[MJC4]

I was looking through the various craftsmen's work on the site and I see what appears to be a myriad of different finishes. I was wondering what type of finish most use. I myself use a boiled linseed oil/mineral spirit mix if I like the color of the wood and don't want too much tint. Cherry and Red Oak seem to pop with just the boiled linseed oil and a semi gloss or satin polyurethane. Maple and pine IMO seem to look better with some Minwax stains then the polyurethane. Some of you talk about Tung oil, I have never used it, is it similar to BLO? Do you urethane over it? Mark

 

[MJC4]

How about a wrapping on the grip area of the shaft? Before I started to carve I used to wrap some of the grips with suede leather or jute, I have also seen some with a paracord wrapped handgrip. Although I think a carving or a topper on a walking/hiking stick would be overdone with a wrapping, some might like it and a plain stick with a wrapping IMHO looks pretty sharp. Anyone here do wrappings?

Attached are pics of 2 of my very first sticks. One on left is wrapped with jute one on right wrapped with suede. Suede one is promised to my sister to match one I gave to my niece at Christmas.

Both sticks are stained maple and finished with satin polyurethane.

 

[MJC4]

Good suggestion CV3 and excellent vid CAS. :thumbsu:

I like the look of that French spiral hitching and will try that next time I wrap one. I like a wrap on the handhold of a smaller diameter (1"-1.25") stick. To me it gives the grip area a little more "beef" in your hand

.

The two I have wrapped in the pics are done with a nail knot. The jute wrap is sealed with polyurethane so dampness I don't think will be a problem. The suede leather, well that's a different story. The stick is finished with polyurethane so I don't think moisture is a problem there, but if the leather gets wet I suppose it might shrink and pop loose? Don't know, but as I am giving it to my sister I can't see her hiking in the rain and if she does though, it'll probably ruin the dyed feather I attached to the wrist strap before the grip wrap comes off. Besides if she ruins the stick no more hand crafted gifts from big brother!

 

[MJC4]

I have been using a boiled linseed oil mix (cut about 50/50 with mineral spirits) on most of my sticks. I like the look, its cheap and its readily available at most local hardware's.

Sometimes I'll add a bit of Minwax stain to the mix to get a little different color result. The attached pic is of 2 sticks I'm working on now. Both are silver maple. The one on the left is bark on, sanded to 220 grit and then 4 coats of boiled linseed oil rubbed in with 0000 steel wool. The one on the right is debarked and 4 coats of BLO with a touch of golden oak stain also rubbed in with steel wool. I like to finish my sticks with Satin spar urethane. I like the bit of extra sheen and protection spar urethane provides.

The hand grip: I have left some plain, done some with suede and some with jute. I have also started to experiment with paracord. Great thing about stick making is on the next one you can always try something different!

 

[MJC4]

Good looking piece CAS. I hated it when my doctor retired, its hard to break in a new one.