Wooden Sticks

A stick is a long, slender piece of wood, usually a refined branch of a tree without the leaves. Although historically sticks were used as a weapon, usually for hunting and also as a safety measure for protecting against hostile elements. Wooden sticks were also a symbol of dominance. Gradually, wood crafts was applied to make beautifully carved wooden sticks that became a prized possession for handicrafts lovers.

Types of Wood Used for Making Sticks

Hardwoods are the most common types of wood used for making wooden sticks. Most popular among these woods that make sticks are sheesam, saal and mulberry. However to make the sticks strong, unbendable, and unbreakable glass fiber, carbon with epoxy resins are also used. Wooden sticks come in many shapes and sizes. Few wooden sticks are painted and carved and others are left with their natural wood color.

Features of Wooden Sticks

Although a stick can be even a simple length of wood, the modern sticks that are used as walking sticks or for decorating home have distinct features. The parts of a stick include a handle, shaft, collar, and ferrule.their natural wood color.

Handle: The handle is the most useful feature of a stick. Among different styles of stick handles, the popular ones include- tourist, or crook handle, the fritz handle and the derby handle. Sometimes the handles are padded and leather-wrapped too for a soft and easy grip. Medical canes have special ergonomic palm-grip handles for comfortability of arthritis or carpal tunnel syndrome patients.

Shaft: It is a long, comparatively straight handle serving as the balancing part of the stick. The Shaft may require a lightweight handle often made of aluminum or carbon-fiber composites, or a heavy-duty handle made of hardwoods.

Collar: The collar of a walking stick is often only for decorative purpose but it can also firmly secure the stick handle to the shaft.

Ferrule: The tip or the end cap of a stick provides traction and added support when used at an angle. From among many kinds of ferrules, commonly used one is a simple, ridged rubber stopper. This can be easily replaced according to the user's needs.

Types of Wooden Sticks

There are different types of wooden sticks used for different purposes by people. The wooden walking stick is used by many people to assist in walking. Wooden sticks are an important part of many sports like hockey, golf, snooker, billiards, cricket, and rugby. One can not even imagine a game of of hockey without a hockey stick or golfing without a golf stick. People living in hilly areas use sticks as a support when going uphill or as a brake when going downhill. A stick also acts as a balance point when crossing streams, swamps or other rough terrain. Some of the common types of wooden sticks are mentioned below.

Chopsticks

Wooden Chopsticks These small tapered sticks are an important wood kitchen accessories. They are used in pairs of equal length as the traditional eating utensils in China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. Chopsticks are also used in some areas of Tibet and Nepal. They are commonly made from bamboo or some other types of wood.

Rod

Rod, which is generally referred to as a switch, is a flexible lengthy piece of wood typically used for corporal punishment of the birching type, called switching after it. Sometimes they are also called a cane.

Cane

Although cane is famous as the stick for giving corporal punishment (thus the name caning), it is in fact, the popular walking stick. It is a simple crutch to help balanced movement or to help an injured or disabled person walk. There are many types of canes for different medical uses.

White Canes

A white cane assists visually impaired people in walking. These sticks are longer and thinner which give the user the "feel" of the path ahead.

Folding Canes

Adjustable Folding Canes A folding cane has several joints which lets it to be folded into a shorter length when not in use. These are, in fact, adjustable canes that feature two or more shaft pieces for a telescoping effect which allows the user to lengthen or shorten their walking cane to fit to size.

Staff

A staff is a large, thick stick which is used to help with walking, as a status symbol, as a magical artifact or as a weapon. Many role-playing video games have staves as items that channel magical power. It is also associated with Asian martial arts tradition that can be seen in the martial arts films.

Quad canes

A quad cane has four legs at the bottom. It lets the cane to stand freely so that it has a more stable base. Such kind of canes are particularly useful for arthritis patients or those who are too weak to even find support for the stick. The pediatric quads are shorter in length. They are sometimes similar to tripod canes that often comes with an attached seat.

Swagger Stick

It is a short stick generally carried as a symbol of authority by some uniformed person. A swagger stick is usually made from rattan. They are mostly carried by military officers or more senior non-commissioned officers. They are also carried by officers in police and paramilitary forces.

Club

A club is a short staff or stick which has many names- cudgel, baton, truncheon, night stick, sap and bludgeon. It is one of the most simplest weapons. Some types of clubs are used in martial arts and other specialized fields, including the law enforcement baton.