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Raymond R





Joined: 05 Oct 2006

Posts: 5

PostPosted: Sun 16 Mar, 2008 7:55 pm    Post subject: Material and vendors for staves         Reply with quote

Oi, I'm responsible for getting the group equipped for spear and quarterstaff work. Does anyone know of a good dealer for wooden staves that would stand up well to sparring type work? I've looked into waxwood, and we need lengths of about 6 and 8 feet, but I've yet to find any useful dealers. Does anyone have any suggestions?
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Kelly Powell




Location: lawrence, kansas
Joined: 27 Feb 2008

Posts: 123

PostPosted: Sun 16 Mar, 2008 8:18 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

I'd go for rattan....I'd bet you could find staves smalle(in diameter)r then sca standard for a good price.
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M. Eversberg II




Location: California, Maryland, USA
Joined: 07 Sep 2006
Reading list: 3 books

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PostPosted: Sun 16 Mar, 2008 8:32 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Try here

M.

This space for rent or lease.
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Bill Tsafa




Location: Brooklyn, NY
Joined: 20 May 2004

Posts: 599

PostPosted: Sun 16 Mar, 2008 10:38 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Try this guy too.
http://store.fastcommerce.com/cat_icefalcon-f...a016f.html

Two rattan staves for $30. Be sure to tell him not to cut them. Be specific about the thickness you want too.

No athlete/youth can fight tenaciously who has never received any blows: he must see his blood flow and hear his teeth crack... then he will be ready for battle.
Roger of Hoveden, 1174-1201
www.poconoshooting.com
www.poconogym.com
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Michael Barna




Location: Northwest Michigan
Joined: 21 May 2007

Posts: 24

PostPosted: Mon 17 Mar, 2008 11:14 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

1 3/8 or 1 5/8 diameter unfinished Ash poles of straight grain and up to 16 foot in length. They may need some straightening with a heat gun and some time.

Get a 16 footer and cut it in two for two 7-8 footers.

http://peaveymfg.com/pickpoles.html

Make shure to ask for "dowel turned" so they do not turn down a handle and taper the end for use as a pick pole handle.

Mike Barna

Rest assured...I did indeed use the SEARCH function!
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Corey D. Sullivan




Location: Canada
Joined: 05 Nov 2007
Reading list: 12 books

Posts: 73

PostPosted: Mon 17 Mar, 2008 11:39 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

You didn't state your location, but I found a source in Canada that sells an 8' octagonal ash pole for $20.

It's an arborist supplies store, so you may find cheaper prices at other ones.

http://www.canadianarboristsupplies.com/tools.php?next=41

"He had scantly finyshed his saienge but the one armye espyed the other lord how hastely the souldioures buckled their healmes how quikly the archers bent ther bowes and frushed their feathers how redely the byllmen shoke their bylles and proved their staves redy to appioche and loyne when the terrible trotnpet should sound the blast to victorie or deathe."
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Jon H.





Joined: 22 Dec 2007

Posts: 27

PostPosted: Sun 23 Mar, 2008 8:01 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

While this is slightly off-topic, I thought I'd up this thread instead of starting a new one since my question is related to this one.

Anyhow, I was thinking of putting together a polearm, specifically a partisan. A couple blades from A&A and some other sites caught my eye, but I wanted to use a different material for the haft in lieu of the ash that the majority of manufacturers seem to favour. That being said, I still want the weight, balance, and appropriate hardness to be within historical standards. So, I was wondering if a wood like ebony, walnut burr, or mahogany would be valid choices. If not, do any of you have suggestions for a darker material that could serve as a haft?

Thanks in advance. Happy
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Chad Arnow
myArmoury Team


myArmoury Team

PostPosted: Sun 23 Mar, 2008 8:18 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Jon,
Ash is a pretty historical choice and is supposed to be pretty strong. If you dislike the colour, why not stain it darker to the colour of your choice? Happy

Happy

ChadA

http://chadarnow.com/
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Kelly Powell




Location: lawrence, kansas
Joined: 27 Feb 2008

Posts: 123

PostPosted: Sun 23 Mar, 2008 8:41 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Plus $ for any ebony or mahogony stave would be excessive...not tomention hard to find in those dimensions..
I've got a hedge tree growing at my moms farmI have been grooming for a few years now....I have been loping off the lower branches to trimming the rest to try to promote straighter growth....it is also out of the wind and just hopefully if can get a great axe stave out of it and maybe a bow.
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Jon H.





