The Stick Man

 

MAIN INDEX
SHANKS Stick press, screw joints, wrist straps, wood oil, epoxy, compasses, leather lace etc.
FERRULES AND COLLARS Metal, rubber and spike ferrules, metal & horn collars, horn spacers etc.
HANDLE AND CARVING BLANKS Pre shaped in hardwood, glass eyes, epoxy, studding, starter kits etc.
HORNS   Horns & antlers, pre shaped handles, caps, spacers, bending jigs etc.
STICK KITS Complete kits with everything you need in one easy-to-order package!
TOOLS Carving knives, chisels, sanding sealer, wood oil etc
SPECIAL OFFERS Discounted prices on selected items NEW!

STICKMAKING FORUM Join in with our new forum - ask questions, get answers!

DIY Shanks

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

For orders under this limit see our "Methods of payment" on the Terms page

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

DIY shanks information and price list

ALL PRICES ARE IN UK POUNDS

Page last updated October 2011 - click on "Refresh" or "Reload" to ensure you see the latest information each time you visit.

Read about it

Please note - small packages will normally be sent by Royal Mail and larger ones by courier.

SPECIAL OFFERS Discounted prices on selected items NEW!

Picture shows typical "Seasoned only" hazel, Straightened hazel and Turned Ash

SHANKS

Please note - if you are ordering shanks and other items that you wish to match (such as ferrules, collars etc.) please tell us on your order form (use the Additional order information box) or email us and we will do our best to send matching sizes. If you order incompatible sizes we can correct them and alter prices before payment is taken on a card - but ONLY IF YOU TELL US YOU WANT THINGS TO MATCH. It may seem obvious to you that they are to match but often customers buy items for existing projects and a shank or two for later work. We can not read minds, though sometimes it would be useful!

It would also be advisable for you to tell us any specific requirements regarding shank thickness, colour etc as we have quite a selection from which to choose.

As soon as you order anything your order form has a box for "Additional order information" where you can leave requests.

Most of the shanks we sell are "Seasoned-only" and have been air dried, typically for anything between 10 months and two years or occasionally kiln-dried. (See lower down for Seasoned and straightened shanks). Moisture content with air dried sticks varies but will normally be between 15 and 20% when measured with a digital moisture meter. Some further drying is likely if you take the sticks indoors, especially to very warm, dry conditions.

These sticks are not very bent or crooked - but will still require straightening if you like straight sticks (see the STICK PRESS below). I won't send you anything that can't be straightened if you use my methods - I keep the really awkward ones to do myself! Diameter at the top is typically around 7/8" (22 mm) to 1 1/8" (28 mm). Most shanks taper from top to bottom and some have lots of knots - others very few or none at all. All have the bark left on, unless stated. I cut nearly all these sticks myself but predicting demand a couple of years in advance - so they have time to season - is difficult and there are times when I run out of some of them.

Although we nearly always have hazel, we sold out of some of the other "seasoned only" sticks. We tried a few two years ago to see if they would be popular - wow, were they popular! We cut a lot more the following winter and they sold out too! Those cut last winter are not yet available as "seasoned" sticks so we had a few kiln-dried - most of those have sold already!

SHIPPING SHANKS: PLEASE NOTE THAT DUE TO THE LENGTH OF SHANKS WE CAN NOT SEND THEM OUTSIDE THE UK AS "SMALL PACKAGES" AND THEY MAY INCUR A SURCHARGE ABOVE THAT SHOWN ON YOUR ORDER (this only applies if you are outside the UK).

SEASONED ONLY HAZEL

The most popular material for stick shanks in the UK and we try to keep it in stock. Bark colour varies from pale, silvery-grey to very dark brown, mottling and striping often shown. Some hazel is very knotty, some has hardly any knots at all. If you have very specific requirements please contact us before ordering.

42", 48" or 54" long - Click on the boxes (below left) to change your selection

Qty

Hazel Standard Grade, 7/8th inch to 1 1/8th inch (22 mm to 28 mm) at thickest end.

Qty

Hazel Lightweight Grade less than 7/8th inch (22 mm) at thickest end.

