[Fordj]

Rustic Dave,

Those are very nice sticks. I like the 'double ended' style carbines, specially the half barked/debarked ones. Just grab and go-- That's a utility stick! I do see your hickory walking stick (that I would call a cane) you also made double ended. Very cool stuff.

Up above the Douglas Fir in the Elk and Mountain Lion country of Montana, should be Aspen groves, along with other deciduous woods by the creeks and meadows. Some of those slow growing, high altitude small tree/large shrub woods would probably make a very nice walking stick. That kind of wood is usually incredibly tough, too! Ever fly fish for the little Brookies up there?

 

[Fordj]

Rustic Dave,

Your explanation for the double tips makes perfect sense, along with the half debarking. Awesome function and utility. I do run across branches that are to short for my liking, now I'll take a second look at them, and ask myself, double ended?

When harvesting a branch for what I see as full length stick, there is a second one that is too crooked, or short that I have passed by (sent to the brush pile or burn heap) that I may pay attention to now.

Before I moved to North Dakota, I lived in Utah, and hiked the Uintas a lot. I loved leaning against a tree for 20 minutes by a little beaver pond, until the brookies would finally come out and start feeding again. Amazing how a little 40 foot long pool could host a dozen or so little fish, at nearly 10,000 feet above sea level. Sensitive little devils, too. Any movement from me to bring camera to eye, and they would disappear for another 20 minutes. Never got a photo of one worth looking at.