Beech War Club

Queequeg · 22nd June 2009, 10:15 PM

Still inspired by all of the shillelagh and war club talk we've had here, especially the ash club that Katana made, I made this out of a beech sapling which a farmer let me harvest, since it was "in his way".

I never worked with beech before; it's really heavy and fairly dense: the perfect material for a good root-ball war club. After stripping the bark, sanding, staining, and drying it, I soaked it for a full week in the linseed oil tank. I also found a new way to get a good, realistic looking patina going.

Full Shot:

With a 30" ruler:

From the top:

From the handle:

I love the head on this thing. While stripping and cleaning it, I found that it had a natural "hole" from the way a smaller root grew and connected with the rest of the head:

The roots had really deep fissures between them, making for some nice potential impact points. This is a shot directly overhead to illustrate further:

Finally, up against the tree in the yard:

Thanks for looking.

katana · 22nd June 2009, 10:36 PM

Hi Queequeg,
good job

, I love the 'organic' head. Did you notice any 'weight gain' after the club was soaked in Linseed oil ?

Regards David

Atlantia · 22nd June 2009, 10:40 PM

Fantastic! I love the look, its like a clerics mace! Top marks mate. Great work!!

Queequeg · 22nd June 2009, 10:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Atlantia

Fantastic! I love the look, its like a clerics mace! Top marks mate. Great work!!

Thank you very much.

VANDOO · 23rd June 2009, 01:22 AM

VERY NICE WORK I NOTICED THERE IS A NATURAL OPENING IN THE CLUB HEAD, NOW ALL YOU NEED IS TO FASTEN A NICE SCALP LOCK THERE.

I AM ALWAYS GLAD TO SEE A NICE PIECE OF WOOD PUT TO GOOD USE.

David · 23rd June 2009, 02:57 AM

Nice job.

Queequeg · 23rd June 2009, 10:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VANDOO

VERY NICE WORK I NOTICED THERE IS A NATURAL OPENING IN THE CLUB HEAD, NOW ALL YOU NEED IS TO FASTEN A NICE SCALP LOCK THERE.

I AM ALWAYS GLAD TO SEE A NICE PIECE OF WOOD PUT TO GOOD USE.

Now that's a good idea! I have to work on finding a suitable candidate...

Queequeg · 22nd June 2009, 10:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by katana

Did you notice any 'weight gain' after the club was soaked in Linseed oil ?

Yes! Actually, I did notice a weight gain, so I would say that the soak tank did its job successfully. One thing I did to the head, for which you gave me an idea, was to fire harden it.

So, I put it in my propane forge and started to heat up the head until it browned. I then immediately put it into the linseed tank ("quenched" it, I guess, for lack of a better term), figuring that, in addition to hardening, the wood grain would have expanded and soaked up more linseed oil.

Some test whacks proved my theory.

22nd June 2009, 10:15 PM	#1
Queequeg Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Detroit (New Mayapan) Posts: 96	Beech War Club Still inspired by all of the shillelagh and war club talk we've had here, especially the ash club that Katana made, I made this out of a beech sapling which a farmer let me harvest, since it was "in his way". I never worked with beech before; it's really heavy and fairly dense: the perfect material for a good root-ball war club. After stripping the bark, sanding, staining, and drying it, I soaked it for a full week in the linseed oil tank. I also found a new way to get a good, realistic looking patina going. Full Shot: With a 30" ruler: From the top: From the handle: I love the head on this thing. While stripping and cleaning it, I found that it had a natural "hole" from the way a smaller root grew and connected with the rest of the head: The roots had really deep fissures between them, making for some nice potential impact points. This is a shot directly overhead to illustrate further: Finally, up against the tree in the yard: Thanks for looking.

22nd June 2009, 10:36 PM	#2
katana Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Kent Posts: 2,658	Hi Queequeg, good job , I love the 'organic' head. Did you notice any 'weight gain' after the club was soaked in Linseed oil ? Regards David

22nd June 2009, 10:40 PM	#3
Atlantia Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: The Sharp end Posts: 2,928	Fantastic! I love the look, its like a clerics mace! Top marks mate. Great work!!

23rd June 2009, 01:22 AM	#5
VANDOO (deceased) Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: OKLAHOMA, USA Posts: 3,138	VERY NICE WORK I NOTICED THERE IS A NATURAL OPENING IN THE CLUB HEAD, NOW ALL YOU NEED IS TO FASTEN A NICE SCALP LOCK THERE. I AM ALWAYS GLAD TO SEE A NICE PIECE OF WOOD PUT TO GOOD USE.

23rd June 2009, 02:57 AM	#6
David Keris forum moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 7,211	Nice job.