A couple Pennsics ago I made myself a pilgrim’s staff to help keep weight off a dodgy ankle. It turned out to be one of my favorite accessories, both for dealing with the aches and pains of advancing age and carrying the occasional heavy load. The original was made with a broom handle and a couple of inaccurately drilled 2″ wooden balls. It was thrown together quickly before the war, along with several poorer copies. I’ve dreamed of making a better one ever since, and now the opportunity has arisen.
Recently, my dad has been playing with the lathe that’s been in his shop for as long as I can remember (and which is surely older than I am). He’s made a bunch of handles for things, as well as some nifty pens for Adela. It seems most likely to me that pilgrims’ staves were turned on a lathe rather than constructed from a stick and two knobs like I did. I’ve gathered some images of staves that have some more interesting features that I’d like on the new model. Some have a slightly bulging profile between the knobs, some have flattened doorknob-shaped knobs, and one Durer woodcut shows some decoration next to the knobs. I’d like to incorporate all of these elements if I can. Since the lathe doesn’t have enough room to work on a whole staff at once, I’m going to make a top section with a socket to attach the same sort of broom handle that I used before (and which has served quite well).
Last night I glued up some beech wood that was handy in the shop and learned how to use the lathe. It really is an addictive toy, and I stayed up almost until midnight getting the basic shape laid out. The flattened knobs didn’t quite work out, but spherical ones ended up being easier to make than I expected. The surface is still pretty rough, and beech may not have been the best choice of wood, but I’m reasonably happy with my first attempt.
Ignore the bits to the left where I was learning how the lathe worked.