Final run from Hamishs shed • In 11 active carts • 28 left
Hamish's Sure-Grip Hand-Carved Walking Stick
Hamish's Sure-Grip Hand-Carved Walking Stick
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Hamish's Sure-Grip Hand-Carved Walking Stick
Hand-carved in a shepherd’s shed in the Wairarapa
Hamish Rountree, seventy-two. Forty years a shepherd behind Tinui, fifty-eight years of walking sticks, around five thousand six hundred in all. 284 left, and the shed closes for good.
“I’d made sticks for half the Wairarapa. And my own Dad sat in his chair all summer because of a grey one. The horse went to the Golden Shears nine years running. That’s what a walking stick is for.”
Hamish Rountree · Tinui, Wairarapa
What arrives at your door
Four things that make it different
The grip is shaped to the closed hand first, the way a shepherd’s stick has to be. The animal is carved around it afterwards. The weight spreads across the whole palm, not two knuckles.
The handle sits at a slight angle, like a shepherd leaning on his stick going downhill. The weight goes into the palm and forearm instead of the wrist.
The weight sits up near the grip. The stick swings forward on its own as you walk, so the hand does less work.
Rubbed with oil by hand, never varnished. Varnish gets slippery when your hand is wet from the rain or warm in summer. Oiled wood gets a better grip, not a worse one.
Four grips, four different hands
Made for
What you are actually getting
- Solid hardwood. No hollow metal tube, nothing to rattle or click.
- Cut to your height, once. It ships long on purpose. A fine-toothed saw takes a few centimetres off in under a minute.
- Hand-carved detail. Every feather and every strand of mane cut by hand, not pressed or moulded.
- A finish you can feel through. Hand-rubbed oil, not sprayed varnish, so it doesn’t turn slippery with a wet or warm hand.
- 284 in total. Across all four grips. The shed is closing, so there is no restock.
Grip preference is personal. If the shape is wrong for the hand it was meant for, send it back within thirty days for a full refund — one email starts it, no explanation needed. A walking stick that stays behind the door helps nobody.
These are carved by hand from natural hardwood, so grain, tone and the depth of each cut vary from piece to piece. Two Owls are never identical. The stick also arrives longer than you need — that is deliberate, so it can be cut to your exact height.
Product details
| Material | Solid hardwood, walnut and rosewood tones |
| Finish | Hand-rubbed oil, matte to satin sheen |
| Grips available | Owl, Horse, Elephant, Leopard |
| Length as shipped | 92 to 94 cm, to be cut to height |
| Tip | Thick rubber, replaceable |
| Travel | Horse and Elephant unscrew at the brass collar |
| Care | Wipe with a dry cloth. Re-oil once a year with any furniture oil. |
| Made by | Hamish Rountree, Tinui, Wairarapa |
| Shipping | Free, NZ-wide |
| Remaining | 284 across all four grips — no restock |
The Last Winter
The Last Winter
A note from the shed:
Hamish Rountree carved his first walking stick from mānuka in a shepherds’ hut in 1968, and spent forty years as a shepherd on the hills behind Tinui in the Wairarapa. In 1996 his own Dad came home from hospital with a grey aluminium stick and stopped going to the Golden Shears. Hamish shaped a grip to his hand and carved his old mare Kit into it, and Dad was back in the stands every March for nine years running. Around five thousand six hundred sticks later, macular degeneration has turned the middle of everything grey, and he can no longer see the fine carving. These 284 are the last walking sticks from his shed.
Free Shipping NZ-Wide
Free Shipping NZ-Wide
Free shipping NZ-wide
- Every walking stick is wrapped by hand in brown paper and sent with tracking
- Length as sent: 92–94 cm, longer on purpose so it can be cut to your height with a fine-toothed saw
- Solid hardwood, hand-oiled grip, thick rubber tip
- The Horse and the Elephant unscrew at the brass collar for the car, the bus or the flight to the grandkids
- 30-day money-back guarantee — just email info@craft-folk.com
Frequently Asked Questions
Got a question? Here’s how to reach us.
Got a question? Here’s how to reach us.
Email us anytime at info@craft-folk.com. We answer Monday–Friday 9am–5pm and Saturday 10am–3pm (ET). Whether it’s about your order, which grip suits which hand, or just to say hello — a real person writes back.
Can I return it if it’s not for me?
Can I return it if it’s not for me?
Of course. 30-day money-back guarantee. Take it on your usual walk for a week, and if the grip isn’t right for the hand it was meant for, email info@craft-folk.com within 30 days for a full refund. No questions asked.
How is it made?
How is it made?
Hamish starts with the hand, not the wood. The rough grip goes in the hand first, and he carves again until it closes around it without a gap, at a slight angle to the shaft. Only then does he carve the owl, horse, elephant or leopard into it, cut by cut. The finish is oil, rubbed in by hand, so the grip stays sure with a wet or warm hand. Each walking stick is wrapped in brown paper with its length pencilled on the end.