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Steven E




Location: Alberta, Canada
Joined: 27 Oct 2005

Posts: 4

PostPosted: Thu 27 Oct, 2005 4:00 pm    Post subject: Quarterstaffs?         Reply with quote

Hey, I'm just wondering if anyone knows of a resource or site, written in language that can be understood by a newb,
which would tell me how to build a half-decent quarterstaff.

Thanks!

Mary had a little lamb,
Her father shot it dead.
The next time that lamb went to school,
It was between two slabs of bread
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Carl Goff




Location: Florida
Joined: 27 Sep 2005
Reading list: 1 book

Posts: 196

PostPosted: Thu 27 Oct, 2005 10:43 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Order one. Don't try to do it yourself unless you absolutely want to (speaking from experience here). They're usually less than $50, including shipping. Go do a Google search for Purpleheart Armories-they've got good prices.
Oh, East of sands and sunlit gulf, your blood is thin, your gods are few;
You could not break the Northern wolf and now the wolf has turned on you.
The fires that light the coasts of Spain fling shadows on the Eastern strand.
Master, your slave has come again with torch and axe in his right hand!
-Robert E. Howard
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Edward Hitchens




Location: Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Joined: 10 Feb 2005
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Reading list: 9 books

Posts: 819

PostPosted: Fri 28 Oct, 2005 5:54 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Carl Goff wrote:
Go do a Google search for Purpleheart Armories-they've got good prices.


Yes! Purpleheart makes outstanding products! woodenswords.com I believe it is. I bought two wooden longswords from them earlier this year; tons of fun! I have a very well made quarterstaff from ........ uh Question ...........oh yeah, Sabersmith.
I love using my quarterstaff; very formidable and easy-to-learn weapon.

By the way, why is it called a 'quarterstaff?' And difference between it and a 'bo'?

"The whole art of government consists in the art of being honest." Thomas Jefferson
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Geoffrey H





Joined: 21 Oct 2005

Posts: 6

PostPosted: Fri 28 Oct, 2005 10:35 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Well, having zero knowledge of the topic, heres my two cents.

Bo and Quaterstaff are remarkably similar. However, a Quaterstaff as we call it is the Western term for a staff made for fighting (any shaped stick of wood is called a staff) wheras a Bo is the commonly used eastern term for a staff made for fighting. No doubt both the eastern and western versions of the item have had different names over time in the areas where they were used. And no doubt the essential design has also changed slightly from place to place and time to time.[/i]

Lurker
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Johan S. Moen




Location: Kristiansand, Norway
Joined: 26 Jan 2004

Posts: 259

PostPosted: Sat 29 Oct, 2005 12:34 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Isn't a bo usually around 180 cm, whereas a quarterstaff ranges from 210 cm(as per Zach Wylde) to 8 feet or thereabouts(mine is 240 cm)? Of course, one has halfstaffs and longstaffs also.

Johan Schubert Moen
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Gary Grzybek




Location: Stillwater N.J.
Joined: 25 Aug 2003

Posts: 559

PostPosted: Sun 30 Oct, 2005 8:00 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Edward Hitchens wrote:
Carl Goff wrote:
Go do a Google search for Purpleheart Armories-they've got good prices.


Yes! Purpleheart makes outstanding products! woodenswords.com I believe it is. I bought two wooden longswords from them earlier this year; tons of fun! I have a very well made quarterstaff from ........ uh Question ...........oh yeah, Sabersmith.
I love using my quarterstaff; very formidable and easy-to-learn weapon.

By the way, why is it called a 'quarterstaff?' And difference between it and a 'bo'?



I gave up spending $30 or more trying to ship them. My last one was from home depot. Those 6' hardwood hanger rods work okay.


I was told that the term Quarterstaff came from the standard grip of holding the staff with your lead hand at one quarter of it's length. The rear hand a few inches from the end. This gives you good reach while still maintaining control. Lengths can vary upon preference. I found 6 feet to be just fine.

Gary Grzybek
ARMA Northern N.J.
www.armastudy.org
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Jay Barron




Location: Albany, NY
Joined: 18 Aug 2003

Spotlight topics: 1
Posts: 291

PostPosted: Sun 30 Oct, 2005 11:39 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Many years ago I purchased a diamondwood staff from Museum Replicas. It is super sturdy bordering on indestructable. The color is an ash that looks very natural. It's 1" in diameter which feels just right for a staff. The only downside is that the longest you could get it was 5'. That is a bit short for a historical European staff but I never let that bother me. I'm really happy with mine. I'm not sure if their still available, however.
Constant and true.
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Chuck Wyatt





Joined: 31 Mar 2004
Reading list: 1 book

Posts: 62

PostPosted: Sun 30 Oct, 2005 12:22 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

If the calling for making one is still with you, try the below link in the About section. The site recommends letting the staff dry a few months before stripping the bark , I would let it dry for a year, still in the bark and covering the freshly cut ends with wax . This lets the moisture out slow , through the bark preventing cracking.

http://www.quarterstaff.org/frame.html
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T.L. Johnson





Joined: 16 Sep 2005

Posts: 32

PostPosted: Mon 31 Oct, 2005 1:40 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Edward Hitchens wrote:
...By the way, why is it called a 'quarterstaff?' And difference between it and a 'bo'?

You lever the staff with one hand holding it a quarter of the way down from one end.

And the plural is 'staves', though modern English has accepted 'staffs' as a word. Wink
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Felix Wang




Location: Fresno, CA
Joined: 23 Aug 2003
Reading list: 17 books

Spotlight topics: 1
Posts: 394

PostPosted: Tue 01 Nov, 2005 9:44 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Technically speaking, "quarterstaff" is a position or way of holding a staff - as TL Johnson says, one-quarter of the way from the butt. "Halfstaff" is holding a staff in the middle-third (which is the position typically seen in Robin Hood movies and the like).
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David Black Mastro




Location: Central NJ
Joined: 06 Sep 2005
Reading list: 20 books

Spotlight topics: 1
Posts: 279

PostPosted: Tue 01 Nov, 2005 10:54 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Johan S. Moen wrote:
Isn't a bo usually around 180 cm, whereas a quarterstaff ranges from 210 cm(as per Zach Wylde) to 8 feet or thereabouts(mine is 240 cm)? Of course, one has halfstaffs and longstaffs also.

Johan Schubert Moen


I have always understood the bo as being 6 feet long, whereas quarterstaves average 8-9 feet in length (though, FWIW, the quarterstaves used by 18th century prizefighters appear to have been only about 6 feet long).

"Why meddle with us--you are not strong enough to break us--you know that you have won the battle and slaughtered our army--be content with your honor, and leave us alone, for by God's good will only have we escaped from this business" --unknown Spanish captain to the Chevalier Bayard, at the Battle of Ravenna, 1512
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