Another way to preserve the wood if you don't have access to linseed oil is to blacken the surface wood and then use a metal brush to take off the excess char so your hands don't stain. This is a historical Japanese method called Yakisugi. The fire hardens the wood, and the char coating acts like a fire retardant and minimizes rot by repelling insects and water. I like doing this method because it's free, it's simple and easy, and it lasts plenty long enough for a staff. If desired, you can also add linseed oil to further preserve the wood.

@jamesmayou1361

11 ай бұрын

Im three years late but on the off chance that you get this reply, how would you recommend charring a staff? All the yakisugi resources on line refer to wooden planks for housing, and prescribe a certain way to stack them over a fire, but for a single pole I’m a little lost. Is it as simple as putting it in a fire or is it more involved?

@xGSFxGoat

11 ай бұрын

@@jamesmayou1361 A propane or butane torch works well for smaller items because it gives you good control and consistency over how deep you want to burn the wood. I generally aim to convert the first 1/16" to 3/32" of outer wood to charcoal, then brush off whatever will fall off. That way you have a thick enough layer to protect the wood underneath, but you also don't take off too much wood and weaken what you're trying to protect.

@poostring94

11 ай бұрын

​@jamesmayou1361 maybe you could try a butane torch of some kind. I seen a video of a guy doing it to preserve tables and other furniture he was making.

@deavyhick6803

9 ай бұрын

​@jamesmayou1361 I used the burner from my camp stove. I've seen youtubers used a camp fire to harden the ends of wood.

@rickyshultz2051

6 ай бұрын

If I don’t build a crazy staff , I at least fire hardened the tip , it’s pretty easy , your sitting at a fire anyway poke the fire around with it get it burning, rid it on the fire ring rock let it cool and repeat , it will make the tip pretty durable.

The caves you fear to enter, hold the treasures you seek!

@FandabiDozi

4 жыл бұрын

exactly!

@hmdragon1638

4 жыл бұрын

terrible advise lest you hire an adventure to take care of any bears.

@MandalorianSuperCommando

3 жыл бұрын

@@hmdragon1638 I see your point. Would you go into a place you feared unprepared though?

@marcopohl4875

2 ай бұрын

@@hmdragon1638 So, who's the adventurer in the analogy? A therapist?

The thing about the original viral walking staff video was, for me at least, that you noticed something as you said "primitive" about us humans - like an instinct that makes us notice and want straight, slim and rugged sticks that we could have used as weapons in ancestral time. Once I heard you say that I was hooked! Also, great speaking skills, it makes you easy to listen to, and interesting. I hope this help you some, love your content.

I love my staff. I've been carving the faces of beardy wise old men all the way down and it looks like something you'd do a ritual with :D

@FandabiDozi

4 жыл бұрын

amazing!!

@n-signia1087

3 жыл бұрын

I don’t CARVE much but I do a lot of woodburning designs into tomahawk handles and things like that with an old soldering iron.

@nelly5954

3 жыл бұрын

If you're new to whittling, I thoroughly recommend the beardy old wise man. It takes ten minutes to learn, ten minutes to make your first one, and 5 once you get good at it.

@ianwhittington1276

2 жыл бұрын

@@FandabiDozi any tips for beginners? I am staining some Osage tree wood (very very strong) that I've made look nice. What steps should I take?

@OldNavajoTricks

2 жыл бұрын

One eye patched or 'scarred over' would make it Ođin...

I love this channel and the history aspect! Hopefully the youtube algorithm gods pick you and this blows up!

@FandabiDozi

4 жыл бұрын

You think the algorithm gods would be pleased with a sacrifice? Fetch me a goat!! haha

Hah I just found a perfect stick im going to turn into a staff that was beside a river after a s flood. Great timing for a post lol. This is great dude!

@FandabiDozi

4 жыл бұрын

Fantastic! It was the universe aligning to make the perfect stick!

For the crack on the top, just soak the whole tip in thin super glue. Will keep it together no prob. Oak is notorious for getting shakes or cracks, or whats called feathering, where the grain starts to lift up like the ends of feathers

@radicalgreek99

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah also dipping in epoxy resin and then sanding it when it's done.

My grandchildren and great grandchildren call my staff the. Stick O Magic. It was given to me by a good friend over 20 years ago. Nave a great day and a better tomorrow.

