060 - A blackthorn staff with buffalo horn handle and silver collar.
Ed, from Massachusetts, USA, asked me to make him a simple blackthorn staff - a pretty straightforward job, you might think. However, he also wanted this to be something of an heirloom to be passed down to future generations.
This clearly called for something a little more special than a plain piece of wood, and between us we came up with a design that combined Ed's own requirement for a sturdy walking staff with an elegant appearance to ensure its appreciation by future generations.
The comfortable handle is fashioned from two pieces of black buffalo horn joined together via a spacer of mother-of-pearl set between narrow bands of nickel-silver-filled resin.
To set off the dark colours of the blackthorn and buffalo horn, we chose this collar in Edinburgh-hallmarked sterling silver. As well as enhancing the appearance, this reinforces the joint, being set snugly into shoulders cut into the mating parts.
This pewter stag's head set on the top of the handle nicely balances the silver collar.
Sold (a commissioned work)