Joined: 22 Dec 2007

Posts: 27

PostPosted: Sun 23 Mar, 2008 9:18 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Oy vey! I just did some price checking, and you're right, Kelly. I knew such materials would be expensive, but damn! Razz

And thanks for the advice, Chad. I didn't even think of staining. Happy Looks like Ash is a good choice after all. Still, as a hypothetical, do any of you all know if the materials I mentioned in my last post would be feasible? Assuming I could afford them, I'd hate to have them break in half during exercise, especially given the cost involved. Razz
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Kelly Powell




Location: lawrence, kansas
Joined: 27 Feb 2008

Posts: 123

PostPosted: Sun 23 Mar, 2008 11:12 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Hickory wouldnt break the bank and stains up nice....you will have striations of darke & light though.
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Jon H.





Joined: 22 Dec 2007

Posts: 27

PostPosted: Mon 24 Mar, 2008 1:35 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Kelly Powell wrote:
Hickory wouldnt break the bank and stains up nice....you will have striations of darke & light though.

That's pretty much what I wanted, which is why I chose the materials I did (before finding out the cost anyhow Razz). I'll look into hickory as well. Again, thanks for the help. Happy
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Kelly Powell




Location: lawrence, kansas
Joined: 27 Feb 2008

Posts: 123

PostPosted: Mon 24 Mar, 2008 3:03 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Not an expert on the rarer woods but what makes them desirable for furniture and gunstocks and other decoative purposes, will sometimes make them UNdesireable for use as a handle for tools or weapons.....Sometimes a dense tight grain may make the wood rock hard, but make it susceptible to breaking due to it's lack of flex......The guys back in the day knew the properties of wood probably much better then todays carpenters and cabinet makers....So follow their lead......Mahogany and ebony would probably make fantastic short cudgels, but ....wait....How long of a stave are you wanting anyway?if its under 3 ft you may , i repeat, may, be ok......long staves I'd go ash,hickory,yew(if you can find it)pecan and hedge....Also stay away from fruit woods.
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Anders Nilsson




Location: Sweden
Joined: 12 Mar 2007
Reading list: 4 books

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Posts: 145

PostPosted: Mon 24 Mar, 2008 3:43 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Most martialarts stores got Bo-staffs.
They are often of Japanese redoak or whiteoak. They are good and quite cheap.
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Jon H.





Joined: 22 Dec 2007

Posts: 27

PostPosted: Mon 24 Mar, 2008 11:03 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Kelly Powell wrote:
Not an expert on the rarer woods but what makes them desirable for furniture and gunstocks and other decoative purposes, will sometimes make them UNdesireable for use as a handle for tools or weapons.....Sometimes a dense tight grain may make the wood rock hard, but make it susceptible to breaking due to it's lack of flex......The guys back in the day knew the properties of wood probably much better then todays carpenters and cabinet makers....So follow their lead......Mahogany and ebony would probably make fantastic short cudgels, but ....wait....How long of a stave are you wanting anyway?if its under 3 ft you may , i repeat, may, be ok......long staves I'd go ash,hickory,yew(if you can find it)pecan and hedge....Also stay away from fruit woods.

I'm looking for something in the 6-8ft range, so, you're right, the more expensive woods probably wouldn't work (for cost and practical purposes). I've been looking into hickory and found some stock that has the basic look I'm going for. Staining should make it even better. Thanks again, for all the tips. Happy

A bo could be interesting...
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Ken Speed





Joined: 09 Oct 2006

Posts: 656

PostPosted: Mon 24 Mar, 2008 1:04 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Hi Raymond,

Waxwood? Where are you?

Here's an idea. If you have a bunch of people who need to be equipped with staves, why don't you get together and make your own? The really old fashioned way would be to cut a an appropriately sized sapling, bark it and shave it down with a drawknife. If you cut a few extra you haven't lost a lot if you screw one up and a drawknife isn't all that difficult to use. They're such a simple tool that they're pretty safe to use. If you can peel a potato without stabbing yourself or someone else to death you should be able to use a drawknife without losing major body parts.

An advantage of doing it this way is that the staves will get lighter and harder as they dry out and they will be much stronger than one made out of a sawn piece of wood. The staves may not dry perfectly straight because they were made of wet wood but as long as they aren't horseshoe or boomerang shaped that just makes them more "authentic".

Ash would probably be the wood of choice because it is very tough and a little bit whippy because of its stringy grain structure.

Ken Speed
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