Qty

Hazel Heavy Grade more than 1 1/8th inch (28 mm) at thickest end.

Other stick varieties - Seasoned only

Less common varieties, standard grade. We do sometimes have them in light/heavyweight

ASH                                             SYCAMORE

 

BIRCH                                                  ELDER

 

ROWAN

Click on selection box to choose other varieties.

Qty

I'm sorry - all of our less common varieties are now out of stock for the present time. Heavy snow last winter prevented me from cutting the sticks I needed!

ASH Bark normally grey, sometimes with a green tint which slowly fades. Lightly sand or scrape the top layer to reveal a lovely olive-brown under-bark.

Often very knotty bark - sand down or leave standing slightly proud. Ash takes stain very well and can look quite striking when stained dark brown. Wood under the bark is almost white OUT OF STOCK

SYCAMORE Reddish brown bark, often quite knotty. Quite a lightweight wood. Pale yellow when stripped of the bark. OUT OF STOCK

BIRCH Quite knotty wood with bark from silvery white through reddish brown to almost black. Inner wood is often pale orange. A strong wood, birch can be reminiscent of knotty blackthorn and many people have been convinced that it really was! More difficult to straighten than some woods, but worth the effort! OUT OF STOCK

ELDER This has a rough, corky bark that needs sanding or scraping off. The wood underneath is a rich creamy yellow. Young wood on Elder bushes is very soft and pithy but as it matures it hardens and only a narrow core of pith remains. Most Elder grows straight to begin with then curves down toward the ground - these sticks are nearly all slightly bowed because of this. OUT OF STOCK

ROWAN Also known as Mountain Ash. Bark is dark grey, often quite wrinkled when dry. Wood under the bark often very pale yellow and can look quite striking when peeled and oiled. OUT OF STOCK !

BLACKTHORN Very hard wood with deep reddish brown or purple bark - often very knotty. I only cut a few of these each year so stock soon runs out. ONLY A FEW IN STOCK! SOLD OUT, SORRY!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Qty

BUDGET PACKS

 

Limited number available.

BUDGET PACK OF 10 (SEASONED-ONLY) HAZEL STICKS just £36

These are bundled in tens in the woods so are unsorted for length or thickness, however most are 48" to 56" as that is what we usually cut.
These are BUDGET sticks so you must expect them to be a bit more variable than our graded sticks. They will be more irregular (characterful) than standard sticks because we have not graded them!
Please DO NOT order these if you require specific sizes and dimensions!

Pack of TEN BUDGET HAZEL shanks - seasoned only. £36
Assorted thickness and in varying lengths between 42" and 60"

Qty (Max 2 per order)

BUDGET PACK OF 10 MIXED VARIETY (SEASONED-ONLY) STICKS just £36
At least three different kinds of stick in each pack (all labelled so you know what they are) - mostly from the list above but sometimes others I cut occasionally - maybe holly, hawthorn, apple, cherry etc. You may be lucky and get a "twisty" stick (caused by honeysuckle) in your pack but we can not guarantee this.
(Internet order only)

Budget Pack of TEN MIXED VARIETY shanks - seasoned only. £36
Assorted thickness in lengths between 42" and 60"

Qty (Max 2 per order)

 

  

 

STRAIGHTENED STICKS

HAZEL seasoned and straightened. We never have large stocks of ready straightened Hazel and tend to straighten them as they are required. These are straightened by us using our own STICK PRESS (see below).

Three basic grades are available - Standard is the most commonly requested and will suit most types of stick.

Heavyweight is popular for Wading sticks and general hiking sticks - or where you require a substantial, strong stick for any other purpose.

Lightweight is suitable for fine, decorative sticks that don't get a lot of hard use - or for lightweight sticks for smaller ladies or children. We don't cut a lot of these but usually have a few.

Click on the boxes below to make your selection.

