Bob's Stickmaking Pages

C011 - Collector's item: a lovely little horn-handled walking stick with a silver gilt collar and an oak shank.

Length 31 inches (79 cm)

I picked this one up from an antique stall at a country fair. It was in a rather sorry state; the handle was loose and was a drab grey-brown colour with a dull, rough surface. That's what happens to horn when it isn't regularly polished, but I knew there would be something more interesting underneath. Despite the obvious neglect, the gold-coloured collar sparkled in the sunlight. "Hello -" I thought, "- that's not brass!" - so I returned home with yet another restoration project on my hands.

I removed and refitted the handle, then cut back the surface with abrasives and repolished it. It responded very well, revealing some lovely coloured markings. I have been careful not to overdo this, so the horn still displays old discolorations and a bit of graininess. With regular use and occasional polishing, the finish will improve further. The overall colour is a smoky grey with cream-coloured streaks and bands. The material appears to be either cow horn or possibly goat horn.

   

The shape of the handle is rather unusual, the nose being broad and flat and slightly turned to one side. This is clearly intentional and somehow, despite the asymmetry, it looks "just right". Whoever made this stick knew exactly what they were doing and they weren't afraid to bend the unwritten rules as well as the horn in order to get exactly the effect they wanted.

It's very comfortable and "comes to hand" nicely.

The joint is reinforced with a metal collar (not a wrapped band). The surface appears to be gold, but there is no hallmark, just the maker's initials "J.H.". Very close inspection with a jeweller's eyepiece reveals the slightest hint of white metal showing through in one spot. I would say this is probably silver-gilt (gold-pated silver) but I am no expert, so caveat emptor applies.

As usual, the collar has taken quite a few knocks and scratches in its time, but in my opinion this only adds to its character.

  

The shank is medium-to-slim, tapering from about 19mm at the top to 16mm at the tip. I believe the wood is hickory. It has a similar grain to ash, but is darker in colour. Hickory was used quite extensively in the past for British-made sticks, so I think this is quite a good bet.

Update - over time, and with further polishing, I began to think this might in fact be oak. This was always a possibility, but it can be surprisingly difficult to identify even familiar species of wood when they have been turned on a lathe into slim stick shanks. The classical views of the grain are all rolled into one, and you need to see more definite indications to make a firm identification. Oak normally displays tell-tale light-coloured flecks across the radial grain and I couldn't see any indication of this originally. However, these flecks can now be seen faintly under the right lighting, so I'm now pretty certain it is oak.

I have merely cleaned and oiled the shank, retaining all its original colour and nice patina along with all the knocks and dings that reflect many years of use. The brass ferrule was completely worn out and probably wasn't the original one anyway, so I have fitted a new brass ferrule with a steel tip. This should give many years of service. The ferrule is fixed in place with hot-melt glue. This avoids any further damage to the tip of the shank as it can be removed and replaced when the need arises simply by applying gentle heat to the tip.

SOLD

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