Diamond Willow w/ Elk Button Walking Stick

Very nice.

I've done a little work with diamond willow. Based on the pictures it looks like you pealed some bark and did some sanding. I assume you did strictly hand sanding.

It also looks like to applied some kind of finish. Could you tell us how you finished this?

FWIW - When I have worked with it I found that I could not do much sanding without compromising the details of the appearance and the only finish I used was multiple coats of very thinly applied spray on lacquer.

Also - Most walking sticks are essentially decorative items and diamond willow certainly is decorative. I would be leery to use it on a walking stick that may need to provide some real support for someone. It does not seem very strong to me. Do you agree?

Very nice! Is the diamond willow from Minnesota?

Thanks Rich , yup sanding is a real challenge with all the bumps and dips and the like in the diamond willow. I sand up to a 400 grit . I do a lot of hand sanding in the hard to reach nooks and cranies . But you can use power sanders in many spots as well . 1/4 sheet sander held at 45* rolling it along open areas of the shaft works as well , also a Dermel detail sander w/ differently shaped heads will get you into tighter spots , but I mainly use a flex shaft Foredom + a Dermel with rubies , mini-drum sanders, mini-flap wheels , ceramic stones and 3M bristles . Using a flex shaft and these small stones and sanding bits really helps to keep the willows' details in place and not lose them to sanding.
Regarding the bark , I prefer the rustic look of the inner bark left with-in the diamonds , it is darker and stands out more than when ALL the inner bark is removed from the inside of the diamond . But this really depends on the piece of diamond willow you have in front of you at the time . Every piece is different to work with , young willow has more white sap wood [the weaker wood] and less of the nice reddish dead heart wood at it's centre [which is stronger] . So sometimes it's nice to leave some/all the white outer sap wood to contrast the darker heart wood or the darker diamonds . Other times you may find a standing dead piece of willow with little or no white sap wood leaving you a dark stronger piece of wood. Refer to - Tom'BUG'Janos's comment here regarding willow's strength . So 1st with a heat gun I straigthen the stick with the bark on . Remove the bark and maybe wood [to reduce the size of a larger stick or just the white sap wood] , then shape the diamonds and work to create a flow down the shaft . The shaping slowly turns into sanding.
I intend or at least hope my sticks will be used and get scatched , so I choose to use finishes the owner could should they wish repair themselves . This stick is finished with wipe-on poly ,normally I apply between 6 or 8 coats of poly . This wipe on poly is easy to repair and reapply , I also use danish oil because of this . I have been favoring a satin finish .

Thanks Jim , I find my diamond willow locally here in Saskatchewan Canada , its all over the place.

Nice one!

Very nice work!

Very Nice! You are so lucky to have diamond willow, just to be found.
I love your work! I am having trouble finding brass tips I can order them from TreeLine but I don't like them.
Do you have a source? or do you turn your own.
Thanks and Great Work!

Thanks Woodenfrog I guess we are lucky but 99% of people here still can't find diamond willow even after you show it to them , I think because one clump of willow may have diamonds but the clumps on all 4 sides of it may have no diamonds at all ! More about finding it here..
Regarding tips you are so right I've been unable to find anyone who still supplys the plain brass tip [cap] , I don't care for these heavy tips with pointy ends and and tiny rubber ends which the customers are unable to replace - I think the old tips may have been shipped over from europe . I use to order mine from Lee Valley but they no longer carry them . Perhaps if enough of us request the old style brass tip from them they may find a new supplier. The old tips would fit the high quailtly rubber tips perfectly .

Lovely little cane.

Thanks knottysticks, I guess we might have to do that.
Thanks for the info on the diamond willow, I have not used it but would like to someday.