 

Qty

STANDARD HAZEL
22 mm to 28 mm (7/8" to 1 1/8")
at thickest end

52" - 54" £10.70

Qty

HEAVYWEIGHT HAZEL
29 mm or over (1 1/8" to around 1 1/2")
at thickest end

52" - 54" £10.50

Qty

LIGHTWEIGHT HAZEL
21 mm or under (3/4")
at thickest end

52" - 54" £8.50


Chestnut shanks, seasoned and straightened - with bark on.

Chestnut seasoned and straightened.
Prominent knots and very dark bark colour - deep brown to black - very similar look to Blackthorn (it has fooled many people!). Most shanks taper from top to bottom.

Standard grade typically 7/8" (22 mm) to 1 1/8" (28 mm) at the thicker (tapering down to the thinner end) end but occasionally outside these limits.
Length 52" to 54" £8.00 EACH

Pack of 3 for £22.50

Premium grade more regular shape and size with good bark colour and condition. We don't have many of these and there are time when we only have the standard grade.
Length 52" to 54" £9.50 EACH
Pack of 3 for £26.50

Heavy grade typically 1 1/8" (29 mm) to 1 1/2" (36 mm) at the thicker end.
Length 52" to 54" £8.00 EACH

Pack of 3 for £22.50

If you have very specific requirements please contact us before ordering.

<- click on blue box for Premium or heavy grade

Qty

Qty

 

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

Peeled Chestnut     Fumed Chestnut

  Stained Chestnut

Stained Ash

NEW shanks: Like the Chestnut with bark on that we have been selling for several years, these new shanks come from managed woodlands in continental Europe.

The Peeled Chestnut, Fumed Chestnut and Stained Chestnut are the same species as our normal Chestnut but have had the bark peeled off to reveal the wood underneath. The plain peeled ones take stain or paint readily or can be carved or pyrographed.

The Fumed Chestnut has been subjected to ammonia fumes to give a rich mahogany colouration. The Stained ones are coloured using woodstain and are a little darker than the Fumed ones.

The Ash shanks have bark on and are either natural grey/green or stained dark brown.

All the above are around 52" to 54" long.

Qty

Please click on the selection box (left) to choose the shank type.

SEE SPECIAL OFFERS PAGE ALSO!

CLICK HERE

Budget Bundle: Mixture of Five straightened shanks from the varieties above - no guarantees of what will be included as it depends on the stock at the time you order. Price £42

5 shanks

Qty

TURNED SHANKS

Turned Ash tapered on a lathe from 1 inch (25 mm) down to around 5/8 inch (16 mm)
36" (90 cm) long at £6.50 each. Will need sanding for smooth finish. Takes stain well.

Qty

Turned Beech tapered on a lathe from 7/8 inch (23 mm) down to 3/4 inch (20 mm)
36" (90 cm) long at £6.50 each. Sanded to smoother finish than ash.

Qty

Stick Press with a stick in a vice

Below: Very bent stick before and after straightening with the press. It took me less than 10 minutes to straighten this 54 inch blackthorn stick!

Stick Press

Used for straightening seasoned sticks - will fit most woodworking vices (vice NOT included with press). Full instructions supplied - the way I straighten my own shanks.
Save yourself a load of money by straightening your own sticks!

£4.35

Amazingly we have sold over 500 of these!

We make these ourselves and are selling several every week - there must be lots of you who wanted to straighten sticks but didn't know how to!

We're also selling far more 'seasoned only' sticks than before so the stick presses obviously work for you!

The two pictures on the left show just what can be done when you have the right tool!

 

 

 

 

 

Qty

Two brass parts and threaded steel insert. Use 1/2" or 13 mm drill for holes in stick and use epoxy (below) to glue into holes. I've recently started using the epoxy putty because it holds the joints in place better than the liquid epoxy so you get more chance to get everything lined up before the glue runs out of the holes or sets hard too quickly!

I find the steel rod supplied is often longer than required so use epoxy to glue one end into the internal thread then cut the exposed part in half. You can also cut the brass part shorter if required.

 

I use strong Saddler's thread to whip behind the brass to strengthen the stick and prevent it from splitting around the joint.

