These traditional blackthorn knob walking sticks are perhaps the most rustic in appearance of all walking sticks. They almost seem to have been freshly cut from the hedgerow and still have the bumps where the blackthorns have been trimmed off and occasionally the base of the thorns themselves. Blackthorn coppice knob sticks are often used by beaters at shoots and form part of the ceremonial dress uniform of some British Army regiments. Read on to find out how they are cultivated in reality. This example is made from blackthorn.

This walking stick measures 92cm.

Coppicing is a traditional forestry technique and the method used to produce rustic walking sticks. A deciduous tree such as ash or chestnut is sawn in two, whereupon the part remaining rooted in the ground produces a number of new shoots. Within a few years, these grow large enough to form walking sticks. They are then cut from the tree and the process begins again.

The rounded handle of a knob stick is fashioned from part of the original tree's trunk; they do in fact grow upside down. Thumbsticks are grown in the same way except that the V-shaped handle is formed by a naturally occurring fork in the new shoot.

Coppicing is the ultimate technique for sustainable woodland!

Help: Walking stick size guide

Blackthorn Coppice Knob Walking Stick - close up

Blackthorn Coppice Knob Walking Stick