A now deceased friend of mine - actually my late ex-wife's grandfather but a friend, as well, made treenware. He made two-tine forks (think something that looks like a meat carving/serving fork) out of Osage Orange. He said it was one of the few woods that you could get really sharp, thin pointed tines from without them just breaking off. He also said he had found out that Osage was very popular for making the pins to assemble water wheels for mills back in the day because they didn't rot easy and could get wet, swell, get dry and shrink over and over without giving out. He had some forks he had made decades before that were still sharp. I used one or two of them on occasion because, as he would tell people when he sold his various treenware pieces at shows, they could be used for decoration if you wanted but they were made to be used.
If a stick has no bend you might as well go to Lowe's and get wood. Been trying to get some of this for a long time always very expensive on eBay. Keep making them it's relaxing it's good exercise. And it's a dying art. I have made about 350 walking sticks probably a hundred canes. I use all natural found wood. If you ever need any tips message me on Facebook I 3d carve . My name is Nick kalicki. Always looking for friends that carve wood. That wood I am going to get me a piece of some day. I like the way it looks as much a diamond Willow.
I have carved small toys from Yew wood. Centuries ago, it was harvested to near extinction in Europe because it was so popular for making bows. I mention it here because, like Osage Orange, using no finishing oil or varnish or any other such substance, you can polish Yew to a ceramic-like shine using nothing but a buffer wheel and the wood itself. Near the end of the process, I gather up handfuls of Yew sawdust and rub it into the surface of the toys. To the eye, it's buttery. To the hand, it's as hard as glass. I suspect Osage Orange is much like that. Thanks to your video, I'm going to check it out. I encourage you to experiment with Yew. It's pricey, though. I don't think you'll find it lining your back 40. Thanks for taking the time to share you work. I thoroughly enjoy it.
Thanks for your kind words...I've heard of Yew wood but I'm not personally familiar with it. I'll have to do some research to see if it is common here in Northeast Kansas. Thanks too for subscribing to my channel. I've cut a few new Osage Orange blanks this spring and will let them dry for a few months, then work them like I did here. I normally harvest the blanks in the fall/winter so I'm anxious to see if it makes a difference in the appearance of the final product based on the season the blank is harvested.
You're a great man ; Hard working. That is an awesome walking stick. Very natural. Thank you for sharing. : ) I am making one too but out of Cedar. : )
When I stared making Bois d'arc walking sticks, I had a terrible problem with them splitting as they dried. My solution was to cut them about 2 feet longer than I wanted the final piece to be, then seal the cut ends and let them cure for a year/per inch thickness of the wood. The cured wood is harder to work, but it won't split after you strip away the sapwood. Cut off one foot from each sealed end (which will probably split slightly over the years, hence the extra foot) and get to work. A pure heartwood Bois d'arc cane is a thing of beauty that can be passed down through the generations. Thanks for the video!
What I do for wood when its drying out, i strip the bark and cover open ends and knots with some glue. It wont eliminate the cracks completely but it prevents about 90% of them. You have to remove the bark though, otherwise the wood takes forever to dry.
I use exclusively Bay Laurel wood for my hiking sticks, and I never remove the bark. Much better grip with the bark on. If you nick the bark with your pocket knife, it smells just like bay leaves, even many many years down the road.
I too have made staffs with Bay Laurel (aka, California Bay, Oregon Myrtle). It"s a good wood if cut green but I always cut the bark off. It's not well known since it is relegated to a small region in the US.
Enjoyed watching that. I have a couple blanks of Osage that are fresh cut. I just bought a draw knife to use and trying to get the right setup to use it. I’ve heard of a shaving horse to sit on and I’m sure that would be nice to have but honestly I like your method. That was smart yet a simple technique that obviously works. You’re so right too. Osage is hard and heavy. I really like it. Thanks for sharing and great job.
I've been carrying an Irish Blackthorn stick for many years. IMO the ideal dimensions for any walking stick is, long enough to come up to your hip, in my case 39 inches. The top should be a knob approx 2" in diameter, primarily as a hand stop to keep an human attacker from pulling it out of your hands. Diameter just below the handle should be about 1.25 to 1.5 inch. At the tip of the stick, diameter should be about 1 inch or a little less. Cap the tip with a metal cup of some sort, e.g., shotgun shell base, followed by a rubber foot. Total weight depends on the tree, but in Blackthorn it would be about 18 oz. My personal stick is thinner and lighter at 11 oz, real easy to whip around with one hand. Warded off a vicious dog with one backhand swipe, once upon a time. - Z
Thank You...its common here in Kansas...the trick is finding a stave that is relatively strait. I've got a couple good ones drying that I'll work on later.
I have a short, sinew backed osage orange bow that will draw to 75 pounds! It is very strong and is only about 39 inches long! Great wood and a very good video! You biw, have a new subscriber!
Nice! I gotta make me one of those. Time to sharpen the draw knife. Last year I cut some osage orange trees and the chainsaw became dull quickly. That wood has attitude!
Problem I have is finding a straight piece long enough to make a walking stick. I have Osage orange trees on my property in Tennessee but they're curvy branches.
Great job on that walking stick. Where abouts in Jefferson County are you from?....just near is good enough. We were from Oskaloosa. Left town in 2000. Just thought it was nice to see another 'good ol boy' from my neck of the woods, doing the same thing I like to do-- whittling.
Thanks...the tip is a brass cane tip from a company out of Canada called Lee Valley...very high quality...they offer several sizes and metal finishes to suit most applications.
Hedge wood is so hard it repels water...I've tried various techniques to straighten the staves without much success. I mostly just look for staves that are relatively straight to begin with.
The small sander is a Dremel tool with the sand disc attachment...the bigger sander is a palm sander. I used the Dremel to knock down the rough spots and the palm sander for finishing the staff. I've since move on to a belt sander and then the palm sander this is much faster.
It grows wild here in Kansas...I don't no anyone in particlar that sells it though. Its kinda hard to find a good blank to work with because it is usually pretty crooked.
Is this strong enough to hurt someone for self-defense and where can I get me a nice round piece of wood so I can make my own I want mine just a little bit longer in case if I was to go hiking what you're probably never do but then again I would like to have two so I can make one, like a self-defense cane and one for hiking that would be cool can you send me two of them and tell me what tools to get to clean it off because I'm in the apartment life kind of hard for people to do stuff because they're in apartment life and they would like to do this and they could do it outside next to the apartment bibelot easy to do so can you send me two of them and how much it would be so I can shave it off and do my own but I want two of them they have to be perfectly straight but strong enough we're not going to break on you
