Stimo22 Posted September 13, 2016 Report Share Posted September 13, 2016 Good luck with that, blackthorn will take about 12 months to dry out before you can straighten and wear thick gloves because the thorns can cause any scratch to turn septic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adge Cutler Posted September 15, 2016 Report Share Posted September 15, 2016 (edited) Good luck with that, blackthorn will take about 12 months to dry out before you can straighten and wear thick gloves because the thorns can cause any scratch to turn septic Indeed... I cut my blackthorn sticks in January or February with a pruning saw and immediately de-thorn them with secateurs. I then steam them while they are still fresh and straighten them out as best I can before storing them in a dry shed hung from a beam with a concrete block tied around the other end. They stay like this for 6 -9 months before I can be ***** to do anything with them. I don't normally have to do much straightening thereafter. I'm still searching for that holy grail of sticks the blackthorn/columbine twist. I've always used natural bees wax on blackthorn..buffs up a treat. Edited September 15, 2016 by Adge Cutler Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnphilip Posted September 16, 2016 Report Share Posted September 16, 2016 As a 'newbie' to this forum and thanks to the info here, I have just now discovered that my permission, in particular, the 100 yards + of hedge, is (possibly) blackthorn...(nice small purple berries)...and looking at the craftsmanship of the sticks, I have found another possible interest. So instead of being bored/ numb whilst waiting for a solo woodie to land in my decoy pattern, I can now look for potential 'sticks' to season, etc! Hope it doesn't sound too 'cheezy'...but what a great forum this is! Ok if you find a nice stick cut it now before someone else does .oh but ask the land owner first .and the berries have them as well take a thorn of the bush and ***** the berry if its nearly soft take then soon .or someone else will and get a bottle of gin and make sloe gin .will be nice if ready for christmas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stimo22 Posted September 16, 2016 Report Share Posted September 16, 2016 Hi Adge Cutler I did find a twisted blackthorn but it is just a bit light for me, so made this for the wife. It is 43 inch long and has turn out quite nice, the only other one I have ever found was to heavy for me so made a stick for a good mate who is much bigger than me so will have to keep searching for the right one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pad Posted March 14, 2020 Report Share Posted March 14, 2020 Hello, my dad asked me to make him a blackthorn stick, so I went out today and cut what I think is a fairly good example, I will upload a picture now. I've made the rooky mistake of not doing enough research though. I've sanded the handle down already but get the feeling I shouldn't have. What do people think? (I'm yet to try and straighten it). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnphilip Posted March 15, 2020 Report Share Posted March 15, 2020 Make one of these and use and electric heat gun , as used in paint stripping .just heat the stick a little at a time and use the jig , as shown in the picture below . Take your time . Realy the stick should be left for a years to season, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hodge911 Posted March 21, 2020 Report Share Posted March 21, 2020 On 15/03/2020 at 18:09, johnphilip said: Make one of these and use and electric heat gun , as used in paint stripping .just heat the stick a little at a time and use the jig , as shown in the picture below . Take your time . Realy the stick should be left for a years to season, Can you put some pics of both sides of the straightening jig on please Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnphilip Posted March 21, 2020 Report Share Posted March 21, 2020 16 minutes ago, hodge911 said: Can you put some pics of both sides of the straightening jig on please Hi that's just a picture I took of the net . It's just a board with two round bits of wood bolted to it. See if I can find a video . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Boggy Posted March 21, 2020 Report Share Posted March 21, 2020 This is what I use, which is my adaptation of the one sold by Thestickman, but using hardwood which hopefully will last longer and is less susceptible to dents etc. I use double sided tape to stick it (temporarily) to the vice jaws. Obviously the convex bend of the stick goes against the convex part of the padded wooden block, such that it can be `overbent` as necessary to allow for the inevitable spring back. This I find allows the stick to be held in one position for as long as is necessary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnphilip Posted March 21, 2020 Report Share Posted March 21, 2020 Here you are . Just use a hot air gun , like one for paint stripping Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diver One Posted March 21, 2020 Report Share Posted March 21, 2020 1 hour ago, Old Boggy said: use double sided tape to stick it (temporarily) to the vice jaws. Mine is held on with a couple of rare earth magnets countersunk into the flat sides......I can never find my tape and when I do it has usually lost its stickiness Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Boggy Posted March 21, 2020 Report Share Posted March 21, 2020 2 hours ago, Diver One said: Mine is held on with a couple of rare earth magnets countersunk into the flat sides......I can never find my tape and when I do it has usually lost its stickiness That`s a brilliant idea. The double sided tape holds the two pieces of wood together OK, but is a bit messy when taken off. OB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joojoo Posted May 3, 2022 Report Share Posted May 3, 2022 Hi, does anyone know where I can get a large ferrule from similar to the one in picture to go onto a black Thorne stick. I’m new to this, thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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