Oh man thats happened to me more than once...It`s having the patience to wait for the curing time is what gets me...But I`ve already got some good tips from this video,thanks...
Very interesting. I harvested some blackthorn a few years ago for stick making but I think I'll have to reconsider the shillelagh. Also my great great grandfather was an O' Sullivan and I did not know that about the clan's relationship to the blackthorn. Thanks!
grandmaster JP fantastic video very informative the south African sjambok is good protecter too smart dog you got I always say animals are smarter than some people I have 4wild foxes where I live in UK come eat out my hand I trust them more than most people were I live
man i wished i had seen this video a year ago. i was trying to make a shillegh like monk from the movie gangs of new york and as soon as i dug up the sapling i would start to carve it the same day.well everyone of them would crack the next day it wasnt untill my dad finally told me after he laughed at me for an hour that they had to be seasoned now everytime i visit him i have to wait till hes done making a joke about the stick and laughing
Nice video, I've been interested in shillelaghs since I was fourteen and went on a family holiday to Ireland and I've tried my hand at making a few over the years but none are as good as the ones you displayed in the video. Most were branches but I did get one sucker that I dug up. I've actually got a few branches around the place, well seasoned, waiting to be fashioned into something.
man i was seasoning out an oak stick to make it into a shillelagh and i had it drying in a shed and after a year and a half i went to remove the bark and the next day it cracked god its got to be the most annoing thing i was so excited it was perfect i know now from watching you video that i should have seeled the ends ohh well im gonna try it again thanks fro the video if you hadnt made it they would have kept cracking and i would have probably gave up so thanks
My great grandmother always canned with wax (such as you get from the grocery) if you melt it in a double boiler (just like melting chocolate for confections) on the stove over medium heat it is safe. Just keep kids and pets far away because it can cause severe burns if spilled.
The heavy end is not the big deal that you might think. Speed is more important than weight to a certain degree. Also "loading a stick" is illegal in some places i have been told. You might want to check that out. But if you want to be really dangerous with the Irish stick then just keep it natural and choose one that suits your feel. Too heavy will lose you many fights as you too will be sluggish and slow and easy to read and counter.
@Wizlantis Here in the middle of Italy blackthorn is largely diffused, but unluckily it doesn't grow too much... On the other hand, it's little fruits are good for liqueurs, eheheh....
@zibtor plz help me can you make a video on harvesting a shillaji and what do you use to put on the shinty coat at the last stage to finish the stick (sorry about the spelling)
I cut one from scrub oak here in South Georgia and for hardened it for a night. Never sealed it, and never got around to varnishing it like I'd planned on. I carved a socket into the head for a Celtic knot medallion, and have other projects planned for that particular stick. It's never cracked on me, and remains stiff and stout. I figure I'll clear coat it after I carve the runes into the shaft.
Excellent video! If I live in a part of the world where the climate doesn't permit growing and harvesting my own blackthorn, do you have any recommendations for online vendors who sell quality sticks grown and seasoned in this way?
@FatmanandSkinnyman I was using Honeysuckle in this clip. I have a great video of the making of that shillelagh coming up soon with a great look at the subtleties incorporated in it.
@boomhauer15 By all means , If blackthorn was the poor mans weapon , Hawthorn is the destitute mans weapon. Just keep in mind that the same drying times for hawthorn are extremely long. Depending on where you live,.. 5 years is not out of the question. Personally I like wax as a curing agent for sticks like that.
Wax can be bought just about anywhere, like a food store for example. Heating it up to melting point should be done outside with equipment that you will never use again except for more melting of wax. It catches on fire very easily so you should have a lid ready to put on the pot and other safety measures. Go slow and keep the heat down.
@zibtor hahaha, i hear ya and thanks. and i think i meant to say devil's walking stick actually, somebody told me that they were also called hawthorn trees and i got confused. and upon inspection, that would definitely be a terrible, terrible choice.
Cheap wax furniture polish works well on the ends of sticks, it doesnt crack and come off like candlewax either. I dont know how much hawthorn youve seasoned, or if its the same as ours in the UK? but 5 years? hawthorn dries pretty well in my experiance, an average stick seasoned under the right conditions [rafters of my workshop] is ready to work on in 18 months to 2 years ussually.
@synRdave Too bad, It's shame to loose a good stick. But it is only a waste if you quit now. If you pursue it , it becomes a learning experience on the way. Spend a year finding blanks without any ideas of final product. Follow what I am saying in this clip and be very very patient. If you have a dozen projects it is easier to wait until the wood is seasoned.
