Walking Stick Forum banner

Medallions

16K views 19 replies 10 participants last post by  RATTY 
#1 ·
Traditional alpenstocks would sport small medallions from all of the famous peaks conquered by the hiker. Nowadays they still make said medallions and some are ok, and some are pretty hideous. I picked up a nice one in Glacier National Park this summer, but the ones at Yellowstone were pretty garish and the moose all looked constipated. (which never happens in the wild, believe me)

So, I was wondering a couple of things.

Does anyone know of a good source of medallions?

And

Anyone ever try to embed a medallion in the side of the stick, or is that just overkill and I should stay with just nailing it to the surface?

Once I decide on which stick I want to decorate, I'd like to get a few more medallions for places I've been but didn't get one there at the time.

Oh, and a side note, the Loblolly pine stick I cut down last year and stored in my attic to dry is starting to work quite nicely. I think I just discovered a local source of sticks that is pretty much limitless. I'm currently finishing a cypress shelaliegh (shape only, it's very light and not very hard, but will look quite nice) and once I finish I'll get back to the pine stick and post pictures and what I've learned.
 
See less See more
#3 · (Edited by Moderator)
For all my military units, I had the lapel pins. For the shield shaped pins and round pins, I used a Forstner bit for the recessed area. For the rectangular pins I used a woodcarver's chisel.

I discovered that the pin on the back side is rarely centered on the device. So, I typically press that into the wood where I want it to go, drill a small diameter hole there, insert the pin so that the device is flush with the wood, outline it in pencil, and then use that outline to center the forstner bit or the chiseled out area. Once the depression is made, you still have the hole you drilled in which to insert the device after applying glue.

I've used two-part structural epoxy. You can tint that, but you have to experiment because if you add too much tint the surface will be dulled. It's easier to use it without tinting.

My Alpenstock is problematic. I have pins enroute from all my favorite geological and scientific organizations. However the stick diameter is small. I don't want a pin to protrude from the stick. The stick surface is rounded and the pins are flat. To embed the pins in a small diameter stick can be problematic. I may make a second Alpenstock with just a hickory sledge hammer handle, which is a bit larger diameter than my natural honey locust stick, now awaiting the 16 ga. copper wire wraps to mark one-foot intervals for measuring outcrops.

This is what makes it fun, in addition to generating comments when out on the trails or outcrops.

Marine pins:

Wood Brick Brickwork Line Wall


Silicified copper ore from an old Spanish mine south of Taos - from a family vacation some 25 or 30 years ago, embedded in my daughter's walking stick:

Wood Natural material Trunk Tree Wood stain
 

Attachments

#8 ·
Hi everyone,

I'm just joined this site because I was looking for some information on hiking stick medallions. I have two boys in scouts and I'm currently vacationing in Acadia National Park with the family and saw a couple of these medallions and thought it would be a nice thing for them to collect. While surfing for a stick online I saw an add for cold steels sticks. Liked the looks of the Dragon and Blackstone sticks. Do any of you think that I could add these medallions into the stick?
 
#12 · (Edited by Moderator)
I've begun collecting copper (they're no longer 100% copper in the USA) pennies that have been empressed with local place names and/or logos. Here are four from a recent trip to northern California. Typically, the machines are located in or just outside tourist shops, and require two quarters and the penny to be empressed.

The coins are now somewhat elliptical but assymetric. The long dimension is slightly more than an inch, so a single forstner bit would be too large for embedding. I'm thinking about using three forstner bits to drill shallow holes matched to the center and to each end, after tracing the coin outlines. A chisel will connect the three holes.

For coins that should be oriented with the long axis perpendicular to the stick axis, I'll bend them around a pipe of a similar diameter as the stick.

Adhesive? Perhaps JB Weld, although care is required to avoid staining visible wood. Brown Amber Coin Money handling Wood
 

Attachments

#13 ·
Theres a huge range of medallions available, over here there mainly available from seaside resorts and national parks , but most towns have one on there own

I have carved rams horn horoscope signs for people and people initials but never fitted a medallion ,which are popular with a lot of people who use walking sticks , but haven't seem them on hiking poles .
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top