A Staff for Frodo

Although it’s been years now since JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings Trilogy first came out at the cinemas, a good story stays with you, making it worth revisiting.

I often times think that I would have done well living among the Hobbits, crafting short swords and daggers and other useful accoutrements, even though they would have just hung above the fireplace in a Hobbit’s hole in the peaceful Shire. So I re-imagined the “sending off” of Frodo and Sam, with Gandalf the good wizard warning them of the perils awaiting on that epic journey and, in an appropriate fashion worthy of his name, bestowing Frodo with a staff! Ah, but not just any staff, this one endowed with powers that could be summoned at a time of need…

The idea of a special staff has been “cooking” in my mind for a long time, and finally this summer, while foraging for mushrooms, I came across the perfect piece! (Sadly, there were no mushrooms to be found). Now, from a sapling in the forest to a staff fit for Frodo, there is quite a way to go, and this post is about the process. Yes, it’s a process. For starters, after harvesting, right away, using my pruning knife, I peel off the bark while still fresh and green, since after drying it becomes much harder to do.

Next, it has to season, meaning to dry, and if it has some undesirable bend in it, it needs to be addressed at this time. Since this particular sapling did have a curvature on one end that would have made it look less than perfect, I clamped it tight to a stud in the garage, straightening it out, and left it there to dry for a couple of months.

Well it’s been two months now, the sapling is nice and dry, ready for the next step, and I haven’t been idle, but refined the idea of how it should look. For one thing, it should have a bulbous end, turning it into a club of sorts, making it useful as a weapon, should circumstances warrant that. But only a defensive weapon, since Hobbits are by nature pacifists.

And there’s more, since Gandalf always has some special surprise up his large sleeves! When I first saw him in the movie, what came to mind was a self-portrait of Leonardo DaVinci. All that was missing was the pointed wizard's hat.

When Italy switched its currency to the Euro in 2002 after joining the European Union three years earlier, they minted the 1 Euro coin featuring DaVinci’s famous ‘Vitruvian Man’ on one side, and so I thought it appropriate to place it on top of the staff’s bulb. Would it infuse the staff with special powers? Of course! Although DaVinci drew the figure around 1490, he was light years ahead of his contemporaries through his studies in engineering, medicine, aeronautics, and so much more!

Having made these decisions, it was just a matter of employing the appropriate skills to bring it all together, namely some woodturning for the bulb, and silversmithing for fitting the coin on top of it.

 I have been saving a piece of curly maple thinking that someday I might use it for something and it just so happened that it was the right size for what I had in mind.

 It didn't take much to turn it on my Midi Delta lathe.

For securing the coin on top of the bulb, I had to make a setting and below are the tools used and the piece of silver wire that would go around the coin.

The coin in its silver setting, installed.

The bulb is attached to the staff via a

piece of 1/4 inch all thread, 6 inches long, extending 3 inches into both pieces, epoxied in place. In my excitement I forgot to take a picture before joining them together.

For finish, I used a bit of cherry stain topped with tung oil and of course, I wrapped the handle with a strip of leather.

I think Gandolf would approve.

To wrap up, I can say it was a fun project and although it might never go on any epic quest, it will come in handy when walking through the forests looking for mushrooms.