Category: Staffs and Hiking Sticks

Petroglyphs and Crop Circles Staff

Some of my favorite subjects to work with are ancient petroglyphs and cave art. Though I will say some of the small curves and circles were a bit challenging. For this large 68” tall sumac staff I took ancient rock carvings and paintings from around the world and burned them along its length. Most of the glyphs are from various ancient cultures from the vastness of North America. I’ve also included a few crop circles since they fit the overall aesthetic and carry the same enigmatic aura as ancient cave art. While anthropologists may have discerned the meaning of some symbols, most remain a mystery shrouded in time. I also embedded a deep blue-green stone in one of the natural knots of the wood. Then after allowing the wood burning and stone to set I coated the the piece in several layers of boiled linseed oil for protection from the elements.

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Astrological Symbols and Zodiac Staff

While I enjoyed working with these symbols that I had not previously worked with, it’s frustrating to use a handheld wood burner to do so many tiny circles.

This staff illustrates the 12 constellations of the Zodiac. Also depicted are the numerous astrological symbols including those of the planets and Zodiac itself wood burned along the entire length of the 68” staff. The piece is made from beautiful sumac wood which is both lightweight and sturdy and given a coat of boiled linseed oil to protect it from the elements.

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Viking Serpent and Vines Staff

I had a lot of fun creating this piece. It combines two motifs I’ve very much enjoyed doing in the past, namely the Viking Serpent and vines, both coiling around the length of the staff. Serpents are found in mythologies from around the world and often symbolized rebirth, renewal, and knowledge, whereas vines represent a return to nature. The natural winding curvature of the wood itself enhances the overall design. It’s made of sumac wood, stands at 57.5 inches, and has multiple coats of sealant and boiled linseed oil.

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Second Star Trek Hiking Stick

Just a fun fan art piece for Star Trek. I wasn’t sure what to make with this piece since it’s relatively thin thus making it harder to display something with any detail, but eventually I landed on a Star Trek combadge and colored bands representing the different areas of expertise onboard a starship. The iconic words “To Boldly Go” are also wood burned onto the side. It’s made of sumac wood, stands at 57 inches, and has a coat of sealant to protect the ink and a coating of boiled linseed oil to protect the wood.

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King Ezekiel Hiking Staff

King Ezekiel is one of my favorite characters on “The Walking Dead” and recently the idea came to me to place some of his most iconic quotes on a large walking staff. I chose “And yet I smile” followed by“Drink from the well, replenish the well” on one side and “We will mine glory from the rock of struggle this day” on the reverse in stylized lettering. Above the quotes are a leather rawhide hand grip accented by a large bird feather. At the top of the staff, both sides depict a crown, sword, and bird feather in continuing with the same source of inspiration, but all aspects of the piece serve it well interdependently of their source. The staff itself is made of maple wood, stands at 66.5 inches, is finely sanded, and coated in boiled linseed oil for protection from the elements.

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Hobbit Hiking Stick

I just wanted to make simple, minimalist hiking stick perfect for a walk in the woods. Nothing complicated, or requiring the spray sealant, just natural wood along with an aesthetic and subject matter I find personally appealing. It’s made from a lightweight, sturdy piece of sumac wood standing at 50.5” and has the famous phrase from Tolkien “Not all who wander are lost” burned into the side along with a recreation of the Elven leaf clasp from The Fellowship of the Ring. The well proportioned staff was entirely hand crafted from sanding to burning. The wood itself is also coated with a varnish of boiled linseed oil to protect the wood from the elements.

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Flowers and Vine Hiking Stick

I’m actually quite happy with how this turned out.

I had some issues with how the wood burning initially looked, I had paint smudging issues, I had a second round of paint smudging issues when the sealant I use to keep the paint from smudging, unbeknownst to me, made the paint wet – and this smudgeable again, but with some extra sanding and patience I was able to overcome those issues.

This is the second flowers and vine hiking stick I’ve made, but I created more variety within the flowers both in shape and color. It’s made from a piece of sumac wood -one of my favorite woods to work with and very underrated- which stands at 60.5”, or just a half-inch over 5′. The flowers and vine were created with a wood burner and filled in with paint pens. I then applied two coats of spray sealer to protect both the wood and the paint. Finally I gave it a coat of boiled linseed oil for final layer of protection and polished sheen.

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Planets of the Solar System Hiking Stick

I’ve been trying to get back into making my staves and hiking sticks – I seem to always make a few, then fall out of it again.

But, I’m back at it once more and here’s another solar system themed stick! It’s got your basic planets plus Pluto and its moon, Charon; I also included Earth’s moon, a radio satellite, Sputnik, and a UFO. It stands at 55.5″ and is made of one of my favorite and underrated woods -sumac- which is lightweight, yet surprisingly sturdy. I used gel pens for the illustrations, a spray sealant, and finally some boiled linseed oil for some extra protection and an added sheen.

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Dinosaur Fossil Hiking Stick

Dinosaurs are always fun to work with!


I believe this is my third fossil staff, but it has a slightly different style than the first two as I’m working with a new pyrography machine. On the previous iterations the fossils came out solid black rather than outlines and although I like the way it came out, I’ll probably try some of the other tips on the new machine to replicate the previous style.


This is another piece made of sumac wood which is great to work with: it grows fast, has an almost ivory like color and texture, is surprisingly sturdy, but soft which makes lets the wood burner cut through like butter. The height comes to just under 52″ and it depicts the fossilized skeletons of three dinosaurs: Tyrannosaurus rex, Edmontosaurus, and Stegosaurus from top to bottom. The staff itself is sanded smooth – made easier by the type of wood- and varnished with boiled linseed oil for a deeper sheen and protection from the elements.

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Ancient Egyptian Gods Staff

I’ve been wanting to try to make this one for a while now and it came out pretty good. There’s a few processes and tecniques I might do different next time, but overall I’m very happy with the result. It’s fairly tall for a staff standing at 67″. The staff itself is made of semi-rough oak and the pyrography depicts images of 5 Ancient Egyptian deities along with various hieroglyphic motifs. The gods from top to bottom are Ra, Thoth, Anubis, Sobek, and Hathor. On the top of the staff is a band of Djed pillars aside star glyphs, the bottom banding depicts the Ankh, Wejda, Seneb (an Egyptian blessing meaning Life, Prosperity and Health) above the Djed, Nefer, and the Feather of Ma’at, with the connotations of Strength, Beauty, and Divine Justice. Below those six hieroglyphics is a field of stars – a sacred realm of the gods. The wood is also coated with boiled linseed oil for protection from the elements. Perfect for ceremonial purposes or just hiking through the forest!

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