Where to buy cromach in USA

**tripleblessed** · 18th February 19, 11:05 PM

The Thomas referred to above lives here in Georgia, and is a registered hobbyist. I sent him an e-mail about the mention.
His reply is that happily and sadly he has none on hand and none in the pipeline. That's the sadly. The happily is the reason,
a pair of children that fill all available hobby time. He is grateful for the mention and people thought his work worth remembering.

**Riverkilt** · 19th February 19, 08:06 AM

I had me a cromach, let a ladyfriend use it for a hike and somehow the horn broke in half when she needed it most - see Steve's advice above.

She was heartbroken, thinking she'd destroyed something precious of mine. No problem. Glued the horn back and now its a decoration.

I do a lot of hiking of late and found Brazos Walking Sticks

https://www.brazos-walking-sticks.co...BoCpv0QAvD_BwE

Bought the oak shepherd's crook stick - sorta kinda like a cromach - and have been most pleased with the quality. It has miles in rugged country with no problem. And I don't think the crook part will ever fail me like the horn did.

I also picked up the screw together 3 piece hiking stick for river trips. It screws up just a snug as a break down pool cue...has long thick screws.

Anyway, check Brazos' webpage...I think they do sort of semi-custom work too.

**Jock Scot** · 19th February 19, 01:35 PM

Originally Posted by EdinSteve

When you see people with those nordic sticks a cromach seems remarkably un-pretentious by comparison. My neighbour, an elderly gent, always takes his brolly nowadays and openly admits he wouldn’t be seen dead with a walking stick so that is his alternative! I do think, however, that a shooting stick would be a much better option for anyone needing to “take the weight off” when out and about.

As a very regular user of shooting sticks I agree, discussion in detail is tricky here due to an interest that cannot be mentioned here. However, they are indeed a useful piece of kit, but in my experience they are nowhere near as handy as a cromach for day to day use.

**Singlemalt** · 19th February 19, 03:07 PM

Originally Posted by Jock Scot

As a very regular user of shooting sticks I agree, discussion in detail is tricky here due to an interest that cannot be mentioned here. However, they are indeed a useful piece of kit, but in my experience they are nowhere near as handy as a cromach for day to day use.

I like the idea of a cromach but I think for me my home made version with a nice curved antler handle with a "V" is more practical. It can serve as a place for my thumb for more leverage and it can be a rest when participating in the interest Jock and I share but can't discuss. I also would have a hard time doing without the leather strap I loop around my wrist which I realise is not traditional with a cromach. However I use it every day it is very handy when you need to use both hands, say to use binoculars, without dropping your stick. I have watched videos from the highlands which show users sticking their cromach in the ground while they did this but here about half the year the ground is frozen and that option is not available.

**Jock Scot** · 19th February 19, 03:24 PM

If the ground is frosted or we are on rock, then we just hang the cromach on our arm when using binoculars.

WGN_1191.jpg

**Liam** · 19th February 19, 05:04 PM

My cromach...

**kiltedcontractor** · 19th February 19, 06:25 PM

If any cromach owners would be so kind as to give me many measurements of cromach, I would like to take a crack at making one. If it turns out well, I'll donate it to any one on forum that wants it. Larry

**neloon** · 20th February 19, 04:03 AM

For a linguistic aside, the Gaelic word crom means bent or crooked hence cromach c.f. shepherd's crook.
Another crom word is cas-chrom
https://www.ambaile.org.uk/detail/en...-cas-chrom.htm

Alan

**Tobus** · 20th February 19, 05:53 AM

Originally Posted by Jock Scot

If the ground is frosted or we are on rock, then we just hang the cromach on our arm when using binoculars.

I regularly hang my cromach over my forearm for all sorts of reasons when I need to use both hands. That's one of the handy features of it!

I've watched this discussion with interest, holding back from commenting. I don't understand the viewpoints from some people here that you must use a "proper" walking staff instead of a cromach. A walking stick is a walking stick, regardless of the top decoration. For 99% of what it will be used for, it doesn't matter. And I say this as one who has a wide variety of staffs that I use for all manner of things. I have hiked many hundreds of miles through rocky, steep, hilly terrain and used my sticks not only as walking aids for crossing creeks and balance on hills, but functionally for propping up shelters, etc.

Sure, if I'm doing a serious backpacking trip where I expect to abuse my stick and put it to hard use, I'll use my plain walking staff from Brazos Walking Sticks. The "combi-spike" feature allows the bottom rubber foot to be removed, exposing a spike that's very handy.

But if I'm dressed for public viewing (i.e. daywear) and expect to spend all day on my feet at a Highland Games or festival, I consider the cromach more of an appropriate stick. I don't find it pretentious any more than wearing other traditional bits of Highland attire. It just suits the aesthetic more appropriately. And the height of my cromach (traditionally it should be to the height of the owner's nipples) is just right for resting my hands at heart level. This is important to me because my hands tend to swell up when I'm walking or standing all day, and I need the ability to raise my hands up to heart level for a while so they don't throb and hurt. I can rest one or both hands at the top bend of the crook.

I'm sorry, I don't know where to buy a well-made cromach in the USA. There are a lot of sellers offering plain wooden crooks, but finding one with a traditional ram's horn crook in the USA is not easy. I bought mine from Tony Espley in Wales, and couldn't be happier. Yes, they're pricy but well worth the money and the wait.
@kiltedcontractor, I'll try to get some measurements of mine this evening and post them for you if it'll help.

**Jock Scot** · 20th February 19, 06:20 AM

Cromach height is a bit of a moving target. Yes I think the ideal height to aim for would be nipple height, but its best to aim a couple of inches higher to start with. Why? Every now and then the tip will break off, often in two inch lengths, so roughly after say twenty years or so of regular and almost daily use, the cromach will need a new shaft as it will be uncomfortably short by then. I think I have had two new shafts with my cromach which must be nearly sixty years old now -------well the horn and silver bits are!