Carving Creative Walking Sticks and Canes: 13 Projects to Carve in Wood

Take your wood carving skills for a walk!

13 creative projects for canes & walking sticks for newcomers, intermediate, and advanced woodcarvers
Step-by-step instructions and photography, including painting and finishing instructions
Projects include a fox, cocker spaniel, golden eagle, and more, atop derby sticks, pistol-grips, thumb sticks, and gent's walking sticks
Helpful information on choosing wood, preparing wood, joining heads and shanks, and more
Carve incredible walking sticks and canes from beginning to end with this informative project book!

This must-have stickmaking book features 13 unique yet practical woodcarving projects, with step-by-step instructions and photography to help you carve creative and elegant walking sticks. Projects range in difficulty and will delight beginner, intermediate, and advanced wood carvers alike. Painting and finishing instructions are provided for every project, as well as helpful information on types of wood used for walking stick shanks, and a complete pattern gallery. You'll also find a detailed dedicated chapter to methods for joining a head to a shank.

Follow along step-by-step to create an array of walking stick projects, like a simple multi-wood, lyre-shaped thumbstick, a barley twist thumb stick, a gentleman's dress stick, derby sticks, or a half-crook walking stick, topped with a stunning head of a fox, eagle, Labrador retriever, black swan, bat, yellow Labrador carrying a mallard, barn owl, and other animals. You'll enjoy putting your carving skills to the test by creating these beautiful, useful walking sticks and canes!

Author Paul Purnell is an experienced, self-taught wood carver. He has been carving for 15 years and specializes in birds, animals, and other wildlife. His carving style includes a mixture of tools, and he has carved projects for The Guild of Master Craftsman's Wood Carving and Woodworking Crafts magazines. Inside this book, Paul provides insightful information on tools and materials—both power and hand tools—as well as tips on selecting, storing, seasoning, and straightening wood.

Practice and further your skills with this comprehensive, step-by-step instructional guide. Carving Creative Walking Sticks and Canes will show you everything you need to know to make your own stunning canes from wood!

"Paul Purnell's beautifully carved walking sticks exceed what we envision carved walking sticks to be. Paul's magnificently handcrafted art transcends functional tools into personalized sculpture. His designs are impressively distinctive, profoundly detailed, and artistically innovative!"
—Keith Mueller, World Champion avian wood sculptor, Ward Museum Living Legend, artist, and author

"Perhaps the most complete publication available on not just carving walking sticks and canes, but on woodcarving in general. This heavily photo-illustrated, step-by-step publication is a must for beginners through experienced woodcarvers."
—Tom Hindes, best-selling author of 20-Minute Whittling Projects

"Paul Purnell brings the construction techniques behind cane carving to life with 13 classic, yet innovative, designs. Even if you never carve a single cane, Paul will teach you woodworking skills that you will use for a lifetime."
—Lora S. Irish, author of Cane Topper Woodcarving