Hedge wood for a cane?

[owlhoot]

A portion of my daily walk takes me through a large thicket composed mostly of wild hedge and assorted vines and briers. Many of the hedge canes grow very straight and some have had vines grow around them giving them a nice spiral appearance. My question is whether or not hedge would be an appropriate wood for walking staffs and canes?

By the way, I am 78 and use a cane if I will be walking any great distance. The cane or stick has saved me from taking a fall many times as my walks take me through some rough terrain. Consequently, it is important that I have a cane that won't let me down (pun intended). Thus my question about the suitability of the hedge as a cane source.

 

[Kingcreek]

"Hedge" can be a generic term for the stuff that grows around fields or in rows. dont know what kind of hedge wood you are refering to but around here (Illinois farm country), its traditionally Osage Orange which is excellent wood for staffs.

 

[Owen Sparks]

Typical hedge in the South is light and flexable. It would make a good walking stick but is far too light to double as an effective weapon. I had to cut a bunch of it just yesterday. Another similar wood is Crepe Myrtle. It is also light and flexable only more so. Neither of these are very hard, they get their strength from flexibility.

 

[DCoke]

Do you mean the wood of the hedge apple...also known as osage orange? It's strong and flexible and early americans used it for bows as well as for an orange brown die. The wood is heavy, dense, makes for good turning and doesn't swell and shrink like most other woods do.

 

[mole]

He's probably talking about Chinese Privet. It's a bit on the light side. I'd agree with Owen Sparks. Medium density, pretty fine grain in some that I've harvested.

Mole

 

[zxcvbob]

What about osage orange, a.k.a. bodark or bois d'arc? There are some bowyers on eBay that sell split osage and mulberry staves for making bows. How difficult would it be to shave one down to make a sturdy cane? Or do you really need to start with a sapling so you have mostly full growth rings? The staves are all heartwood and so would be denser and heavier; not necessarily stronger.

Mesquite might make an interesting cane if you found a piece straight enough. Or dogwood.

 

[Kingcreek]

Osage orange makes a great staff. I've never tried to bend a curve into a handle but I'd guess it would be near impossible. Straight staff or walking stick, sure.
I own about 1/2 mile of Osage orange hedge. A few years ago 2 guys in a pickup pulled into my drive and asked if I was the landowner. Then asked if I would ever consider letting them cut a piece of one, a specific straight piece of one tree. I asked them how they would cut it and they said they had a handsaw. I told them sure, go ahead. I felt sorry for them and even drove out with my chainsaw. They drove off happy and later I found out that those 4-6 staves could be worth almost $100 each.

 

[zxcvbob]

I've never tried to bend a curve into a handle but I'd guess it would be near impossible.

I was thinking more along the lines of fastening a brass or steel hame top (ball from a draft horse harness) or an antique doorknob on top instead of bending a crook.

 

[dprice3844444]

bob,just steam it in a steam box,then bend to form

 

[Owen Sparks]

It is sometimes hard to find a straight piece of Osage but once cut, the ends must be sealed in the field or it will dry too fast and crack. It needs to be pit up for a year with the bark on and allowed to dry naturally. Trim away the sap wood and use only the orange heart. There is nothing tougher and it is fairly heavy.

 

[bikerdoc]

Hedges around here are mostly boxwood. Have no idea if it would make a good cane

 

[Owen Sparks]

Anything strong enough to lean on makes a good cane.

That being said only heavy material makes a good weapon. My 86 year old Mom has a hollow aluminum walking stick from the drug store that weighs only a few ounces. It does just fine for its intended purpose yet it would be next to useless as a weapon.

 

[owlhoot]

I have no need to use my cane as a weapon. I have never encountered another person on my walks in which I do try to get in three or four miles a day and that will include some fairly steep ridges where wet leaves can be mighty slick. That means I often have to put my full weight of 210 lbs on my cane both uphill and downhill. And I'd hate to end up with a broken hip in the middle of nowhere.

Osage orange is not native to my part of the world. I think the wild hedge around here is more akin to the privet hedge but I don't think it is privet, straight trunk and no limbs until the trunk is four or five feet tall.

I found a very nice one today. Tomorrow I'll take a small bow saw and cut it. From what I have read on the "cane" threads, I should cut it and stand it in the corner of the garage for a few months before peeling it or doing anything else, right?

 

[Kingcreek]

cut it, seal the ends, and clamp it to a piece of angle iron, bench top, or stiff board. standing it in a corner will probably allow it to bow as it cures.

 

[Owen Sparks]

If you are going up and down hills you need a staff rather than a walking cane. What is the difference? About a foot and a half. This compensates for hills and gives you leverage going up as well as something to stady yourself with going down. A staff is used much like the hand rail on stairs and really makes a difference on a long hike with a heavy back pack. The trend now is to carry a super light carbon fiber hiking staff the theory being that the less it weighs the less it will fatigue the hiker. I still use a heavy wooden staff precisely because I am in the woods alone and if I need to defend myself from man or beast I want something substantial.

 

[zxcvbob]

I hope this isn't too far off-topic.

How would one make an attractive and innocuous looking cane out of a piece of rebar? A 40 inch of #5 rebar weighs about 4 pounds. Bend a crook in the top, dress the ends, and then what? Cover it with a micarta-like layer of cloth and polyester resin or epoxy, then sand it smooth and polish it?

 

[wheelgunslinger]

Owen is right about the staff thing.

Most of your dangers from falling or injury will be likely when going downhill, as your weight distribution and smaller muscles come into play as your momentum increases slightly.

I'd be interested to know exactly what kind of wood you're working with. Maybe get a leaf and see if you can figure out what variety it is through a botany page or an audubon guide.

 

[Owen Sparks]

Rebar is just too heavy and this is coming from a proponant of heavy canes. It also is made of very mild steel that is designed to be easy to bend. The first time you hit something with it it is bent and you can never get it perfectly straight again.

 

[Deltaboy1984]

Rebar is just too heavy and this is coming from a proponant of heavy canes. It also is made of very mild steel that is designed to be easy to bend. The first time you hit something with it it is bent and you can never get it perfectly straight again.

Heat the Rebar red hot and quench in Oil and it will set the steel. 1/2 rebar would make a nice cane or a load a wood cane.