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DIY Components - Handles, Heads

Page last updated 17th June 2009 - click on "Refresh" or "Reload" to ensure you see the latest information each time you visit.

DIY blanks price list

Please note we have a minimum order value of £5 plus shipping.

For orders under this limit see our "Methods of payment"

If you would like to purchase Stick Man Gift Vouchers please click HERE

Hardwood handle blanks (for horn handles go HERE)
All the wood is fully kiln dried or air dried and the blanks are cut to the right profile and the edges taken off to get you started. Simple tools and a bit of work will soon have your handles ready to fit to a suitable shank. I use a traditional peg and socket joint but some people use threaded rod (studding) that you will find lower down the page.

We stock a variety of wood types but can't guarantee to have what you want every time. If you wish to choose a type you can do so on the order form (additional information) and I'll send the nearest to it if I don't have exactly what you want.

Note: We don't carry much stock in the form of ready cut blanks since we cut most of them to order (to save wasting wood). If you are visiting the shop and want to purchase blanks you would be well advised to order them in advance because we may not have time to cut them when you visit if we are busy. You can order them online here and select the "collect from shop" option as the shipping destination.

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Handle blanks are cut from planks around 1 1/8" thick for you to finish down to fit your shanks

Crook

Market stick

Walker

Hiker

Lyre thumb

Vee thumb

To order more than one of any item simply change the number in the quantity (Qty) box

Hardwood "carving crook" blank with extra wood left on the nose so you can carve a thistle, acorn or maybe an animal on it.

Hardwood "carving crook" blank

Hardwood Knob Handle blank

Carving blanks

Cut from blocks of good quality carving wood - usually Lime, sycamore, poplar or cherry - which are fairly soft and can be cut easily with a sharp knife or woodcarving chisels.

These blanks are cut in profile and then have the square edges taken off to get you started, but you still have to do the bulk of the carving! The necks of the blanks are left around 1 1/8" diameter for you to finish down to the size of the shank

Apart from the fish, all these blanks are for the head only.

We've listed the most common blanks below - with the eye types we think most suited to each blank. If you wish to order different types of eye then use the separate "Glass eyes" section below the blanks.

NOTE: ALL EYES ARE SOLD IN PAIRS!

We get lots of people ordering eyes to fit OUR blanks without ordering the blanks themselves. The eyes listed with the blanks are of sizes to fit those blanks - if you are making your own blanks (or buying them elsewhere - shame on you!) then the sizes we have chosen might not fit them!

For some months we have been selling eyes at BELOW cost price! They are made in Europe and due to the Euro/Pound exchange rate the price to us has gone up considerably. We were hoping that prices would go down again but regrettably we have had to increase our prices. If we can, we will reduce the prices again in the future.

If you need good photographs to help with carvings of birds and animals then take a look in my LINKS page. You can see my own carved sticks using these blanks HERE

Dogs
(and other animals not listed above)
state breed/type or I'll have to guess! £7.00 each

You can also use this box to order any other kind
of animal or bird not listed - just add the breed/type
in the box. If ordering anything unusual, please
discuss it with me first to make sure I can do it!
Remember - blanks are normally for the head only,
not full body.

Qty

Eyes for Dogs
(and other animals not listed )
state breed/type as in the box above £3.20 pair

Qty

Brown with black pupil

Polished aluminium leg crook.

Simply fit a shank in the socket (approx. 23 mm) and fix with one screw through the hole already drilled for it. Makes a simple, cheap, working shepherd's crook for catching sheep by a leg.

Also useful for catching farmed ducks/geese and makes a great fruit-picking stick!

Price: £9.50

Cut-resistant carving glove. Made from Kevlar (used in bullet-proof vests) these gloves give excellent protection from knife blade cuts - but they won't stop you stabbing the point of the knife through or stop repeated cuts in the same place.
I am so confident with these that I regularly demonstrate them to customers by trying to cut through one WITH MY HAND INSIDE!
(I don't recommend this as it will make your knife blunt!)

Cut resistant Kevlar Carving Glove £5.50 each
Only one needed - wear it on the hand that doesn't hold the knife. Made from Kevlar with rubberised dots to aid grip.
Stocked in size 10, which is medium.

Similar to above but without the rubberised dots. Longer wrist for added protection. Stocked in size 10 which is medium.

Leather Carving Glove £5.50 per PAIR.

If you use rotary carving tools ("Dremmel" types) then leather gloves are recommended. Kevlar gloves are very soft and can catch the teeth of rotating carving bits - causing the drive to jam and possibly break! I've broken several heavy duty drive shafts so now only use leather gloves with rotary carvers.

Block of Carving Wood £9 each
Good quality lime* wood in a block approximately
6" x 6" x 2 1/2" (150 x 150 x 65 mm). Enough to get at least two or three dog heads or similar if you have the saw to cut it yourself. The block is also thick enough to split into two pieces and get several crook/walker/ thumb handles.

*If lime is unavailable we may send an alternative - if you ONLY want lime then let us know or check availability.

