These traditional 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. Read on to find out how they are cultivated in reality. This example is made from hazel.

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. (See below for images of this process.)

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

Hazel Coppice Knob Walking Stick in hazel

Hazel Coppice Knob Walking Stick in hazel

Hazel Coppice Knob Walking Stick in hazel close up

Hazel Coppice Knob Walking Stick in hazel close up

Hazel Coppice Knob Walking Stick in hazel close up

making a coppice knob stick

making a coppice knob stick

making a coppice knob stick