I prefer to cut a 6 foot staff from a decent cedar sapling. There are a number of cedar groves up where I play in the big woods, and I thin them out once in a while for this purpose. Cedar is light, durable, and has a lot of longitudinal strength. I like the butt about 2" diameter; it fits my hand. I name every staff I make, no two are the same. I carve their name in the mid section and I sand, stain and varnish them in a natural look. My staffs last me about a decade, and I only make them for me and my immediate family. I have leather thonged the top of a couple for a better grip, but usually I just go with natural. As with my knives, all my staffs are blooded.

The last three I made were named "AEI", "VAEINE", and "MAEIR". I don't know if I will make any more in that series or if I will start a new series of names.