Walking Stick

[Sixty_Vette]

While walking in the metro parks behind my house with my 3 yr old granddaughter, I hear this sweet little voice ask:

"Papa - will you make me a walking stick?"

Well - here is my first attempt at a woodwizard in a branch. Not sure of the wood - kinds stringy outer layer and hard as a rock inner. Had problems with the nose (AGAIN) - but overall somewhat pleased. Not finished - still alot to do.

I do have a question - I was asked by a co-worker if I planned anything with that knot in the beard - any ideas what I can do with that - i mean incorporate some kind of - "SOMETHNIG" - lol

for looking!

Oh one more thing - how should I approach making the overall image stand out more - the beard is really hard to see - would oilinig be better - do a wipe with stain leaving more in the creases to be darker - what are your tricks for this - THANKS!

[Merle Rice]

Hi Sixty, Good start on your first walking stick. In order to make your carving to stand out more you must make deeper cuts. Most everyone makes shallow cuts when they first start to carve. Going by the pictures I think you can go deeper on the whole carving. Try it you will be amazed. Merle

[Don R]

To make the beard stand out, I usually apply a contrasting stain eg Golden Oak on the beard, natural on the rest of the staff.
I would be tempted to put little eyeballs in the knot like the picture below.
I think you can improve the nose by making it a little larger. Looks like you could pare away some of the cheeks to accomplish this.
I think your grand daughter is going to be thrilled.
DonR