I wanted to thank you for inspiring me and my son to get out on the trail! Ever since watching your videos, my son has harvested a young tree from our backyard (a volunteer maple that needed out of our fenced edge), stripped and carved it, and is practicing his own moves in the backyard and forest. It’s great to see him discovering himself, and I am excited to have a hiking and camping companion. Thank you for all your wonderful content

You know, I could listen to this guy talking about his staff/staves all day long, and the passion for them. More, more, more!! :D I love making my own, and you've been a great inspiration in the manner! So thank you, YET again! :D

@FandabiDozi

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks mate! I am always surprised people like the staff videos, but i like making them so its good to know :)

When you come to the US, make sure you stop into central Texas, we'd love to host you, Fandabi!

That spike is a good idea. Might have to make one. I put some racks to mark depth on one side up to two feet so I dont go over my boots.

@shawnhowe7311

4 жыл бұрын

Smart 24"

Add charcoal powder to your linseed oil and watch it age 10 years in seconds

@FandabiDozi

4 жыл бұрын

Interesting. I thought about staining it will a solution of iron nails soaked in vinegar, but decided to keep it natural in the end.

Great for nordic walks on uneasy landscape.👍

@ordyhorizonrivieredunord712

4 жыл бұрын

👍

While i was touring NZ, i found a piece of driftwood on the beach. I cleaned it up and put it in the van. When the time came to leave NZ, my girlfriend expected me to leave it behind.....no chance.....It went with me to Tonga...Samoa....America and finally back to the UK. 14 years has passed since then, although i no longer have the girlfriend....i still have that piece of driftwood.....it has made a fine walking staff and many a mile we have travelled.

It's been years but I remember using a product called "norot" that turns wood to rock.

Thanks for the tip about beeswax, I’ll do that on my re-enactment spear!

In the US we have Harbor Freight stores... their store brand super glue is very good! & great price!

@trollmcclure1884

2 жыл бұрын

superglue cracks, peels off, turns into dust. Two part epoxy resin should be better. You can work it with a chisel, sand it. I found mine to be made of the infamous toxic bisphenol A tho. So I'm looking for some non-toxic, more natural variety

Hell wished you lived closer, i love survival and staff martial arts be fine to hang out, just distance in the way, keep it up friend and keep bringing the nice content for us

@shawnhowe7311

4 жыл бұрын

Well put

The Celtic design looks great. Another good exterior-use wood finish is a linseed & tung oil mix cut with mineral spirits.

You really have good timing, I just got into the quarterstaff, which is kind of a niche subject and here you are uploading an entire series about staffs. These videos are so useful bro, keep it up

Never expected the modern highlander to be reading thinkers like Carl Jung, actually very impressed lol.

Hello Tom, try Danish oil. It penetrates and protects wood while keeping it durable. People in the slingshot community use it on natural forks.

@FandabiDozi

4 жыл бұрын

Cool, I will try in the future :)

@markkieran1004

4 жыл бұрын

Or walnut oil. You can use what's left in a salad dressing

I've only just discovered your channel and I did subscribe. My husband and I both love your fascinating video's. Thank you for taking us for a walk back in our ancestral history. Much respect from Canada.

I've watched 5 of your videos in a row all the way through and was sad when they ended. You hands down make the most interesting content on youtube. It's a pain to me that we would have never been friends

Just found your channel 2 days ago. Really enjoy the history. My blood runs to the Shetland island. Once this virus passes I hope to make and use my own staff. Keep the videos coming! Be safe

I found the wood i used for my staff in a dumster after some landscapers took down a poplar tree. I always leave a top branch nub at the top of mine to help me reach top branches when i wild craft fruit etc. The nub holds my lantern at base camp as in the desert proper there are no trees to hang it on.

Just a quick note to let you know that your channel got a wee mention ( just a little remark but I thought it was cool so maybe you will) on radio Scotland this morning. It was on "Shereen" around 30 minutes in. Maybe you already know but I thought it was worth a mention. Your channel is great and is really inspiring me to get out there when the powers that be let me. Thanks dude X

Love the Young reference. I am glad there are still practical men around, we will need them in the dark times ahead.

a tiger beer singlet??? you'd make a good australian, mate!

@FandabiDozi

4 жыл бұрын

Hahaha! Got it in Vietnam

@tJ9etBxDq5VdSj2

4 жыл бұрын

then you probably saw a lot of my countrymen on cheap holidays doing dodgy shit ;)

@FandabiDozi

4 жыл бұрын

@@tJ9etBxDq5VdSj2 Hahaha! Yes, but plenty of UK embarrassments as well! :)

@taintedunicorn3551

4 жыл бұрын

@@tJ9etBxDq5VdSj2 oh ye na na ye, gittin a facken ripstart wuz ya?

