc ..

show us some pics when ya geterdone ;)

Canvas micarta is the best impact material I've seen. It looks like wood.

John,

Anyone making a walking stick or cane out of that stuff?

Around here we have lots of Madrone, I have a long piece I rescued from a bonfire. I use it as a walking/hiking stick occasionally. My question, if anyone is familiar with madrone, is it suitable for a walking/defense stick. I do use a cane because of hip problems, so it would not be out of place for me to use/have. Any experience with madrone?
Thanks.
JohnnyOrygun

He told me a while back he was going to have them, what's the deal Shirley?! :neener:

Corey, I replied to you on 2 May. The phenolic rods I found held up pretty well, but not as good as canvas. And they ended up being more than initially expected.

Arfin, there are a few places that one can order "rods" like this. You want between 1 and 1 1/14". The problem is if you're trying to find them longer than 3 or 4'.

Here's one example (http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/variant.asp?catalog_name=USPlastic&category_name=79&product_id=17363&variant_id=47223). They ain't cheap, but they are the best- and stronger than you.

John

Yeah, yeah, I know, I just like to give you a hard time.

A good piece of ash will not disappoint. I found a great 5' ash pole at the hardware store that was obviously in another league of quality with quartersawn straight grain. Most of the sledge handles I come across are nothing special. In fact, I can't believe how many are warped and show grain runoff.

I made my best cane from a hickory sapling and a few nice ones from hazel, which is surprisingly hard and durable, though I don't know how shock resistant it is. The cheapest option is finding a farm store and buying the $10 crook canes from the horse supply section. They are stout and usually made of hickory.

I have a zytel rod that I am going to reinforce with carbon fibre. I think I will cap the ends with a small brass knob, and a brass cap. Solid brass does a good number on noggins and rib cages.

If you haven't already read the books by Fairbairn called Get Tough how to win in hand to hand. It has a section on fighting with a stick. Its very basic, but easy to remember and when you get your adrenaline going you don't need to think a lot about fancy moves, just making the bad guy a target of your quick and painful means of escaping harm.

Most of the short (axes, sledges, picks) handles we sell are made of hickory. Longer ones (shovels, hoes, rakes) are ash.

When you want a dependable stick for defense the only one I use is dogwood. Heavy, hard with perfect "feel" and balance - no other wood to me becomes a part of me where the flesh and wood merge into one.

Dogwood's an excellent choice too! Strong, dense and hard. Historically used for tool handles, skewers and horse-drawn cart harnessing parts....

J

Welcome herksboss.