Blackthorn Walking Stick

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Zaydok Allen

Zaydok Allen

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After a considerable evolution of thought and some excellent advice in a different thread, I started out with a desire for a concealed knife, but ended up deciding on a a few sticks hidden in plain sight for a few situations where a gun is unacceptable.

The longer staff (46” after I trim the top) has a metal spear point and is very light weight considering it’s an inch and a half in diameter. It is a Jacob staff for those who know what that is. I’m unsure on the wood used but based on weight and the grain I believe it’s oak of some variety. This staff will look perfectly normal in my office given my career. A gun would end my career and get me prosecuted, but this will not bother anyone.

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More interesting is the other stick I think.

After doing a lot of research online, reading into the description and history, and looking into the info posted by a particular maker about his material sourcing and gathering, I believe I managed to score myself a genuine blackthorn walking stick from Ireland. He even offered to show me where he gathers if I ever return there, which is an exceptionally nice offer. The maker’s name is Francis McCaffery.
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The bark can be seen through the sealant right up to the knob indicating to me the knob is in fact made from the root collar as it should be.

I have never handled a blackthorn before, and was blown away by the weight to strength ratio. I tried bending it against my knee and it only had the slightest give. I’d crack my knee cap before cracking this stick I think. And yet it is only about an inch wide on the shaft and weighs about 1.5 lbs. it measures 37.5 inches in length and is the perfect fit for my height.

You can see where small branches and thorns were removed from the shaft.
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While I still need to find a trainer (think I’m on to one now) and ultimately this walking stick (shillelagh) may not fit with that training I realized it was something I wanted on hand. It may not be the last stick or cane I buy, and it may not be a primary source of defense, but it’s a nice item to have for a walk or hike for many reasons.

Thought I’d share.
 

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I would love to have a genuine blackthorn.
I do have the imitation ( poly) cold steel one.
I have trained with it, and like it, but a real one would so much better.
 
bikerdoc said:
I would love to have a genuine blackthorn.
I do have the imitation ( poly) cold steel one.
I have trained with it, and like it, but a real one would so much better.
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I forgot to post a link.

https://mccaffreycrafts.com/

In case you are interested and want to consider picking one up, after shipping it cost me a little less than $150. From time of order to time of delivery was 9 days. Unfortunately the Etsy store package tracking give no updates once it ships. I thought it was lost but it showed up unexpectedly today.

If you do not mind parting with the coin I don’t think you’d regret it.

May I ask, when you say you trained with your poly version, have you specifically trained in Irish stick fighting, or in another martial style, and then you incorporated the blackthorn into that?
 
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George P said:
And those blackthorns from Ireland are called a Shillelagh .......:thumbup:
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Yes sir. It’s actually a fairly interesting topic when you start reading isn’t it? There’s a book about the history that I may read.

From what I’ve read cudgels and shillelaghs were two different items, the former being a club, the later being more of a shorter fighting stick. When cudgels were outlawed the two were combined and called a walking stick to get around the prohibition.

But info at least on the net seems to vary on that. It sounds like knob sticks were around a long time.
 
I stumbled across some info on bataireacht a few years ago. It was a popular stick fighting technique developed by the Irish working class when carrying a walking stick was an everyday thing.

I would have thought it would be mostly swinging the weighted knob around, but it seemed to be more of a balanced high hold that protected the arm yet allowed the person wielding the stick to strike quickly.

I read stories of how young men who would travel in packs with their friends would often get into a public dust up with a rival groups at places of peacock posture like fairs. All of them squaring off with their sticks. It generally ended up busted lips and a knot on the head and not spit skulls or even that many broken bones as it was mostly a fight of puffed up pride and not malicious hatred.

However, I have no doubt that a skilled user could ladle someone's head into a canoe with ease.
 
