there are a few things that should be common to all good sticks.

you can use different types of wood, some like light wood... personally i like heavy hardwoods as its more solid, they dont break (i mean never, i have never broken a jarrah stick EVER over about 10 years of using them) and they add a bit of weight to your passes. the hardwood also keeps the initial sawn texture on the passing edges without wearing smooth like pine sometimes can.

the bevel on your passing edges should be flat and even all the way... the angle can change to suit your preference but you should make sure that the upper and lower edges are as clean and crisp as possible (min 2mm rounded for legality)

this is because when you pass the edge of the stick is the last contact point for the bottom of the puck as the stick runs under it generating the last little rip of spin (most standard passes)... if there are bumps on that edge or its uneven like on an old or feathered/worn stick then that last contact with the puck will be bumped or broken. bad.

thinner sticks are better for passing (thinner as in 16-17mm thick wood rather than 18-20mm which is a typical thickness to get timber in... try to get them to use a thicknesser on it when you buy)... they produce more consistency and longer passes, i assume because the reduced thickness makes it quicker to slide the stick through the water enabling you to get quicker movement with less water resistance.

tapering the top and bottom faces at the ends (say from halfway along the playing surface to the end, just a couple of millimeters, making the stick slightly thinner towards the end) also helps with consistency and stick speed (very slightly but a noticeable difference when passing)

the handle shouldn't be set back from the passing edge (or at least not very much) to make sure you can still use your index finger to rest the puck on for control.

...cant think of other stuff but theres a massive rant on sticks somewhere in this labyrinth forum, maybe there is more there.

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