Blackthorn is a wild bush that grows in 'thickets' in the UK and Ireland. It has abundant white blossom in the early spring (before the leaves) then the small almond shaped leaves and then small plum like fruits called sloes or slow berries. These are usually too sharp/dry to the taste, though this can vary and some bushes can produce quite palatable fruits. Sloe berries can be used for jam and wine making and for flavouring sloe gin. Blackthorn seems to mostly grow from roots of other bushes (hence thicket), but I would think the seeds are the stones inside the fruits. I have never attempted to cultivate these and it may not be legal to import into Canada. To grow Blackthorn for a stick would be a long process, as it would take ten years to grow a stick and a further two years to season before shaping. Probably the best option would be to get someone to sell you a suitable seasoned blank or to cut and send you a fresh piece to season at home.
Wondering what oil to use during the curing process. I harvested the stick a day ago, sealed the ends in wax, and applied Vaseline to the shaft. So now I need to know what to apply monthly for the next 2 years.
The old Irish and Englanders used lanolin . They boiled wool after shearing sheep to get the oils / lanolin out of the wool before spinning into yarn . In the old days , the blackthorn / prunis spinosas / sloe tree was treated with lanolin and the shillelagh was put into the stove pipe / flu of a home during the cold season . The smoke - heat - and lanolin "cured" the shillelagh . There is a very old Irish fighting song " In the Pipe " which speaks of the shillelagh being smoked and cured . My fighting sticks and clubs are made from hedge wood - hedge apple . They will destroy a black thorn shillelagh - south American mahogany - hickory and all other woods . There is NO wood on Earth as tough as hedge wood . Vaseline is petroleum based and not organic . You want lanolin from a health food store or olive oil - linseed oil . good luck friend Lefty
wow that is one hell of a log process to make one...Great Vid ...
Oh man thats happened to me more than once...It`s having the patience to wait for the curing time is what gets me...But I`ve already got some good tips from this video,thanks...
All of the blackthorn is really gorgeous.
The grown sticks are where the character is at, for me.
Thanks for the informative video.
Very interesting. I harvested some blackthorn a few years ago for stick making but I think I'll have to reconsider the shillelagh. Also my great great grandfather was an O' Sullivan and I did not know that about the clan's relationship to the blackthorn. Thanks!
grandmaster JP fantastic video very informative the south African sjambok is good protecter too smart dog you got I always say animals are smarter than some people I have 4wild foxes where I live in UK come eat out my hand I trust them more than most people were I live
man i wished i had seen this video a year ago. i was trying to make a shillegh like monk from the movie gangs of new york and as soon as i dug up the sapling i would start to carve it the same day.well everyone of them would crack the next day it wasnt untill my dad finally told me after he laughed at me for an hour that they had to be seasoned now everytime i visit him i have to wait till hes done making a joke about the stick and laughing
very interesting ty for posting
Wow, lovely!
Nice video, I've been interested in shillelaghs since I was fourteen and went on a family holiday to Ireland and I've tried my hand at making a few over the years but none are as good as the ones you displayed in the video. Most were branches but I did get one sucker that I dug up. I've actually got a few branches around the place, well seasoned, waiting to be fashioned into something.
Wish I knew about this when I played hockey!
Nice video. Very informative
Just wish every wannabe on RUclips presented instructional videos that were as comprehensive and clear as this one....
Nice job
man i was seasoning out an oak stick to make it into a shillelagh and i had it drying in a shed and after a year and a half i went to remove the bark and the next day it cracked god its got to be the most annoing thing i was so excited it was perfect i know now from watching you video that i should have seeled the ends ohh well im gonna try it again thanks fro the video if you hadnt made it they would have kept cracking and i would have probably gave up so thanks
My great grandmother always canned with wax (such as you get from the grocery) if you melt it in a double boiler (just like melting chocolate for confections) on the stove over medium heat it is safe. Just keep kids and pets far away because it can cause severe burns if spilled.
Beautiful . I think yew would make a good stick , very tough .
The heavy end is not the big deal that you might think. Speed is more important than weight to a certain degree. Also "loading a stick" is illegal in some places i have been told. You might want to check that out. But if you want to be really dangerous with the Irish stick then just keep it natural and choose one that suits your feel. Too heavy will lose you many fights as you too will be sluggish and slow and easy to read and counter.
Which do you thing is better for striking: a ball/round head or a "hammer" head?
@Wizlantis Here in the middle of Italy blackthorn is largely diffused, but unluckily it doesn't grow too much... On the other hand, it's little fruits are good for liqueurs, eheheh....
