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Hand Carved Maple Walking/Hiking Sticks
My desire is to make my hand carved maple walking sticks not only functional but also appealing, something the owner will be proud of and like to show off.
I try to select wood pieces that are straight and if possible have a neat knob at the end.
Maple has a tendency to warp as it dries so I clamp the raw sticks to a board for up to a year before hand carving.
How I dry my Maple walking sticks.
I round the end of each piece for comfort and looks, then drill a hole for the wrist strap.
I also ream the wrist strap hole to give it a finished appearance. The patterns are delicately hand carved into the different layers of bark. This is only done after the stick has sufficiently dried. This is a very time consuming process but the results are worth it.
The wood pieces are hand sanded down to a 320 grit (very, very fine) sandpaper and finished with a minimum of four coats of clear varathane. I polish between coats with steel wool to remove all burs.
If a customer is purchasing one of my hand carved maple walking sticks and finds it too long I will shorten it as required. I do not charge for this. Included with each walking stick is a rubber tip and wrist strap installed before shipping. If a customer prefers to cut the stick to length (at home) I will ship the rubber tip loose with the walking stick.
Many of my customers have complimented my hand carved maple walking/hiking sticks. If you would like to read some of their comments please click on the "Testimonials", just above this article. |
