Old Man Walking Stick

An old man cane for an old man
Following on from my woodspirits I got enthralled with stickmaking. Well, you can't keep a good wood spirit down, and this one decided he wanted to be carved onto the face of a Cardigan-style walking stick/cane I was making. I don't know why he's so grumpy since I did just what he wanted and carved him there!

This was made with an Oak head, Lime spacer, Hazel shank/stick and a brass ferrule on the bottom. The head is joined to the shaft using the old peg-and-socket method, not the modern metal rods. To do this you drill a hole up into the head and through the spacer (if you use one) and carve the top of the shank down to a peg that fits the hole. This way its just wood in there, no metal bits that don't flex with the wood, and it's a lot more secure when done right. The handle is epoxied onto the shank and the whole lot finished with raw linseed oil.