Shanghai McCoy said:
Nice looking blackthorn. :thumbup:
And,from the look of the grain,I'd say that your Jacob staff is made from a nice piece of ash.
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I think you’re right. It’s awfully light for its size and the grain looks rather baseball bat like. Funny, my schooling included about 50% ecology and environmental science, and 50% industrial production forestry. And yet only one wood products class. I’ve always sucked at identifying different woods, but I can tell you how to grow a stand of timber properly for 100+ years. :confused:
 
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Fiv3r said:
I would have thought it would be mostly swinging the weighted knob around, but it seemed to be more of a balanced high hold that protected the arm yet allowed the person wielding the stick to strike quickly.
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That seems to match what I found. It seems based on a hold that provides easy deflection of an incoming strike and allows a quick strike to the opponent as a response. If you Google Doyle Irish Stick fighting a number of YouTube videos come up that demonstrate one of the more successful styles that survives to this day. If you keep looking there's politics involved regarding the teaching of the Doyle clan style, and it gets a little...…… I don't know...…….. blustery I guess. IT's a prideful history so I guess.

Fiv3r said:
I read stories of how young men who would travel in packs with their friends would often get into a public dust up with a rival groups at places of peacock posture like fairs. All of them squaring off with their sticks. It generally ended up busted lips and a knot on the head and not spit skulls or even that many broken bones as it was mostly a fight of puffed up pride and not malicious hatred.
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I had no idea there were these clan/family/faction fights until I started reading. It sounds like political affiliation was even a basis for a stick fight. Good lord, think of how many problems we could solve in Washington if that was allowed. Suddenly UFC fighters would start getting elected and the average age would drop to 35 years old.

Fiv3r said:
However, I have no doubt that a skilled user could ladle someone's head into a canoe with ease.
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Of course out of curiosity I swung the knob into my palm, and yes, if you swung it at someone like you meant it I suspect breaking arms or legs would be achievable. I would think deflecting an attack and countering with strikes to appendages would be the best defense to avoid an attempted murder charge. Swinging at a head, or even an end on jab to organs could end someone's life I'd think. The light weight allows you to really put some speed on it.

I placed it in a high traffic spot in my home where it can be easily grabbed on the way to the front door in the event of a break in. I have loaded guns around the house, but this serves as a convenient backup.
 
I am a big fan of the shillelagh as an all-purpose walking stick. I own three of them, one in each vehicle and one by the front door at home.

For me they are just ornamental. I don't need a stick to get around, although they can be handy on wet pavement.
 
I bought my first irish blackthorn in an Irish shop in New Orleans on spring break back in college. After 4 or 5 sickenly sweet Hand Grenades, it helped keep the stones under my feet.

I've still got it and another one hiding in my attic. Tough sticks for sure. I like the one I made out of solid oak a bit better. It's a battleaxe weighing in at almost 3lbs. Plus it was free since it fell out of the tree in my backyard.
 
Starter52 said:
I don't need a stick to get around, although they can be handy on wet pavement.
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Honestly I don't either. I'm pretty young in terms of mobility concerns, and I'd classify myself as only being in the early phases of middle age. However a year or two ago I acquired one of those aluminum telescoping trekking poles for free. I started carrying it and found it useful when checking the softness of wet ground, or when crossing a stream. However I realized it would serve next to no purpose if a critter came at me. There are predators here, and a walking stick can come in handy. So I figured what the hell. I'll make good use of it just for hiking, and yep, I think on slippery surfaces an extra point of contact would only be a benefit.
 
I just remembered I had something I wanted to run past you gents.

When I was a child this cane was leaned up against the fireplace for as long as I could remember. I don’t know where it came from at all. My recent interest in shillelaghs started me wondering. I texted my dad and he said he still had it but has no idea of its origin.

It’s only about 30” long according to him, and I do remember it being fairly short. Not sure what to make of it.

Root collar knob seems apparent but the knobby nature of the shaft doesn’t look like even a blackthorn stick to me. It's also possible it was just cut from a larger stem and sanded to produce the knob. It may not be a root collar at all. It’s also very thin and spindly. It doesn't have the black finish of a blackthorn walking stick either, but I guess someone might have just polished it up and sealed in. I thought maybe hawthorn, but if it was home made by my grandfather perhaps, there's no telling.

