Ishi stick or long handled pressure flaker

mr.hertzian cone wrote:

Cyberpaddy66 wrote:Sorry if this is breaking any rules about Necro Posting but I was thinking of making myself an Ishi Stick and was wondering if I could use a piece of broom stick I have lying about propping up the wall?

If that's no good then which tree (besides holly) should I be looking out for to take a small branch from?

Hi, Broom handles are fine, as long as the wood is tough as you will be putting it under a lot of stress to get good size flakes.
As for wood types to use, I would recommend cutting straight(ish) poles of wood about the diameter of your thumb:
Oak, Ash, Sycamore/Maple, Yew, Hazel, Beech, and yes, Holly! Although Holly and Sycamore are quite keen on splitting when drying out.
You generally want to end up with an Ishi stick about 50cm long so cut much longer to start with as the ends will split slightly whilst drying, it is a good idea to get the bark off a freshly cut pole of wood straight away. You can even weigh the wood to gauge when the water content has left the wood and it is good and dry. Hope this helps!