Great video! Thanks for discussing the metal tip. Great for winter hiking in snow & ice.

I'm so glad KZread recommended me your staff video, your channel is exactly what I'm interested in. I've always liked sticks and finding the perfect walking stick. When I joined the SCA and developed my persona (a 10th century Norse-Gael from Ireland) I decided she would carry a walking stick, not just for travel and balance, but also self defense. I think that also translated into my interest in spears, as I decided to incorporate that into my persona as well and learn spear fighting. When you showed the staff sling in that video I was immediately very interested, I've already started buying supplies to make one myself.

im glade to see more from you, thank you for the upload

cool tip about the wax, I have a stick that's basically straight off the tree but I've been cutting patterns into the bark for years, now that I've run out of space I might have to make something else

Good stuff again! What you could do to customize it is fitting a pure copper or brass (brass is harder to shape and less effective against microbes) handle to the top of the staff. A piece of a regular copper tube of similar diameter cut to the desired length (I did mine with 31cm) can be pulled ower the staff leaving a couple of centimeters to hang over, than you can easily hammer the overhanging portion of the tube down to close it completely. Again, pure copper is very easy to shape by hammering even on room temperature, but one can heat it a bit over a fire to make it even more workable. It adds a lot of character to a staff (it can later be engraved too), + helps keep the user's hand relatively clean/desinfected just by holding it. I find it very useful during long hikings - it spares me of a lot of worrying.

Oi mate, Love yer' country, staff looks fan dabby dozy, ney breeks just yer kilt me man, worked in Scotland for 5 years and I miss the country now! All the best from Polska :)

dont miss my hiking staff collection video, I have since raised my total to over 230 and updated every staff with new wraps and new hand-rubbed oil finishes.

Looks like something a wizard would carry, which you would because you're so good at survival. Good job man.

man you just keep doing what you're doing. fantastic stuff

Well done Tom , i used to have a nice solid martial arts staff years back too they are good to have around .

This video has arrived in good timing. I’m half way through working on my hazel stick and the problem I have is spending too much time humming and hawing on what decoration to put with it. Thanks for the inspiration Tom

@FandabiDozi

4 жыл бұрын

Yeah understandable. Took me two years to burn the celtic design in it. Doesnt matter to wait intil you are inspired by something though :)

Really enjoyed watching this, loved the design you put on there , awesome video and informative, thanks for sharing. Stay safe.

I just discovered your channel...I think I'll be binge-watching it for the next couple of days. Great stuff, thanks for posting.

Thank you so much for this video! I’m about to make my first walking stick. I’ve always been fascinated with wood working, and this will be my first attempt. I do lots of different kinds of crafts, and just an FYI, you can buy transfer paper at just about any craft or art store. So you if you find a design (I love Celtic designs as well), you can use a light box app for your phone to trace it and then transfer it to where you want it! Thanks again! I’ll update you with my progress!

I don’t have good access to hardwood branches that would be the right straightness or size near where I live, so I went to the hardware store and bought a 6 ft long hardwood dowel that should work pretty well for a walking staff. Just need to sort of customize it similar to things you have done to yours. Thanks for the videos!

@FandabiDozi

4 жыл бұрын

Yeah fare enough mate. Hardwood dowel will do you fine. Make sure there is no joints where they have fitted two pieces together though. That could be a week spot to break.

I made a walking staff out of the top of a beetle kill pine tree here in Alberta Canada. Damn beetles kill the tree and it stands there drying out. Once the tree is down cut the top 10 to 15 feet off the top. Pick your thickness and trim and strip the bark off. Strip the bark off at the tree site or burn it right away. Let’s not spread the beetles any further. I fire hardened the entire length. I drop it through my hand to hit concrete and it has a very nice ping sound to it. Very hard and solid. I left it wider at the top. Base of my cut.

This is awesome. I grew up carving wooden spears and walking sticks in the woods in Texas, but I am only just now trying to do a little more than a shaved stick.

