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Making Hand Made Walking Sticks
By Kay Zetkin
Walking sticks are useful walking aids before walking aid innovations are introduced. Even now, walking sticks are still very much handy for disabled and elderly individuals.
Historically, hill men would never leave their houses without a stick to carry. Because of the rugged environment, the stick acted both as aid and companion. When sheep were already being herded, the stick became a necessary and ready tool for catching and controlling the animals. This was when the plain sticks came to be called as “Shepherd’s Crook”, a working tool and a walking aid for the hill men.
To be sturdy and durable, the shepherds themselves form their crooks from sheep’s horn. In order to produce the sheep’s horn crook, they are exposed to the heat from the peat fire so that their shape would bend and then, carve them with knife. Most fine selections of these hand-made horn handled crooks and walking sticks can be found in Scotland. There are crook makers that specialize on handcrafting these sturdy, elegant and durable walking sticks.
The hand-made walking sticks can be made from a variety of raw materials like Ram’s horn, Hazel shanks and buffalo horn. Ram’s horn is a traditional material used by crook makers, although, as of now, it is becoming increasingly scarce in a quality suitable for crook making. This may be due to the changes in farming practice. Hazel shanks are gathered over the winter in woods, burnsides and lakeshores. Then, they are stored to dry, for use on the following year. Buffalo horns are now becoming favored material by the crook makers. Asian water Buffalo horns produces interesting colors and textures and become striking crafts when finished.
The process of making a hand-made walking stick, with the crooked handle takes 4 steps to finish. First, is shaping the handle. This step involves cutting the material to a rough shape, exposing it to heat and rasping it into shape. Next is preparing the shank – the main body of the stick. After collecting hazel shanks over the winter, they are stored in the rafters to dry. A suitable shank is selected from among the dried ones and it is straightened using heat and pressure. Third step is joining together the handle and shank. This is done securely by a steel rod glued into the hazel shank and the crooked handle. Then, the handle is rasped down to fit the shank and the final shaping is done. The final step involves shaping the stick by applying various grades of files and abrasives on the handle. Indeed, this process is time consuming but this is also vital since it ensures the production of a high quality stick. After the files, polish is applied and then – enjoy the fine stick produced!
These walking sticks are really high quality because of the personal handcrafting care applied to it. Though it takes time to produce, knowing that it’s sturdy and durable enough to last for years to come is well worth the effort! -30-
About the Author
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