[oldbearx2]

Have just started to get into walking sticks. I have white cedar and was wondering if anyone had any good ideas how to remove the bark other than peeling it off with a knife.

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

If there is another way.....I haven't found it! lol :P

Oldbear,
I am in the process of skinning about two dozen hiking staffs an walking sticks I was in the workshop all day today stripping them. I have a few ideas for you. As HiHo says you have to use a knife but I find that if you use one that is not very sharp it is best you dont want to dig into the wood. I use a large carving knife to strip the main bark off and then once I have removed it all I turn the knife over and use the blunt side to take it down that membrane that is under the bark. The blunk knife will save you lots of time later because once you have finished you will have very little or no sanding to do.
Hope this helped
Colin

[Kenny_S]

Depends on how it is dried or how long it has been drying. Different types peel differently. Knife is the only way I know of and like I said, depending on the driness of the cane.shaff, how easily it peels. Heard some uses a drum sander but haven't tried that method yet. Colin has a great way and I will give the bluntedge a try.

Thanks Colin.

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

Yeh me too! Have always gone for the sharp knife....old dogs and new ummm errr what was it now? lol :

Don't know how this will work with stringy cedar bark, but with 'normal' bark, try a four-in-hand rasp. If you need to use a knife, as mentioned above, this is one place where dull is better. Of course, if you happen to be the size on one of santa's elfs, you could use a very tiny peeling spud.

If you do a lot of sticks, then a draw knife would be ideal - especially if you made a jig to hold the stick. If you are doing one or two sticks a month, I don't see how you could go wrong with Colin's dull knife idea. I have used a potato peeler in the past with decent results. It tends to get clogged with 'stringy' bark though. It will not dig into the wood which is a good thing. Another plus - they are cheap!

[don]

Have any of the knife makers tried making a 'heavy duty potato peeler' to peel sticks?I would think that it would work like a drawknife without the chance of digging in. ??? :-/ Oh I guess maybe that is what a spokeshave is. :-[ :-[

I use a drawknife for the peeling and a shave horse to hold it. TonyB

I just got back in from peeling a bunch of sticks and found something else that might work for you. I took one of those carpet knifes the one with the hook in it. It already has the curve of the stick I ran a steel across the blade a few times to dull it a little and found that that worked great. Also the sticks I stripped yesterday now that thin membrane of bark is dry it turns brown and is much easier to see and I removed it really easy with the back of the carpet knife. What I like about stripping this way is that the knife is not cutting into the wood in fact I can get it as smooth as sanding it with fine sand paper and no dust. You know I learnt all this by trial and error and I am learning every day. Hope this has helped
Colin