Neat project!! Definitely enjoyed the video😁 I like the linseed oil as well over the varnish. Looks way more natural and seems to be better for the wood. You have inspired me to look for a sapling for my own staff! Much live -TTO

This video makes me happy and i dont know why 🖤

Enjoyed your video 👏 I'm just in the middle of giving my first ever staff a few coats of linseed oil, after watching your video's you have inspired me to have a go, so thank you so much 👍 I will try to post a photo of it when it's done (if your interested) thank you once again. Take care & Stay safe my friend 🙂👍

@FandabiDozi

4 жыл бұрын

Awesome mate! Yeah please share it on instagram. Link to my account in video description

Don't worry about imperfections on the staff. It's an extension of you and therefore unique to you.

Don't forget to share a pic of your finished Staff and design ideas on Instagram with #fandabistick @fandabiwilderness

Great job love the Celtic design .

Great 👍 video! Nice work on the staffs. Like the added artistic designs

Who thumbs this down? This is awesome.

@FandabiDozi

4 жыл бұрын

haha! I never understand why. Sticks can't be that insulting right!?

@matthewdaniel6045

4 жыл бұрын

Right! There's never a time where I don't have one in the house. My family all have apple tree walking sticks And I have an ash cudgel at the door.

Great job on the staffs.

Nice Pimping and yes You are right about the oil been very much better on both staff's .

Good video, thank you for sharing your staffs and ideas!

Nice video. What I use of Wood handled tools as well as walking and hiking sticks, 3 parts boiled linseed oil, one part turpentine. Caution, wipe off excess in day or two, until it wears, the mixture will give a slight warth to the hand.

Very cool pimped staves!

in the age of pandemic, would you consider doing a video on how they dealt with disease/sickness...wounds..etc..stay safe and healthy..and happy lad..

Very cool, and good idea about the oil. 🗡🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Great video, Thanks! Those Alpine Ferrules are also known as 'Rock Spikes'. It's worth noting that some cheaper ones on the market seem to be made of very soft mild steel, and wear down quickly, so try to avoid those; I've made my own from slightly tougher stuff which keeps a point quite well, and threaded them to suit a semi-hard fibre cover, crosshatched on the end face as a pavement grip for the odd occasion.

Hey mate nice work love those spikes & the oil finish looks great

That has definitely given me some ideas. Here's an idea in return. I have a cheap and nasty staff which is basically a broom handle. I rounded the top end a fair bit then used about 5mm thick epoxy to make sure it would not split. The next process was another 4mm or so of two part rubber over that so the epoxy will not chip. I used a urethane rubber. It's a bit iffy over time in bright sunlight but it can peel off and be replaces if you do it right.,

I had that same model of guitar strap, but I ,(with a wee bit Stanley knife jiggery-pokery !), turned mine into a strap for my homemade sporran. ...brilliant idea using it as a stencil though! Might nick that idea myself.😈

One way to seal the staff from the weather, and strengthen it from splits and cracking. There is an old way of soaking the staff in hot raw unfiltered bees wax for at least two days per inch of thickness. "THAT" is the fun part. Keeping the wax HOT, not warm and covering the wood. Let the wax cool until just below liquid state then remove the staff and stand it straight up for two days. This allows the wax to cool evenly inside the wood. It also keeps the staff straight until cooled. If there is an unwanted bend. This is the time to brace it and bend it straight. We call these "Wax Wood Bo's". They are nearly indestructible, flexible, and hard hitting. Note. Do any decorations prior to waxing.

You should redo your Latin phrase in either Scottish Gaelic or a northern dialect of Old English, depending on your ancestry :D with the appropriate alphabet (futhorch or ogham). Give you a more primal connection to it :D

Fine job!

Always enjoy these vids mate, currently have three stages I've been working on, trying to find that 'one' haha

very nice sticks. I will try it for me too

Good moves with the Celtic Knotwork design and the Ferrule. I did some Bo Ken in my youth but studied Wing Chun instead.

Clicked like before watching! I always enjoy watching your videos Tom, you make them idiot-proof 😊

Liked, with the idea.of course I have to use the strong arm cane., cheers!

*A SATISFYING JOB WELL DONE..!* 👍🏼 ::PEACE::🕊❤️

Now all you need is a decent “sling” some leather armour and your “FanDabby” Ready 👍

Got my sub with the Jung discussion

I discovered Tiger Beer in Singapore years ago. Still buy it when I can find it.

I mix 50/50 beeswax and linseed oil. It will harden again but if you heat it in a pot and then rub it in it will soak into the wood grain and then harden up. Take a heat gun to it for awhile to keep it warm and soaking in. I’ll do this 3 times and it takes forever to wear out.

