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Darwin again
09-14-2009, 14:50
What's the best way to keep the tip of a wooden walking stick from mushrooming during a long hike?

Alligator
09-14-2009, 14:53
I don't know if it is "best" but I've used a cane/crutch tip on mine. It helps to glue it on.

Foyt20
09-14-2009, 15:22
Drive a couple of screws into the bottom and the screw heads will wear out slower than the wood.

Rocket Jones
09-14-2009, 16:36
I use a cane tip. Any drugstore or big box chain will carry them in various sizes, two to a package.

MikenSalem
09-14-2009, 17:20
You can burn it a little to fire harden it. That pulls the sap out toward the heated portion results in a hard outer area. Works really good on pine but that wont be enough. You could also try drilling it out and mounting a Leki pole replacement tip in it. They slip fit and would stay were you to epoxy it. Or get a junk pole from Wal-Mart and scavenge the tip out of it and mount it.

Spock
09-14-2009, 17:22
I like cane tips. It takes two for a thru-hike, but every drug store has them.

Seeker
09-14-2009, 17:59
one of mine looks like this:
https://www.canemart.com/pics/892-004_metal_spike_ferrule.jpg
I got it at a hiking shop in Gatlinburg.

My other one looks sorta like this:
http://www.bikudo.com/photo_stock/738600.jpg
but it's much thinner. i just threaded it onto the end.

I think the screw idea posted earlier is good, fast, and cheap, something you don't often get.

babbage
09-14-2009, 21:13
Shape the end of the stick - I like the shapened pencil look. It also fits better between rocks when stream crossing. This is optional, of course.
Then get a 20d nail. (20 penny). I have a box of them if there is some way to get one to you - you would be welcome to it.
Pre-drill a hole - use epoxy or liquid nails and insert the nail as far as it will go - I went as deep as a standard drill-bit would allow.
Use a hacksaw or grinder and cut the nail off - I left 1/2" sticking out.
Then take a grinder or file and sharpen as desired.
Next -- take said stick on a 5 day, 50 mile or more trip to test it. Rinse and repeat.

shelterbuilder
09-14-2009, 22:14
Here's what I've done with a few of my sticks, and it's worked out well. (NOTE: this is a rainy-day project, so fire up the coffeepot first!)

Drill out a hole in the bottom of the stick that will accept a 1/4-20 all-thread coupler (looks like a regular nut but it's much longer). Thread the coupler completely onto a 1/4-20 x 1 1/2" bolt. Squirt some epoxy into the hole and use the bolt to insert the coupler into the hole. Once the glue has had a little time to set up ( but NOT enough time to cure), remove the bolt and wipe any glue from the threads.

Now comes the fun part - get some 3/4 inch (or 1 inch) diameter round neoprene (the stuff that Grainger and McMaster-Carr sells to machinists for tool and die repairs) - there are different grades (colors) - the harder grades last longer (try green or red). Cut a 1" to 1 1/4 " piece and drill a 1/4-20 hole down the center. Counterbore the bottom of the hole to accept the head of your 1/4-20 bolt AND a 1/4" inch washer. (The head of the bolt and the washer should be hidden inside the neoprene - none should be exposed.) Put a little Superglue into the threads of your bolt and screw this into the coupler that's glued into the bottom of your stick. Go hiking.

I've broken 2 sticks like this in half, but the tips never fell off and never wore out.

TD55
09-14-2009, 22:30
I hate having a chunk of metel at the end of my walking sticks. Makes Them slip on rocks. I use my stick to sort of pole vault across small streams or mud puddles. Sometime across rocks, or from rock to rock. Anyhow, I use old inner tube held in place by duct tape or cord. 'bout a foot of bicycle tube will last you a long time.

weary
09-14-2009, 23:39
What's the best way to keep the tip of a wooden walking stick from mushrooming during a long hike?
As others have said, nothing beats crutch tips. I look for tips made of a bouncy hard rubber. They cost a few pennies more than "hardware store" tips, but are worth it. When one gets bored on the trail, you can see how high you can make a bouncy tip bounce on a rock.

I've never had a serious problem with losing a crutch tip. Occasionally, when testing a muck hole for depth, I'll lose a tip. But usually I can recover it. I keep thinking about fastening crutch tips using a wood screw through the side. But I'ver never gotten around to doing so.

Weary

Jim Adams
09-15-2009, 01:49
Let it wear!
My 1st stick from my 1990 hike broke in NC. The second one broke in PA. The third one got 4 1/2" shorter from NJ to Katahdin...still have it.

geek

Doctari
09-15-2009, 06:53
I drill a small hole (just enough to keep the wood from splitting) then drive a roofing nail in. I then put on a crutch / cane tip. The nail, with a nice big head, is for if the crutch tip falls off or wears out. I have many many miles on mine (with no crutch tip) with no mushrooming & most of the nail head still there. Even when the nail head wears off, the shank of the nail will at least slow the wear.

