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Taking my own advice on catching up on those creative projects that I’ve been putting off for too long (see previous blog on creative lock-down projects) I decided a few days ago to take out of storage a beautiful piece of Blackthorn that I cut back in September 2015. My intention then was to create an authentic Irish shillelagh – a wooden walking stick and club or cudgel, typically made from a stout knotty blackthorn stick with a large knob at the top. The knob normally is made from the root end of the length as it is harder and less prone to cracking once adequately seasoned.
After over 4 and half years my blackthorn was certainly seasoned – so much so that my usual method of stripping back the bark with a sharp knife was now impossible. Extra hand-tools became necessary and a small work bench to help keep the wood firmly in place as I worked on it. A small hand rasp plane did the arduous job of removing the, by now, extremely hard and dry bark. It was also used to help shape the root end of the length. A good wood saw cut away the old rough, dry and cracked ends, and a heavy file to help smooth away any protruding bits. Finally everything, heartwood, shaped root end, and the black bark where I had let it remain, was sanded down until a smooth finish all over was achieved.
It was while I was sanding down the handle that I became away that a face was making its presence known. An eye appeared then a mouth, a snout, an elongated head – indeed a beast of mythical appearance had somehow miraculously come into being. How fitting that, arguably, the most powerfully magical ogham wood had somehow been endowed with a spirit of its own.
Whether one wants to refer to the finished item as a shillelagh, a cudgel, a walking stick, or a magical blasting stick, this particular creation has its own unique personality.
Blessings
W.
Ogham Divination 