Wooden craft dowels! I'm practicing to make one for a friend, and they're proving to be very easy to work with. So far, I've just been using a dowel and small kitchen knife. Paint or stain will come later, if needed.
I made a prototype, and it's great if I do say so.
Plus, they come cut at about 12" (the ones I bought, at least), so it's a good length! Although, the one I'm doing has shortened to about 11.5" or so.
They come in various thicknesses, so there's more variety to find a comfortable fit.
Also, if you have a fancy handle in mind, dowel caps work fabulously! They come fitted to the different sizes of dowels, so they fit snuggly on the dowel. If you find the right size, of course. (I got too big of a size. ><)
Both can be found in just about any craft store or craft section of certain department stores. I got my dowels at Wal-Mart and my caps at Hobby Lobby. They're not terribly expensive, if I recall correctly.
Oh, and carving swirls is hard. Hard. Not impossible, but very tedious!
The overall experience is pretty fun, though! Good luck with yours~! ^^ |