I made a walking stick. Spoiler, it turned out to be a small poleaxe

Gratuitous finished product. About 5 ft tall. My intention was to make a hiking stick in the fashion of a fokos.

This is the pattern I based mine on. Digging pick in the back, small axe up front. This one is steel and is quite a bit narrower then I was going to make mine.

I carved out two patters from scrap 2x4. I ended up using the top one.

The whole box assembly is called the flask. The bottom half is called the drag which is pictured here. A damp sand and clay mixture is laid out and the fokos is pressed into it.

I tried to get it about 3/4 buried and the pick end was angled upward. At this stage I powdered the whole top surface with diatomaceous earth. This keeps the sand in the top half from sticking to the sand in the bottom half.

The top half of the flask is called the cope. It’s filled up with sand just the same way the drag is.

I add a pour funnel for ease of pouring.

Here is my casting furnace. Propane tank line with refractory wool. It works surprisingly well for how janky it is. I purchased the burner from devils forge.

A quick peek at the warm up temp. Less then a thousand degrees.

This is full heat, over 2300°. Broad daylight, the exposure is turned way down to get an idea of the color in the furnace

I didn’t have a helper with this pour so I didn’t get any video. But here is the setup about 45 seconds after pouring. Liquid metal is already solid but still face meltingly hot.

I made aluminum bronze for the mixture. 90% copper and 10% aluminum by weight. It’s not as historically accurate as they would have used tin bronze. But I wanted to try something new.

I left it in the sand to sit and cool for about 6 hours. This kept the metal dead soft so I could work it much easier.

I’m not super happy with this extra flashing but it is what it is.

I sharpened one of my cold chisels and was able to chisel off the flashing, sprue, and vent holes.

A picture of the vent hole and sprue. With just a wire brush the metal was very shiny. Almost a polished gold color.

This is what the side looked like after chiseling. Not very good.

This is what the side looked like after peening. Soo much better. I really liked the way this turned out.

The first test fit to the handle. I am really bad at carving to fit the socket.

A draw knife is the tool for this job.

Getting closer to a final fit.

Cutting the wedge slot, for the wedge.

Wedge fit and glued. The head was hammered on and fits tight.

I cut the wood that was sticking out the top after the glue set overnight.

The little one learning how to swing a pole arm. They grow up so fast.