Twisted

[Whittling]

In the walking stick world, a lot of fuss is made over what is commonly called a 'twisty'. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, its the result of some sort of twisting vine climbing up a sapling and resulting in the sapling growing in a spiral pattern. As one might appreciate, this adds a degree of character to a finished stick and thus they are highly prized. I know they do exist here in Oz though I've not seen very many of them. They are much more common in Nth America.What we do have in Oz that is often called into service as an impromptu walking staff, is the flower stalk of the yakka plant. Sometimes known as a grass tree, these slow growing plants shoot a flower stem which, when dead makes a very serviceable walking staff. They are very light and usually quite straight, with a hard outer shell and full of a pithy substance in the center. They aren't as robust as normal wood so they don't usually last more than one season though I have heard of some being used for a number of years. In the bush they look like this....






The other day I saw the 'twisty' version of a yakka flower stalk. Its completely hopeless as a stick but I've never seen anything like it before and I though at least some of you would find it interesting.

[Robthechisel]

Hi Whittling, WoW, that is unusual, can't say I've ever seen one that shape, sometimes they have a bit of a twist in them but not that much. It looks like a furry snake.

[Whittling]

Hi Rob,

Yeah... the furry part is the blossom. It's covered with nectar. I've been told its a favourite aboriginal sugar source.