Designs for some hiking sticks

[Scoutfish]

In a short while, our ACM will be leaving as his son crosses out of our pack. Also, we will be losing our second year Webelos DL, our Pack Advancement Chair, and our Pack CC as their son's cross out of our pack. All but the DL have agreed to stay on with the pack until the end of the school calendar because of their positions.

 

Anyways, I went out and bought 4 hiking sticks to present to them at the end of the year at our pack campout ( had to twist DL's arm to get him to show up without giving a specific reason as to why).

 

Today, I went out and bought a Dremel tol so I could carve some stuff into the hiking sticks.

 

I just don't know whatit will be.

 

I am planning on drilling a hole and adding a leather wrist strap to them and making a diamond grid hand grip area..but that's all I have come up with so far.

 

 

Any and all ideas will be appreciated as I have never done,or even thought of doing this before.

 

Just remeber....with my lack of carving experience..Van gogh will end up looking like Picasso!

 

 

 

Thinking of having all the scouts sign the sticks too.

 

EDITED TO ADD:

Oh yeah...the hiking sticks are smooth shaft 1 1/4" round X 60" long .(This message has been edited by scoutfish)

[packsaddle]

As you are about to learn, the Dremel doesn't really make it easier. It IS much quicker, however, to permanently inscribe a mistake, LOL. On the other hand, as I have demonstrated empirically on several occasions, you are less likely to push a super sharp cutting tool up underneath your thumbnail. Or into your palm. Or into the upper part of your knee.

I like to carve patterns. And I like to fasten the hiking staff medallions that you can buy at the camp or at the shop. You can get ones that are customized for your particular camp or for different ranks and awards, or you can load the hiking staff with medallions that remind you of favorite trails or parks, etc. I use the carving tools to make insets of these medallions. It looks nicer than just nailing them over the outside.

 

I found a naturally-carved staff out in the Beartooth Mountains several years ago. The top end of a lodgepole pine. Insect larvae had tunneled all over the staff just under the bark and I mean there wasn't a square centimeter that hadn't been patterned by them. But the wood was still solid underneath. Perfect. It is the most spectacular 'stick' I have. So depending on the type of wood, the grain, the placement of the limbs and twigs, or other imperfections, I like to just carve any design that seems to fit. Near the top I try to make a custom fit for my hand to hold the staff. This means actually taking a good walk with it to find the most natural place. Then I make a very fine pattern of grooves to help with the grip. Sometimes I make a circle of quasi-native American designs as a flourish. Those are easier than you might think.

 

However, unless you are a quicker study than I am, if your time is short, faces and such are going to have to wait for another time.

 

My favorite woods: Pacific madrone, sweetgum, some kinds of cherry, sourwood, and maple. The first two are super strong for their light weight. The others have decent grain. Stay away from oak or hickory. They are really strong but they're heavy and hard and the coarse grain is really hard to carve. If you want to get some decent carving tools you can find them in Atlanta at a place called Highland Hardware. They're online as well (highlandwoodworking.com). I could spend hours just browsing that place. Good luck and have fun.

[Eagle92]

Well I'm old school, plus not a wood carver, so I follow the KISS principle. That and I remember the Scout staves I saw at BA22, so I recommend going to KUDU's site and using the diagrams he has to put stuff on it. I got the handout on his site at BA22, all of the staff there had variations of it, and I made a quick and easy 5' version of it when I staffed JLTC. I finally got a staff right after 20+ years, and have been complimented numerous times on it.

 

Basically I put the inch marks up to 18" and then 1' marks.

 

I also put Air to Ground signals and a solar still diagram on it.

 

I put 54' of black paracord around it for emergencies and it doubles as a grip.

 

I put a few hiking shields on it, as well as a Turks' head knot.

 

Did the holes for fishing gear (horizontally into the wood) which are covered by the paracord, an put firebuilding materials (vertically into the stave).

 

I also lashed on a carabiner. Sometimes it does make it awkward to use, but it is useful.

 

I also have the orienteering holes in mine.

 

I haven't tried the scale idea on the sheet yet. Maybe youngest son's stave when the time comes.

 

Edited: I used a wood burning tool for my markings.

 

Other ideas include burning the pack number and his position.

 

Coolest thing I ever saw woodcarved was a OA drumstand. It had the CSP on one side, OA flap carved into it, the OA sashes on the third, and BP's portrait on the fourth.(This message has been edited by Eagle92)

[Kudu]

General Information on Hiking Sticks:

 

http://www.inquiry.net/outdoor/skills/b-p/staff.htm

 

How to Carve Stave Totems:

 

http://www.inquiry.net/outdoor/skills/b-p/stave_totems.htm