I thought maybe it was a walking stick made from another unknown species just in a shillelagh style, and based on the length and light nature, perhaps for a short woman?

I’d appreciate any and all opinions. Everyone who might have known where it came from is dead. I'm going to look it over more closely when I next visit.
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Lots "root knob" sticks are branches off a larger branch shaped to look like a root knob. The one pictured certainly doesn't look proportional for a primary trunk.
 
460Shooter said:
I just remembered I had something I wanted to run past you gents.

When I was a child this cane was leaned up against the fireplace for as long as I could remember. I don’t know where it came from at all. My recent interest in shillelaghs started me wondering. I texted my dad and he said he still had it but has no idea of its origin.

It’s only about 30” long according to him, and I do remember it being fairly short. Not sure what to make of it.

Root collar knob seems apparent but the knobby nature of the shaft doesn’t look like even a blackthorn stick to me. It's also possible it was just cut from a larger stem and sanded to produce the knob. It may not be a root collar at all. It’s also very thin and spindly. It doesn't have the black finish of a blackthorn walking stick either, but I guess someone might have just polished it up and sealed in. I thought maybe hawthorn, but if it was home made by my grandfather perhaps, there's no telling.

I thought maybe it was a walking stick made from another unknown species just in a shillelagh style, and based on the length and light nature, perhaps for a short woman?

I’d appreciate any and all opinions. Everyone who might have known where it came from is dead. I'm going to look it over more closely when I next visit.
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looks like cedar to me. and there's no way it was sanded/turned down to create that knob, way too many branches showing. if it is itself a branch, it was an exceptionally straight one. cool looking stick
 
hso said:
Lots "root knob" sticks are branches off a larger branch shaped to look like a root knob. The one pictured certainly doesn't look proportional for a primary trunk.
Click to expand...

That was my take also, however...………...
Boattale said:
looks like cedar to me. and there's no way it was sanded/turned down to create that knob, way too many branches showing. if it is itself a branch, it was an exceptionally straight one. cool looking stick
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Hmm, now cedar is an interesting thought. It has the right rigidity for a walking stick, though certainly not the desired strength. And it does tend to grow in clumps, depending on the species, which would account for a root collar of that size on a stem that narrow. It’d make sense for the straightness of the stem also as interior stems in clumpy species tend to be straight. It would also make sense for the limbs. Good thought that.

Or..... maybe not. Don’t know.

My grandfather liked to carve and work with wood. I have all kinds of carved animals and other items he liked to make. Wonderful stuff to remember him by. So he may have made it just for his own enjoyment, or for my grandmother who had mobility issues.

My great grandfather and grandmother on that side of the family came over from Germany on the boat. If it came from Europe, it's likely to remain a mystery. You know, I really should ask my siblings if they remember the story. I rather assumed they wouldn't.
 
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Personally, If I were to design a walking stick I would put a tripod head under the knob and carry an extra Y-shaped gun yoike. I have a light aluminum hiking staff like that and can use it for hiking, camera tripod and shooting stick. It's very lightweight and in no way suitable for defense but a stout hardwood cane fashioned like that would be great.
 
SharpDog said:
Personally, If I were to design a walking stick I would put a tripod head under the knob and carry an extra Y-shaped gun yoike. I have a light aluminum hiking staff like that and can use it for hiking, camera tripod and shooting stick. It's very lightweight and in no way suitable for defense but a stout hardwood cane fashioned like that would be great.
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Not if your purpose is self defense
 
I find all this stick discussion very interesting. I had no idea there were as many stick makers and sellers as there are. I've looked at a lot of them earlier tonight. While there are certainly some nice sticks out there, I have yet to see anything that makes me want to replace or even supplement the one I cut myself lo those many years ago. It fills the bill for me. I don't want a ball head, or a crook or an antler handle or a spike or a ferrule or even a rubber tip. Though if I ever get to the point that I need to use it indoors, I can see where a rubber tip would be nice. I've got two fake knees and one fake hip, the other hip is acting up now and will be replaced in the next year or two. So that time could come. For now though, what you see is what I got.

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