Ádh Tús

Lucky Beginnings (probably)

This is my walking stick.

I made myself a cool walking stick, but I thought it needed a cool name too, and since I’ve been interested in Celtic druids and their tree lore recently I drew inspiration from that to come to the name Ádh Tús, which probably means something similar to Lucky Beginnings in Gaeilge, assuming I can trust the online translators.

    The name has a couple meanings. I made the staff out of some free scrap American Mahogany from a local woodworking store, and there is no druidic tree lore about the American Mahogany tree for obvious reasons. So I went through some tree details and found that mahogany was most similar in woodworking characteristics to birch, a tree that symbolizes the beginning of spring, renewals of life and light, and I loved that, so tús, beginning.

    The foot of the staff is a cheapo one I bought online, and it was marketed to me as a stainless steel one. But, the more I’ve used it and it’s gotten scratched up the more I think it’s actually bronze, which is what I was seeking out, but I couldn’t find any bronze walking stick tips that shipped to the US, at least not for a reasonable price (thanks tariff mc. tariff face), so I settled only to find that I was sent a bronze one anyway. Not to mention that the wood was free, which is also fortunate. So, ádh, lucky.

    Now, the problem with giving my staff a name in Gaeilge is that I have no real idea how to pronounce it. I can’t find a text to speech in my short googling, and neither of the translation sites had a speech function, so here’s my best guess from a pronunciation guide: Ádh Tús (aw toos).

    The staff itself was very fun to make. It was largely a hand plane project, and I kept most of the tool marks in the wood. I shaped the round over at the top with just a sharp chisel, and I fitted the ferrule on the bottom with a chisel and a file and then glued it in with five minute epoxy, setting it with a brass plated nail. So, I’m very happy that my fun staff has a fun name now.

This is also my walking stick. Here you can see the foot, looking suspiciously brass like instead of the expected stainless steel.