A shepherd's crook.

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audioautomatica

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I am looking for a sturdy Crook for traditional purposes (psuedo-druidism) but am unable to find any resources that are not cheesy costume outlets.(Mostly)

Does anyone know of/able to find people who make/sell Crooks out of hardwood (or however one makes a sturdy wooden instrument) ?

I'm looking for a crook that does not look like a candy cane. The crook being a circle is crucial, for symbolic purposes. Not a simple bend or tear-drop.
Walking stick size is just fine.

Better yet, if anyone on the forums is adept in make walking sticks/canes with curves in them if you could direct me to them, that would be ideal.


Thank you guys in advance! I know this is an odd request but I can't think of any other forum with such a collection of knowledgeable people.
 
Here's a real 60" shepherd's cane probably made from hickory (the shorter ones are). Used for real "traditional" purposes like hooking and batting wayward sheep, dunno what other purposes you are looking for. $10.25 shouldn't be too much of a drain for a druid.

If you want to reshape the actual hook part, you can use steam and a circular form.

http://www.enasco.com/farmandranch/?&q=cane
 
unless you are posting just to shoot-the-sheep, i am left wondering how this is gun related=====my bad, sorry

did Shepard on FireFly ever carry a crook?
 
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unless you are posting just to shoot-the-sheep, i am left wondering how this is gun related
Click to expand...
If you scroll up just a wee bit, you'll notice that the title of this forum is:

Non-Firearm Weapons

Seems to me he's in the right place, no?
 
Some years ago, I saw a shepard's crook staff in a martial arts store that intrigued me. It was a sturdy 5 foot staff that reminded me of the Biblical staffs I had heard about in church. But I had not seen such a staff before in any type of store. If you can obtain one, it is worth the cost in my opinion.

I suggest that you search several online martial arts stores. One of them might sell a solid staff that could double for both ceremonial and self-defense purposes. This is a fascinating topic that I hope endures. Thanks again for bringing up this great topic.


Timthinker
 
There's a site that sells 5' "canes" that I posted a while back on the last cane thread.
 
That's the site I posted above. Enasco farm & ranch products.

As for "martial arts" canes, believe me, they are the same canes I posted with a 100% mark-up.
 
If it's for pseudo-druidism, whatever that means, why is the symbolism so crucial? It is, after all, "pseudo". That is an honest question by the way, not a smart-alecky one. I guess I am just sort of interested in what you are doing is all...
 
Well I guess some people would call it our religion, but we prefer to call it tradition.

Basically my family and family's close friends grew tired of the commercialism in what should be spiritual beliefs and holidays. So we spent awhile figuring out what it was we believed was spiritually important in the world and formed our own system of beliefs and traditions. The Druids happened to loosely fit with what we believed, even as far as what seasons mean and how they effect the human conscious, and things like that. So we modified that "loose fit" to make it snug, and since we don't call it anything specifically and since it's still similar to Druidism I just refer to it as pseudo-druidism.

I forgot to mention I need an Oak staff; but I'll explain why they are important.

The actual use of the staff, is simply to pay respects to where the base of our traditions have come from; Druidism. Googling Druid and staff will inform you of the their purpose to a druid.

The staff being Oak is also a homage to Druidism, and is also more 'informal' if you will. The etymology of the word "Druid" loosely ends up as deru-weid Deru, depending on the base language means "Oak" "Tree" "Steadfast" "Solid" "True"
Weid equates to "To See" "Wit" "Wisdom" or "Vedas"[veda]* **Sanskrit for Knowledge.

The incomplete circle (as the staff is still crooked, and will not simply be a ring of wood on top a staff) equates infinity with distinguishable stages.

As in existence continues, while ends bring new beginnings. [The circle of the crook stops abruptly, and after the empty space the circle resumes again.]

The staff would mainly be used during our holidays, as a ceremonial item I guess you could say.


I'm working on getting started in smithing, and once I do that I also plan on making a homage to Alchemy, with a steel staff in the form of Mercury's symbol. And our maypole has wings, and painted serpents up the sides a la the Caduceus of Hermes Trismegistus.
 