Keep using vasoline but any oil will work. The idea is to slow drying down
@zibtor plz help me can you make a video on harvesting a shillaji and what do you use to put on the shinty coat at the last stage to finish the stick (sorry about the spelling)
I cut one from scrub oak here in South Georgia and for hardened it for a night. Never sealed it, and never got around to varnishing it like I'd planned on. I carved a socket into the head for a Celtic knot medallion, and have other projects planned for that particular stick. It's never cracked on me, and remains stiff and stout. I figure I'll clear coat it after I carve the runes into the shaft.
Fire hardened*
Excellent video! If I live in a part of the world where the climate doesn't permit growing and harvesting my own blackthorn, do you have any recommendations for online vendors who sell quality sticks grown and seasoned in this way?
@FatmanandSkinnyman
I was using Honeysuckle in this clip. I have a great video of the making of that shillelagh coming up soon with a great look at the subtleties incorporated in it.
What is "The Cuticle"? And where can i buy some Black Thorn saplings to plant?
Excellent work and very very cool
What kind of oil do you use on the shillelaghs during the drying process?
what kind of trees do you use to make shillelaghs
@boomhauer15 By all means , If blackthorn was the poor mans weapon , Hawthorn is the destitute mans weapon. Just keep in mind that the same drying times for hawthorn are extremely long. Depending on where you live,.. 5 years is not out of the question. Personally I like wax as a curing agent for sticks like that.
Wax can be bought just about anywhere, like a food store for example.
Heating it up to melting point should be done outside with equipment that you will never use again except for more melting of wax. It catches on fire very easily so you should have a lid ready to put on the pot and other safety measures. Go slow and keep the heat down.
where can i find the wax? and how do i heat it up
@zibtor hahaha, i hear ya and thanks. and i think i meant to say devil's walking stick actually, somebody told me that they were also called hawthorn trees and i got confused. and upon inspection, that would definitely be a terrible, terrible choice.
Cheap wax furniture polish works well on the ends of sticks, it doesnt crack and come off like candlewax either.
I dont know how much hawthorn youve seasoned, or if its the same as ours in the UK? but 5 years? hawthorn dries pretty well in my experiance, an average stick seasoned under the right conditions [rafters of my workshop] is ready to work on in 18 months to 2 years ussually.
@synRdave Too bad, It's shame to loose a good stick. But it is only a waste if you quit now. If you pursue it , it becomes a learning experience on the way.
Spend a year finding blanks without any ideas of final product. Follow what I am saying in this clip and be very
very patient. If you have a dozen projects it is easier to wait until the wood is seasoned.
Where are the instructions on making the practice stick?
How do you get Blackthorn seeds? I live in Toronto and it seems almost impossible.
Blackthorn is a wild bush that grows in 'thickets' in the UK and Ireland. It has abundant white blossom in the early spring (before the leaves) then the small almond shaped leaves and then small plum like fruits called sloes or slow berries. These are usually too sharp/dry to the taste, though this can vary and some bushes can produce quite palatable fruits. Sloe berries can be used for jam and wine making and for flavouring sloe gin. Blackthorn seems to mostly grow from roots of other bushes (hence thicket), but I would think the seeds are the stones inside the fruits. I have never attempted to cultivate these and it may not be legal to import into Canada. To grow Blackthorn for a stick would be a long process, as it would take ten years to grow a stick and a further two years to season before shaping. Probably the best option would be to get someone to sell you a suitable seasoned blank or to cut and send you a fresh piece to season at home.
I think the three types of stick should be called: 'Ow!'. 'Ouch!, and Oh hello mate! I was just on my way past! Have a fine day ☺
What about a bone shillelagh
could you use hawthorne's tree? i think thats what its called, just shave and blunt the thorns off and you know
Wondering what oil to use during the curing process. I harvested the stick a day ago, sealed the ends in wax, and applied Vaseline to the shaft. So now I need to know what to apply monthly for the next 2 years.
Patience!!
The old Irish and Englanders used lanolin . They boiled wool after shearing sheep to get the oils / lanolin out of the wool before spinning into yarn . In the old days , the blackthorn / prunis spinosas / sloe tree was treated with lanolin and the shillelagh was put into the stove pipe / flu of a home during the cold season .
The smoke - heat - and lanolin "cured" the shillelagh . There is a very old Irish fighting song " In the Pipe " which speaks of the shillelagh being smoked and cured .
My fighting sticks and clubs are made from hedge wood - hedge apple . They will destroy a black thorn shillelagh - south American mahogany - hickory and all other woods . There is NO wood on Earth as tough as hedge wood .
Vaseline is petroleum based and not organic . You want lanolin from a health food store or olive oil - linseed oil .
good luck friend
Lefty
Master Tracker thanks for the great advice
that thats way too long. get a eskrima stick