[Stickie]

Hi

Thought you might like to see our latest set up for sitckmaking demos (Calleva Stickdressers )

 

[Rodney]

A very nice setup and some great sticks on display. I don't think I've seen anything like it here.

Rodney

 

[Batakali]

Your right Rodney! I wish we had more events here as well. I think people here have come to believe that sticks are just for the old or infirm.

 

[CV3]

Thanks for sharing these pictures Stickie. Wonderful display. They are a talented group!

 

[cobalt]

Pleased to say there are usually stick dressing shows at most county fairs, looks similar set up that our club does

 

[MJC4]

Very talented bunch there. There are a few walking stick makers at the carving shows I have attended, but only a few.

 

[LilysDad]

Very nice! Stickmaking is ingrained in the English culture in a way that it is not over here.

 

[cobalt]

Your right about stick making here ,There a very nice bunch ,well the ones I have met always helpful ,just like the people on this site

we would use the term to dress a stick maybe a bit old. like most of us that do it.

I think that English stick maker would dress a stick which would include a topper and collar.where as American stick makers mainly use the shank spending more time on it as they mainly remove the bark and don't have access to the varieties we have which allows us to leave the bark on

With the most common finish there being the wood spirit

you also tend to put a lot more attention to the finish of the shank. But I don't understand why you don't use rams horn a vast country like that must breed and harvest a lot of sheep

 

[gdenby]

Stickie,

Thanks for the pics. Tho' the finished works all look wonderful, I was more interested in the panels showing stages of work, or variations. My sticks tend to be fairly crooked compared to what you show, which is quite common among the sticks I see around me. I suppose its because stickmaking is a somewhat recent return to an old craft that had pretty much disappeared. Having steamers and straightening jigs are a few steps away.

 

[gdenby]

....

you also tend to put a lot more attention to the finish of the shank. But I don't understand why you don't use rams horn a vast country like that must breed and harvest a lot of sheep

Actually, there probably aren't very many ram's horns in the US. The number of sheep has been declining for over 70 years, and the animals produced are lambs for meat, not adults for wool.

While there are a great many cattle, as far as I know, most have their horns removed early on, so not much supply there either. So horn of all kinds are relatively scarce.

 

[Rodney]

That pretty well sums it up. We can get horn but most of it is imported.

Rodney

 

[Stickie]

I don't agree with Cobalt about finishing shanks, this is still a very important aspect of UK stickmaking poor shank= poor stick

 

[Rodney]

I think the point he was making was more of a style issue than a workmanship issue. From here it seems UK stick makers spend most of their time carving a nice topper and the shank tends to be hazel or another smooth barked species with the bark on. Care is taken not to damage the bark and I believe the shank usually gets oil or a varnish of some sort. The workmanship does show in the care you take fitting your ferrules and toppers to the shank.

USA stick makers tend to favor heavier sticks with the bark removed and the stick itself will range from having no carvings to being carved it's entire length. Carved toppers are a minority and I don't think I've ever seen a single crook or thumbstick in use here.

Rodney

 

[cobalt]

Rodney is correct about the shanks

I agree about finishing is a important part of the making I was just commenting on styles.

one thing about finishing some judges think a ferule must be fitted to a shank for show purposes others don't mind so I suppose that you need to know who's judging the show? to fall in they way of thinking .

If your intending to sell it I can see the case for not fitting one so you can make to size , but unsure if this would fit in with most judges.

design for me is a important part of stick making and prefer to go through the process , and explore other designs, but I still find the experienced stick makers who work with horn extremely good and favour that style myself. there hardly ever use drawing is as thought its perfectly natural to make them without reference material and able to draw the best out of the material they use

I was trained in three dimensional design and just love the process which enables me to try and explore different subject matter probably wouldn't fit in with a traditional stick maker, but variety is the spice of life.

and after all that you still cant beat a well made crook