I have also seen a hiking stick with an appropriate sized (empty, plastic body) shotgun shell "Jammed" on the end of it. It's owner said he was pleased with it.

weary
09-15-2009, 09:45
Let it wear!
My 1st stick from my 1990 hike broke in NC. The second one broke in PA. The third one got 4 1/2" shorter from NJ to Katahdin...still have it.

geek
In addition to slowing wear on a wooden hiking staff, I find a crutch tip greatly improves traction, especially on rocky surfaces. One reason I don't like commercial hiking poles is that the metal tips slip on rocks. On one of my first experiences with Lekis, the thing dumped me into a beaver flowage. I went back to my 1991 homemade design and have never wavered since. That probably proves I'm getting old. I used to try things twice before giving up.

Weary

Elder
09-15-2009, 17:44
In addition to slowing wear on a wooden hiking staff, I find a crutch tip greatly improves traction, especially on rocky surfaces. One reason I don't like commercial hiking poles is that the metal tips slip on rocks. On one of my first experiences with Lekis, the thing dumped me into a beaver flowage. I went back to my 1991 homemade design and have never wavered since. That probably proves I'm getting old. I used to try things twice before giving up.

Weary
The Leki carbide tip holds much better than any rubber tip. Steeper angle easily demonstrated. Rubber tips are for roads. :rolleyes:

The Best tip for wooden sticks is lose them and try a pair of poles!! :sun

just sayin';)

Tuckahoe
09-15-2009, 18:16
Well, being bored one day in the shop and not having a particular project to work on I hammered this out for a tip.

http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb77/Tuckahoe64/hikingsticktip001.jpg

I figured that if such a tip is great for a musket rest, why not as a tip for a hiking stick

mrhughes1982
09-15-2009, 18:42
You could make one out of a walnut. Settlers used to make brooms out of them and they are very sturdy.

TD55
09-15-2009, 18:59
The Leki carbide tip holds much better than any rubber tip. Steeper angle easily demonstrated. Rubber tips are for roads. :rolleyes:

The Best tip for wooden sticks is lose them and try a pair of poles!! :sun

just sayin';)

I have used poles and under certain conditions and hikes will probably use them again. I happen to prefer a traditional hiking stick. It or they are just like any other gear. Different folks like different kinds of gear.

Canada Goose
09-15-2009, 20:43
I've had good results by shaving the tip of the stick to fit the closest sized copper pipe coupling, then holding it in place with a wood screw (into a pre-drilled hole). After about 1,000 miles, my original stick was retired because of end split. I have not had this problem since then, and the copper seems to grip rock pretty good.

weary
09-15-2009, 22:04
The Leki carbide tip holds much better than any rubber tip. Steeper angle easily demonstrated. Rubber tips are for roads. :rolleyes:

The Best tip for wooden sticks is lose them and try a pair of poles!! :sun

just sayin';)
In talks with hikers and in these forums I hear tales of hikers falling often and about how commercial hiking poles help, but do not eliminate falls.

I've long been puzzled by these reports. I long ago lost a good sense of balance. I can't close my eyes while showering without constantly touching the wall of the shower to keep my balance.

Yet I've somehow managed to walk 15 or 20 miles a week this summer often several times that mileage, on rough, ungraded forest trails, up hill and down, through mud and wet rocks, often carrying 60 pound timbers for building bog bridges. Falls? I've forgotten all the details of the last time I fell while walking with my free alder pole and its $1 crutch tip. I do remember though that it happened on a frozen logging road post dinner, after one thanksgiving family get together, probably a decade or so ago.

My only support on these walks and trail work trips is a single wooden hiking staff I fashioned from an alder sapling with just a rubber crutch tip for traction. It weighs a bit less than 11 ounces. I've used it for years, ever since I retired the hiking staff I used on the AT in 1993, when I was then a young and hearty 64. That stick is still perfectly usable and sturdy. I just figured that after years of steady use, it deserved a rest.

Weary

Monkeyboy
09-15-2009, 22:57
Well, being bored one day in the shop and not having a particular project to work on I hammered this out for a tip.



I figured that if such a tip is great for a musket rest, why not as a tip for a hiking stick

Cool tip, Tuckahoe.

As far as the screw in the tip.....I wouldn't do it. It would act like a wood splitter and force the pole into pieces.

You can find tips, both smooth and pointed, at almost any place that sells walking staves online.

Or you can go to the hardware store and get a copper pipe terminating cap that is the same diameter of your walking stick. Drill a small hole in the side and put a set nail (small brad) on it to keep it from backing off.

This would be sideways through the stave and not straight up, keeping it from splitting. You can also put a small amount of liquid nail in the cap before setting it, to fill up any wiggle room, wiping off the excess with paint thinner.

Tuckahoe
09-15-2009, 23:20
MrHughes1982
You could make one out of a walnut. Settlers used to make brooms out of them and they are very sturdy.


I have a nice stash of blackwalnut. It was an old beam that came out of a structure that came down at work -- 50+ years old. Gets used often for knife handles.


Monkeyboy
Drill a small hole in the side and put a set nail (small brad) on it to keep it from backing off.

This is how I attached the tip as well. Drilled through, inserted a wire nail and clipped it close and then peened it over on each side to rivet it in place.

ShelterLeopard
09-16-2009, 13:28
My 12 year old brother made me a beautiful walking stick (looks like a wizard's staff- slightly too cumbersome for a long difficulty hike, but really cool) and he tipped it with thick copper. He kind of wrapped copper around the bottom three inches of the stick, but didn't cover the very bottom of it. Works very well.