Types of wood for your sticks

There good but dont last too long. Seems to have a design flaw where the edge of the handle meets the playing surface, my white one has fracture down there, th eblack one is on its way out too. The same is happenng to the repalcements I bougth too

lucky you ! I had to make my own in the beggining because here in Portugal no one heard about uwh . and there was only right handers !

Wow, first i've ever heard of that. When Jake (maker's son) came out and was playing in San Jose with us i thought I remember him saying he was still using the first pair he'd had, everyone here that started using them since hasn't had any issues I know of.

I like them, but I've gotten used to a relatively long stick and I find these just too short to match my game. They are incredibly fast in the water though and a good universal shape.


I have tried many different woods. Started out with oak, and some real old limb wood at that, very dense, then progressed to a lighter wood like pine and poplar. I liked the feel for the puck of the softer wood but like the power the added mass gives. Oak tends to chip and splinter worse than some other heavy woods. I've come to like maple best, but many of my sticks are made of poplar as the person who used to make them is a cabinet maker and what he used was scrap wood from the cabinets. Now that i'm making my own I mostly go with Maple.

I found a new exotic wood called " garapa " .. its a brazilian wood ... softwood ... I´ll see how it comes around and try posting some photos

Hmmm.. I spend a wee bit of time on my sticks and also have given it some thought. I like trying out new designs to see what the effect is, and different wood is part of that too. The purchase of a band saw and a power file has made the creation of a stick a lot less painful and quicker.

The Hocking sticks I have tried and didn't like it for myself since I found it too long for me and the handle really uncomfortable for the way I like to hold a stick. I wouldn't mind getting hold of a block of that material though 18mm thick so that I can make my own sticks out of it to see how it goes... is that possible?

The type of wood you use is also a consideration that you make depending on how you play. Harder denser wood is good if you want the power it gives you, especially along the wall and smacking people. Less likely to break of course and that is an added bonus.
I have moved from harder woods to softer lighter ones now though, made from pine. Means making them more often, but that is easy, and the added speed and comfort of having a light stick is very nice.

One thing I have found is that once you have decided on a shape that suits you and you like, make a template from cardboard, since by the time a stick (especially a hardwood) is ready to be replaced the shape is hard to reproduce onto the wood for the next stick.

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