[Timo Nieminen]

Do any Australian here, or others with Australian-relevant experience, have any advice on woods for polearms?

Timber racks in generic local hardware stores are largely populated by pine, meranti and Tasmanian oak - none of which perform very well for polearms. Tasmanian oak (a.k.a. Australian ash, E. regnans and similar) is maybe OK for spears, but splits too easily for anything you cut/bash with.

Tool handles that could take it can be easily found, but they're usually too short.

So, I'm interested in what readily available woods we might have around that could be used. Floorboards can be had in many different species, some of which look like they might work well, and I'm hoping others' experience might save a lot of trial and error.

Any advice?

[Dan Howard]

Australia has some native species of Ash. Most of these would make suitable weapon shafts.

[Tim Harris]

Demolition yards/building material recyclers could be good places to look.

Yellow box was once used for floorboards. I've made walking sticks from it. Spotted gum has been used successfuly for bow staves, but I don't know what lengths are available.

[Eric Fick]

At the end of the day, a good hard wood is a good hard wood, If you cant get your hands on Ash. Ultimately all hafts and poles will need to be replaced (some faster than others) but you should be looking for durability and weight.

If you can, look for hard woods with "like" characteristics and densities and use a good stain to get the right look

good luck!

I am currently trying out some red oak (i'm not from Australia) does anyone have any experience with red oak as an ash substitute?

If you really want the good stuff, have you looked into wood distributers that deal in exotic wood? I would guess you may need to have them ship it or take a drive, but again I don't live in Australia.

[Sam Gordon Campbell]

Two words: Huon Pine

[D. Austin]

Hi Timo,

I'm not sure about Brisbane, but in Melbourne, we can get 1800mm garden stakes for about $10. These are about 50mm square, rough sawn Tasmanian Oak (long straight gum tree). The advantage is that you can sift through a big pile to find a straight one with the grain running along it and at that price, you can afford a few to experiment with. Planed to shape and given a few coats of linseed oil, it doesn't look bad, and will hold up fairly well, depending on the levels of use/abuse. I've put a fair bit of thought into this topic over the last few years and haven't yet come up up with a more durable and attractive option for under $100.

Unfortunately, there isn't really a better option readily available here. For a good source of timber varieties however, you may want to look for a marine timber supplier as wooden boat builders like to use species with good properties.

I've attached a picture of one made from a garden stake.

Darren.

[William Carew]

We have some really good hardwoods here (some such as Grey and Red Ironbark are incredibly tough and resistant), but many of them are perhaps too dense or rigid to stand in for European ash.

I really love Jarrah but it has become hard to get here in Qld. Fortunately I can usually get Spotted Gum in dowel lengths suitable for 'short staves' up to about 6 foot, which is fantastic and quite attractive with some boiled linseed oil rubbed in. Makes very tough wasters, staves and sticks. Unfortunately SG is heavy for its thickness compared to 'Tassie Oak' which may be a consideration depending on the type of staff or shaft you want to create.

Speaking of 'Tassie Oak' it really isn't. It is usually one of three varieties (Mountain Ash, Alpine Ash and Messmate) sourced from Tasmania. I think it is actually a nice wood when you find a good piece with straight, even grain and treat it properly. The Tas Oak dowels at most hardware stores are a double edged sword: they are cheap and plentiful, but you never know what you are getting and it takes a while sorting through them to find one that is up to scratch: better yet (but more time consuming) is getting a larger plank and working it down to size yourself.

Cheers,

Bill

[Matt Clarke]

Here in Perth we can get foreign woods (including Ash) from Carbatec. They can also cut and shape the staves for a small fee. I have found the Perth store very good to work with.

They have stores around Australia including Brisbane-

http://www.carbatec.com.au/

[Timo Nieminen]

Thanks for all the info and suggestions.

At the moment, I'm experimenting with a shaft made of two Tassie oak skirting boards glued and bamboo-pinned together. This is mainly as a test for finishes, of which MkII is to be cloth+varnish. If it fails the appearance test, on it goes to the strength test. If it passes the appearance test, it's destined for a wallhanger polearm (2-handed bronze ge+spearpoint Chinese "halberd").

Next things to try:

Laminated pole of 4(?) thin Tassie oak boards - potential naginata shaft (elliptical section), and if that works well, other things.

Unknown hardwood floorboards - glue and pin two together? 19 mm thick each.

Look for jarrah - used to be able to get thin jarrah floorboards.

Tapered spear shafts - visit local martials arts store and look at tapered staffs, and consider logistics of visiting forest.

Visit Carbatec. Need to go there to get a spokeshave anyway. (Try buying a spokeshave at a regular hardware megastore - huge store, need to explain what a spokeshave is first. They have 1, with no blade. And no blades in stock.)

Again, thanks. It'll take time to search, buy, cut, and try, but hopefully there will be successful completion pics.

[Jean Thibodeau]