Sticks are essentially practical aides but are also works of art that often become integral to the owner. They have to be strong and reliable, but are beautiful too. This essential book covers all these qualities - it explains the traditional principles and methods of stickmaking, but also celebrates the designs and ideas behind these creations. Written by an award-winning stickmaker, it provides a full acount of this age-old craft. Topics covered include materials, equipment and tools required to make a variety of sticks from timber, antler and horn; stick types and shapes; preparing timber to make handles and shanks; straightening shanks; making joints and exhibiting and competing. This new book will be an inspiration for all stickmakers, both new and old and will be of great interest to countryside enthusiasts, shepherds, farmers, woodworkers and working dogs owners. Superbly illustrated with 349 colour photographs.

Originally published in 1998 by The Guild of Master Craftsmen.

Stickmaking is an age-old craft that is just as absorbing and rewarding today as ever. This beautifully illustrated book describes some of the customs and practices used in traditional stickmaking. It encourages beginners to get started with a simple staff or thumb stick, but also explains advanced techniques, such as making sheep and cow horn handles, for the more experienced. Written with careful attention to detail by a prize-winning stickmaker, it is an essential guide to this fascinating craft. The book contains ideas and inspiration on types and styles of stick, a guide to timber, storing and straightening shanks, and jointing shanks onto handles. Also, there are step-by-step instructions on making a variety of sticks and handles including wood, antler, buffalo and sheep horn, and detailed techniques on bulking and dressing sheep horn to make a classic shepherd's crook, with further advice on decorating wood and buffalo horn handles. It will be of great interest to stickmakers, woodworkers, farmers, shepherds and fishermen. This ideal resource for all stickmakers is beautifully illustrated with 121 colour photographs.

This handbook based on the 2007 revised edition will also become an essential guide for those interested in learning the processes and techniques involved with the manufacture of a range of traditional sticks, outlining the processes in a clear, straightforward manner and using a wealth of diagrams and photographs. It also contains valuable, up-to-date information on where to source the raw materials for stickmaking, how to find, cut and season wood and where to locate materials such as ram and buffalo horn. This book is equally accessible to stick enthusiasts, amateur craftsmen and experianced professionals alike.

To most of us, learning something "the hard way" implies wasted time and effort. Good teaching, we believe, should be creatively tailored to the different learning styles of students and should use strategies that make learning easier. Make It Stick turns fashionable ideas like these on their head. Drawing on recent discoveries in cognitive psychology and other disciplines, the authors offer concrete techniques for becoming more productive learners. Memory plays a central role in our ability to carry out complex cognitive tasks, such as applying knowledge to problems never before encountered and drawing inferences from facts already known. New insights into how memory is encoded, consolidated, and later retrieved have led to a better understanding of how we learn. Grappling with the impediments that make learning challenging leads both to more complex mastery and better retention of what was learned. Many common study habits and practice routines turn out to be counterproductive. Underlining and highlighting, rereading, cramming, and single-minded repetition of new skills create the illusion of mastery, but gains fade quickly. More complex and durable learning come from self-testing, introducing certain difficulties in practice, waiting to re-study new material until a little forgetting has set in, and interleaving the practice of one skill or topic with another. Speaking most urgently to students, teachers, trainers, and athletes, Make It Stick will appeal to all those interested in the challenge of lifelong learning and self-improvement.