[dww2]

Welcome aboard, Jerry. The subject of fighting sticks comes up every now and then. Try using the "search community" button at the top of the page for some past discussions.

 

[dww2]

Some interesting sticks there, Jerry. I might be able to get my hands on a nice bit of hornbeam come spring; ground is frozen right now so the root knob would be hard to get. It's a small tree growing at the back end of my horse pasture. At a guess, I'd say it was 10-15 feet tall, maybe 3" in diameter at the base, but those are really wild guesses.
Got literally tons of oak, as well, if you want to go that direction. I don't usually use it for sticks because of the weight and I seem to be allergic to the sawdust from it.

 

[dww2]

I sent you a private conversation.

 

[dww2]

Jim, that twisted knob stick is COOL!

 

[dww2]

I usually harvest them with just my folding saw. I probe around the sapling with the blade and try to cut the roots about 6-8 inches from the base. The topsoil is really thin here, so no need for a shovel. Sometimes I'll pull or push the tree side to side a bit to see where the roots are by where the moss lifts up, then cut them.

 

[dww2]

Those roots produce some really interesting wood sometimes.

They do indeed. A couple of my favorites.

Became

turned into

became

Got the wrong pic on the last set the first time but I found the right one.