Plain black eyes were used in this swan

Brown eyes in Mallard Drake

Cock Pheasant - orange and yellow bicolored eyes

Blue eyes in this Siamese cat - other coloured eyes sometimes in stock or can be ordered - enquire!

Glass eyes (sold in pairs)

Best quality glass eyes for use with your carved stick heads. These eyes come in pairs on wire so you can't mix them up! When you're ready to fit them, snip the wire leaving a short length as a pin, which will help to hold them in place while your glue sets. Use epoxy for this - see below!

I stock only the most popular colours and sizes, but others can be ordered if you give me a couple of weeks notice

Plain black: sizes 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9 mm at 85p per pair. These are most suitable for small birds, otters, badgers, horses etc where a coloured iris is not usually visible.

Brown eyes: sizes 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9 mm at £2.35 per pair. Suitable for gamebirds, waterfowl, birds of prey, dogs etc.

Coloured eyes: at present I'm only stocking the orange/yellow bicolored Cock Pheasant eyes (use brown for hen pheasant), yellow (herons and some other birds), amber (fox) and some pale blue eyes which are useful for some cats or other projects you may have. Other colours may be stocked from time to time so you can email me if you wish to discuss this.

Black eyes all £1.20 per pair

Qty Plain black eye 4mm
Qty Plain black eye, pair 5mm
Qty Plain black eye, pair 6mm
Qty Plain black eye, pair 7mm
Qty Plain black eye, pair 8mm
Qty Plain black eye, pair 9 mm

Brown eyes all £3.20 per pair

Qty Brown eye pair 4mm
Qty Brown eye pair 5mm
Qty Brown eye pair 6mm
Qty Brown eye pair 7mm
Qty Brown eye pair 8mm
Qty Brown eye pair 9 mm

Qty Orange (Cock Pheasant) eye pair 8mm
Price £3.70 per pair

Epoxy Adhesive

Similar to "Araldite Rapid" but much cheaper! Equal amounts are supposed to come automatically from each tube as you press, but in use it doesn't always happen. I sometimes separate the two plungers using a small saw and this gives me more accurate measurement and less waste! Five to ten minute working time, full strength achieved in 60 minutes. Setting times are slower in cool conditions.

I use nothing else for fixing heads and handles to shanks! Also good for filling hollows or cracks in horn handles - it is almost colourless, unlike some other epoxies that are cream coloured.

Perfect for fixing glass eyes in heads and many other uses.

Price £1.50 per pack or
£13.50 for 12 packs (ONLINE OFFER).

Epoxy Adhesive £1.50

Qty

Epoxy putty

Two-part epoxy - similar to adhesive in that you mix equal amounts of adhesive and hardener. Use for fixing in glass eyes - you can sculpt eyelids around them with this too, see those on the duck and cat (above)! Also good for repairing breaks, filling gaps or for creating horns, ears, teeth etc on carvings. Colour when set is greenish grey so will probably need painting to hide it.
Also useful for fitting collars if they are a bit loose - putty won't run out like normal epoxy resin can! Setting time around two to three hours.

Price: £2.95 each

12 Acrylic Paint Starter pack £8.50

Set of 12 tubes of paint to get you started. I use acrylics on my carved sticks as they can be mixed easily to create more colours and shades and dry in minutes, rather than the hours oil paints usually take.

18 Acrylic Paint Starter pack £7.50

Set of 18 small pots of paint with a free brush to get you started.

Vinyl glove £1.25 per pack of 10
Clear vinyl gloves to keep hands clean when using adhesive, oil, paint, varnish etc. Unlike latex, these gloves are strong enough to be used several times and do not dissolve if used with solvents like meths or white spirit.

Studding

Galvanised steel threaded rod, 8mm diameter and approx 120mm long. Used for joining handle/heads to shanks - drill 8 mm hole in each and glue in place. We, like many stickmakers, prefer the traditional method of cutting a 'peg' on top of the stick and gluing it into a 'socket' in the handle/head - but if you want studding, here it is!

55p each

Abrasive tape. Much longer lasting than sandpaper, used for smoothing shanks, handles, horns and carvings. Sold in a mixed pack or by the metre

MIXED PACK Three pieces in each pack - approx. 30cm (12") X 2.5cm (1") each - one in each of three grades (coarse, medium and fine).

COARSE tape (80 grit) sold per metre

MEDIUM tape (120 grit) sold per metre

FINE tape (320 grit) sold per metre

STEEL WOOL 0000 grade, VERY FINE. small pack, approx 30 cm roll in pack. Used for cleaning up wood, horn and antler prior to finishing or polishing.

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Stick Kit - Crook

Contains 1 straightened shank, 1 hardwood crook blank attached to the shank and 1 brass ferrule.
Price £25.00

Click HERE for other kits

SHIPPING SHANKS: PLEASE NOTE THAT DUE TO THE LENGTH OF SHANKS WE CAN NOT SEND THEM INTERNATIONALLY AS "SMALL PACKAGES" AND KITS MAY INCUR A SURCHARGE OF UP TO £12 ABOVE THAT QUOTED ON YOUR ORDER

For more stick kits go HERE

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