The Great Sunflower Project

I am a wood carver and I have never seen any walking sticks made of sunflower stalks. However, I do know that they can be made into pretty trellises for vining plants such as beans, peas, cypress vine, morning glory, etc to climb. Stalks for sunflowers can be made into paper and straw hats. I also know that they have been shredding sunflower stalks to add to shredded Poplar to make particle board that they use to make furniture. I would say that if your stalks are pretty thick and sturdy, to try making a walking stick out of them. I'd let it sit and dry for a month or two, then I would take a fine grit sandpaper and gently sand the stalk smooth so that it isn't rough on the hands. I don't think the Stalk would carve very well, however you could wood burn some nice designs into it, I'd make sure the woodburner had a dial on it so you can control the heat and not start your stalk on fire. You could also paint it and then add a nice varnish. If you have a wood working shop near you such as WoodCraft or some place that caters to wood carvers, you can buy little metal dodads (can't remember what they are called) that walking stick carvers use to emblish their sticks. Just glue it on with a great, strong wood glue such as white heat (Which WoodCraft sells) You can even get on-line and order these things from wood carving suppliers. Get on the internet and on your search engine type in wood carving catalogs and you will come up with a plethera of reputable companies. If you really wanted to carve your stalk, you can try a technique called Kolrosing. It is an ancient carving technique done by the vikings. It is a pretty simple technique and doesn't take anything away from the stalk. There is tons of information about this on the internet and you can buy a kit with the special knife and instructions for a pretty reasonable price from Pine Wood Forge (http://www.pinewoodforge.com). I don't know if this helps you or not. I'd see what you could do. If you have any wood carving shows and competitions that take place near you, I'd enter the stalk walking stick and see what kind of ribbon you get! It's a great idea! give it a try!
Jenette