I'm not really sure if this should go in this forum or not, since I'm asking for guidance rather than posting a completed thing; mods, move this wherever you want it to go.

I would like to make myself a walking stick when I get back home to Ottawa after the semester is over. I've wanted to do some woodworking for some time now, but I'm not sure where to begin - I've decided that making a nice walking stick would be easy enough, and frankly, I want one. Unfortunately, I don't know what I'm doing.

Ideally, I would like the stick to be rather knobbly and knotted, preferably with a good number of smaller branches or roots entwined at the top as a handle. I'll have to go for a walk through the woods to find something suitable, obviously. That's where my trouble starts - what sort of wood am I looking for? Hardwood? Softwood? Any specific woods to avoid?

Then there's drying. How and how long? Remove the bark before or after?

I can probably take it from there.