# rattan sticks with skin or no skin



## CiNcO dOsE

hello everyone, another stick question.  as i ave been browsing through the net for sticks, i always see the option of rattan sticks have skin still attached or the skinless ones.  do they really play a significant role on the sticks?!  which one is better?!  i read too that the ones with skin are more durable than the ones without, how true is this?!

salamat.


----------



## pknox

I don't know exactly what is meant by "skin", but I have been told that sticks that have the nodes left on tend to be stronger, and in my own experience have seen this theory hold up.  I think that maybe you have to leave the skin on to have nodes, but I'm not exactly sure.  If that is the case, then, yes, I believe they would be stronger than a stick of equivalent weight, material, and density.


----------



## K Williams

Sticks without the skin on will not last as long as sticks that still have the skin on.


----------



## Datu Tim Hartman

With Skin.


----------



## Cthulhu

I've seen sticks with no skin fray after very little use.  If you have the option, go with skin.

Cthulhu


----------



## pknox

Looks like a unanimous decision!


----------



## CiNcO dOsE

is it like, when the stick still has the nodes or skin, it is bumpy or not perfectly round, like it is jsut in its natural form right?!  then the perfect round/circle, all smoothened up, would be the skinless ones?!

i heard some warping stories with sticks as well.  what casues them to warp?!  prevention?!


----------



## Datu Tim Hartman

> _Originally posted by d. dela vega _
> *
> i heard some warping stories with sticks as well.  what casues them to warp?!  prevention?! *



Who cares if there is a little warping.


----------



## bart

Hey,

Skin on is always more durable. If you get uncooked sticks sometimes there's a strong resin on the stick that can get on your hands and cause intense blisters on unaccustomed hands. That does reduce the risk of the flying stick technique though.


----------



## arnisandyz

how about a varnish or laminant?  Some time ago I tried some i&i sticks that had a thick gloss coating on them.  Do you think this ads any durablity or strength to the stick or is it just for looks?  I never got to test them long term because my daugther wrote on them with a red sharpee and I ended up sanding the coating off. One thing I didn't like about the varnish was the fact that I couldn't smell the wood burning! 

I personally prefer natural (no coating) with skin anda good burn.

Andy


----------



## jsbelljr83

When I asked my instructor the same question he told me as stick without the skin is like a turtle without it's shell.


----------



## LAKANPOPOT

To give you and idea of what a stick with skin looks like. Imagine the bamboo stick.That's how it should look like. The stickwith skin is sturdier because it is hard. If you scrape off or remove the skin then you got a pretty much useless stick. It will hold up for like 2-3 weeks of sinawali or hard contact. About the nodes, The more nodes on the stick the better. It may not look nice or maybe rough on the hands but that is the better stick. Some just like the smooth ones because when they twirl the stick it doesn't rub much against your skin.


----------



## jsbelljr83

It isn't that difficult to sand the nodes down if they bother your hands.  I use a small dowel and wrap the sand paper around it.  Just keep sanding the "sharp" edge of the node until there is no longer any edge to it.


----------



## CiNcO dOsE




----------