Interesting. I can contribute nothing in terms of telling you where to find such a staff, but an interesting response nevertheless. Good luck!
 
Plenty of oak livestock sorting poles out there in livestock sites.

2960 Stockmens Walking Cane 60" 13.00

60_inch_cane_sized.jpg

These folks are in Missouri and Kenny is the owner. He's about 75 and sharp as a tack. He'll work with you, within limits, to get whatever you want. I just ordered 4 6ft ash "dowels" from him. (800)260-6455 http://www.househandle.com/
 
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Googling Druid and staff will inform you of the their purpose to a druid.
Click to expand...

I'm mostly getting World of Warcraft weapons...somehow I'm guessing you're talking about druids IRL (in real life) :p.

I am intrigued by your post as well though. Isn't druidism more of a general name for a type of worship among native peoples of the British isles?
 
The original "tree-huggers" ;)

Druids were prevalent throughout all of Western and even Eastern Europe until the Roman Empire pretty-much wiped them out as a ruling class.

The most famous were probably the Gauls of France (as opposed to the Gaels & Celts of the Isles), but these folks settled far-enough eastward to be remembered in the Bible as Galatians. Galatia is an area in modern Turkey.
 
I have made a few canes in my spare time I currently have a few maple saplings drying that I will work on this winter. I plant the sprouts I find in the corner of my yard and when the base reaches 1-1/2 inches I yank them out of the ground and put them away for later. If I was asked to do something like what you are proposing, I would find a oak sapling and live shape it around a ring and let it grow for a couple of more years a lot can be learned from orchard planning books about shaping trees for purposes rubbing all the lower buds off a sapling in the spring will produce smooth knot-free staff great thread now to google druid and oak canes Tks
 
If you plan to do forge work, why not just research steam bending, and make one. It would be a bit more real, with more meaning than any store bought one, would it not?

Make it of red, white or black oak, all of which bend readily steamed.

The tools are simple to make from a big pot, a bit of common stove pipe, and a camp fire.

Then you need a mold the size of the bend, which is easy to make as well. Of course this depends on what you have laying around.

In one form or another you need a work bench that is ok to get water and dirt on, one that won't move any too easy. Then cut a circle the size you want from something.. ply wood?? and make it thicker than the artical will be.

Screw a 2x4 block near the place you steamed stick will be first held, and others that as you bend the oak to the circle inner form will hold the wood and maybe have a block or two ready to be placed as you near the end bend.

A helper might be handy.

The only cautions should be evident, like eye,face protection, welders gloves, and long sleeves capable of insulating you from steam and or a splash.

What might be a hidden danger is synthetic rope you might use as bindings.. Don't. No nylon nor plastics. The stretch and can be dangerous for it causing a splash .

Use manillia, cotton or hemp. Avoid sisal. Do not use any raw hides or leather either on hot wood, as it cooks fast and will fail.

Avoid steel clamps too as the marking they leave are ugly and I wouldn't be at all surprised to find they turn oak a dull drab blue where any steel made contact with hot wet oak.

Nothing you can buy store bought will be truely suitable..
 
Cruciblefool nails it:
If I was asked to do something like what you are proposing, I would find a oak sapling and live shape it around a ring and let it grow for a couple of more years a lot can be learned from orchard planning books about shaping trees for purposes rubbing all the lower buds off a sapling in the spring will produce smooth knot-free staff great thread now to google druid and oak canes Tks
Click to expand...

Live shaping is a great way to get the shape you want, as well as being a great way to bond with the item in question as it grows and shapes.

You could purchase a 10-20 dollar item now and use it until your sapling grows, is harvested, and sufficiently cures for use.
 
I agree that live shaping works so long as time is no issue.. I have a friend who makes stone clubs that way. He splits out a live sapling and places a stone in the slit. and so in about 2 or 3 growing seasons the stone is firmly wedged in place.

He has been doing this for years now, and obviously does 40 and up saplings at a time.

Steam bending is a very ancient tech, and was likey to have been used pre Druids..
 
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