HANDCRAFTED TRADITIONAL WALKING STICKS BY NICK CROXALL
I never decided to become a stick maker but thinking back every thing led to it . I mean what country lad didn ’ t have a stick , which one day was a gun the next a spear another a sword . There was always had that good stick you kept a couple of days propped outside the back door .
Growing up in a village you would see the old lads , walking with their dogs and sticks in hand . One in particular became a lifelong friend , who sadly isn ’ t with us no more . He taught me to stick your stick into ground at the entrance to every rabbit hole as it looks like its had a net peg in it so others will think its already been ferreted and you can come back at a later date and ferret it yourself .
My mother worked for John Waddington ’ s which meant I had an endless supply of waste paper . When I wasn ’ t out rabbiting or shooting rats with the air rifle , I was drawing the wildlife .
During the school holidays with mother worked full time , so I stayed with my gran , who was a warden for the home help , while she went to check on the old folks .
I was left in the care of an old lad called Jim Taylor who was an artist , he taught me the skills to paint , this stayed with me all my life , going from oil painting to watercolour , I even sold a few .
Growing up I discovered that Hazel wood was the best wood when making snare pegs , The wood is strong and easy to carve . On leaving school I became a chair maker making top end chairs and three piece suits I learnt to join two pieces of wood together using a dowel joint and how to bend wood by steaming it , it became that pliable it could be bent into a circle , all these skills became useful when I began making walking sticks .
08 | Rural Life