Soak the whipping thread in epoxy or superglue to form a solid band. Smooth with steel wool and varnish or oil with the rest of the stick

 

Screw-joints Brass, as in pool-cues, to make a collapsible stick. 25 mm diameter flanges (file down easily to smaller sizes). Essential if you are taking your stick on an aeroplane!

 

 

£4.50 per joint or £3.50 each for 4 or more (ONLINE OFFER)

These have steel rods fitting into brass threads and are much stronger than the old all-brass ones!

 

Brass screw joint £4.50

Qty

If you want me to fit a joint for you in one or more shanks you are ordering then use the box below. The price INCLUDES the cost of the joint.

Supply and FIT Brass screw joint in a shank £15.00

Qty

Epoxy putty

Two-part epoxy - mix equal amounts of adhesive and hardener together to start the setting reaction. The mixture sets slowly, starting off quite soft like Plasticine and slowly getting harder. In effect you have an hour or so before the mixture gets too stiff to work and it's pretty hard after three hours and can be handled after that.

Epoxy putty £3.00

Qty

Epoxy liquid 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 £1.60 per pack

Epoxy Adhesive £1.60

Qty

£14.95 for 12 packs

12 packs of Epoxy Adhesive £14.95

Qty

Wrist straps nylon with elastic loop, fits most sticks. £2.50 each

Black or brown available - if we are out of stock of your chosen colour we will send the other.

Black

Brown Nylon wrist strap £2.50

Qty

The oil finish I use on nearly all my sticks:

Ronseal " Furniture Oil", made for protecting outdoor garden furniture but it's great on sticks - I use it all the time! More flexible than varnish so less likely to crack or flake. I've never known it set in the tin or even skin over like so many varnishes do, so it's really economical! Use it on bare wood for a matt or satin finish. Use sanding sealer first (rubbed down with fine abrasive) to get a more gloss finish.

Price £7.50 for 500mls tin.

Ronseal oil 500mls £7.50

Qty

Read about it

 

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

Discount for 10 packs or more

Vinyl Gloves £1.25 pack of 10

Qty

Wading staff conversion kit. All the bits you need to convert your own stick into a Wading Staff. Kit includes lead sheet, shrink tube, nylon cord, clips, pins, brass screw and heavy duty rubber ferrule (23 mm).
Instruction sheet for fitting the kit included.

To see my wading stick click HERE

Wading Staff Conversion Kit £14.00

Qty

Amazing stuff! 38 mm shrinks to 19 mm when heat is applied (I use a paint-stripper gun). Just slide it onto the stick and apply heat. Forms a tight plastic cover. Can be used on metal, too. Stops soft wood and cane from fraying. Makes metal "warmer" to the touch.

Shrink tube 38 mm (1 1/2") diameter, for wading staffs and many other uses. Black, in cut lengths of 20 cm (8")



Black
Shrink tube 38 mm £2.00 per 20 cm length

20 cm


Small compass - diameter around 3/4 of an inch (20 mm). Fit into handle of hiking stick or glue one of these to a piece of polished wood or horn and fit a leather loop to make a simple gift for a walker.

Note: The small air bubble inside the compass should float above the dial. During shipping the bubble may become trapped below it and stop the dial rotating - try tapping the compass on its edge on a hard surface to dislodge the bubble then place upright and allow to settle. Close proximity of any iron/steel may affect the correct functioning of the compass so DO NOT fix steel studding near it!

£2.10 each or Discount pack of 5 for £9.10

Small compass £2.10

Qty

DISCOUNT PACK of 5 Small compasses £9.10

Pck

Leather lace

Dark brown, for wrist loops, whistle lanyards, boot laces etc. Sold by the metre.
The lace is approx. 3x3mm square in cross-section but can be rounded out and softened by pulling through abrasive paper or tape.


Leather lace £1.75 per metre

Metres


Leather lace 25m roll £25

Qty

Nylon Cord

White, heavy duty, for making wading staff lanyards. wrist loops etc. Sold by the metre.

Nylon Cord £0.80 per metre

Metres

For abrasives look on the TOOLS page

Email

See question and answer page about making your own sticks

Index page

DISCOUNT CODE

Extras

Convert to your currency