I've got a spear and staff in one

@pedroclaro7822

4 жыл бұрын

That sounds coll, but how does it work? isn't it just a spear you use like a staff? xD Can I see it? :D

@silviaf2725

4 жыл бұрын

So, you've got a spaff😂

@StewartFotheringham08

4 жыл бұрын

@@pedroclaro7822 yeah pretty much

Another fantastic video! Have you ever heard of a fokos? It's an eastern European small axe walking stick combo. Not use much anymore, but still an interesting idea.

I ordered 3 gorgeous Ethiopian Christian Crosses which I mounted on to carved/stained staff with superglue. The power these hold is mighty. Each designed unique. Almost Gaelic. What an amazingly great time putting these together. Nice vid brother. Keep Creating! Ganjarado, USA

Boiled Linseed Oil is also food safe, but what they sell in stores under that name is not BOILED Linseed Oil. Boiling the oil takes time so manufacturers use chemical additives to imitate all the advantages boiling gives linseed oil. That stuff isn't food safe at all. The old adage about using boiled linseed oil on a new bare wood project says: "apply once a day for a week, once a week for a month, once a month for a year and then once a year for life." Good video. =)

Awesome staff's bro!

Ha! I thought I recognized those staff kata. Good to hear you're an aikidoka as well.

Nice. Hello from San Diego California.

Another good hardening agent for maintaining integrity of split or rotting wood is cyanoacrylate (the original and inexpensive superglue formulation). Bonsaists use this to maintain and protect deadwood to varying degrees of success depending on the species. The viscosity is such that it absorbs deep into the wood. It is also more hydroscopic (more like water) than epoxy from a chemical standpoint. The celluloses, hemicelluloses and lignins in wood are evolved to move water quickly and efficiently even if the wood is dead. A wood like oak with large pores will suck it up super fast. If you keep humidity down during the application it will penetrate the deepest. Thick epoxy will sit on the surface, more like a varnish.

A quick stop by the plumbing department of your local hardware store and for almost no money at all you can pick up some heavy-duty piping and all the tools you'll need to cut it to size and fit it to your stick. On the side note. I met a gentleman in Washington State who had fitted his walking stick with a very small, but powerful flash-bulb, rechargeable battery, and photo-electric array. Apparently, the area he liked to walk occasionally had cougars and per him, he has had to use it to scare off predators more than once. His stick was a slick little number, very light willow with a natural knob on the end that made it look like a wizard's staff and the bulb and array were nicely hidden behind a composite marble the size of a golf ball. Apparently, the dude was an engineering student and something of a fantasy nerd and said something along the lines of, "well, with all of our modern technology, we are wizards, we're just not doing anything cool with it". Pretty impressive, to me at least. The dude said that the staff he was currently working on would put this one to shame. I'm very curious about what form that will take, but unfortunately, I never saw him again.

Great job!

Great video. I think a better point for the end would be a very shallow, perhaps only 1/8 inch for safety. Then it could step up in diameter in concentric circles several times to give you additional contact edges on uneven rocky terrain. Next time, try burning out the white parts of the paper transfer instead of the black and it might turn out better for you, but it looks great this way too.

You could soften and hammer a copper pipe cap on the end of any future staves to help prevent cracking

Look at Mr Fancy over here with them glasses!!!

I make my own tool handles and one thing I was taught from an older guy was to soak your tool handle in linseed oil, or your desired oil, by holding it under the oil with some weights for a given time usually a period of days or weeks

I'm really enjoying these video. I've been thinking of making a more custom shaft for my gallowglass axe. Currently I just got an oak pole which I sanded to an oval grip (better for edge alignment) then later sealed it. I wanted to make something a little more natural and do some wood burning designs on it.

@FandabiDozi

4 жыл бұрын

Nice man! I like the oval idea. i should try that on a future staff

Very Nice !! TLC rocks!

Shalom, pine pitch, pine resin are amazing options for replacing that poison dirty toxic resin on the cap of your staff, and amazing first aid, its glue for your cuts and burns, splinters and infections and tooth problems. Shalom akiem

I always cut a new walking stick during my 3-4 day hikes. They are always quite heavy due to being green. I will make up my own staff from now.

I was a bit taken aback to see you in civie clothing. 😄 Excellent video per usual.

A useful lower tip for walking staffs is a crutch tip, or a cane tip. They are made to grip a surface, and are available in pharmacies. Courtesy of Half Vast Flying

I take aikido and jo practice, too! It's exactly what I would have thought of in choosing a staff. (I also have a guitar strap that's cooler than I am: I feel more of a kinship by the minute.)