[mehig]

Has anyone ever pruned for a ball end shank? I cut the upper part last winter and this the new growth. I'll be curious to see what it will look like in 4-5 years.

 

[Batakali]

Interesting idea. I saw something similar once. A man bent and staked down a sapling then pruned off all the underside branches. In a few years it had grown with six branches coming straight up from the main. All he had to do was cut the branches off and make some knob sticks!

 

[gdenby]

I'm pretty sure in a few years you'll have the makings of a thumb stick. Consider sealing the pruned end so bugs and mold don't get in. I've only done a little pruning, but you might also want to lop the ends of the new growth at the end of each growing season, leaving just a few new buds, so the 2 new branches get thicker, instead of growing long and spindly.