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What is the best wood for a hiking staff?

What is the best wood for a hiking staff?

What is the best wood for a hiking staff?

(OP)
What is the best wood for a hiking staff?

Strongest, toughest, prettiest, most comfortable, etc. If you were going to build a hiking staff, what would you use? Weight is somewhat of an issue. Ability to hold up while beating down brush and blackberries is also an issue. It would be nice if it would take fittings for bear bells, etc.

Thanks,

Tom

Thomas J. Walz
Carbide Processors, Inc.
www.carbideprocessors.com

Good engineering starts with a Grainger Catalog.

RE: What is the best wood for a hiking staff?

Aluminum?

RE: What is the best wood for a hiking staff?

Ash - they make baseball bats from that.

Other than that - who cares?? Find something that fits your needs and go with it. I would stay away from the pines - they seem to warp and wane too much. Some kind of hardwood makes sense to me

RE: What is the best wood for a hiking staff?

The cheapest wood you can find with a sg equal to or greater than 0.5.

Garth Dreger PE - AZ Phoenix area
As EOR's we should take the responsibility to design our structures to support the components we allow in our design per that industry standards.

RE: What is the best wood for a hiking staff?

Hickory is a good choice, or (white) ash, or maple. I like to wipe down with thinned linseed oil. Let it cure a few days after that. Might need a couple of applications for any end-grain (ends, knots.)

RE: What is the best wood for a hiking staff?

And, the little boy tree asked the daddy tree... who was my mother?
The daddy tree said... your mother was a fine piece of ash. smile

RE: What is the best wood for a hiking staff?

When I was in Scouts, my staff was Chestnut... strong, hard, and light. You may have difficulty in finding same.

Dik

RE: What is the best wood for a hiking staff?

at least he didn't recommend Ironwood!

Dik

RE: What is the best wood for a hiking staff?

Actually, Australian Ironbark makes an excellent staff, albeit a bit heavy.

RE: What is the best wood for a hiking staff?

sorry... I was a bit snarky.

It seems that you'd need the lightest weight hardwood that you can find. Most of the wood books I have don't include a lot of the hardwood varieties to check on that but an online search for hardwoods might turn up something.

Alternatively you could paint nice brown wood grain on the aluminum.

RE: What is the best wood for a hiking staff?

ornery... I wish I could send you two stars...

Dik

RE: What is the best wood for a hiking staff?

Balsa is also soft, unless you wrap it with FRP.

Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

RE: What is the best wood for a hiking staff?

The heartwood is harder, and is often used for carved signs... but it's still soft... Maybe clad it with JAE's aluminum and paint wood grain...

Dik

RE: What is the best wood for a hiking staff?

Balsa is much lighter so the staff carrying the staff will not get overstressed. Cannot say the same for the staff carried when used in the vertical mode though.

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering
http://mmcengineering.tripod.com

RE: What is the best wood for a hiking staff?

Diamond willow looks like a nice structural shape :)

RE: What is the best wood for a hiking staff?

Remember the old boy scout adage:

Carry of a stick of spruce and the snakes will vamoose.
Carry of a stick of birch and the snakes will lurk.

RE: What is the best wood for a hiking staff?

Never heard the expression.

RE: What is the best wood for a hiking staff?

Never heard of it either. Although I would probably go for birch if it worked. I like snakes.

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