hikstik

This is our flagship lacrosse shaft. Incredible impact strength, tough, flexible, and substantial in your hands. Our hickory shaft has a strength-to-weight ratio of 20757* and a hardness of 1820. A 30" attack shaft weighs approximately 315 grams or 11.5 ounces**.

 Hickory is the first strictly American hardwood species. Westward trekking pioneers made hickory a prerequisite for their wagon wheels. Later, the Wright Brothers whittled hickory for their "flying contraption." Native Americans, particularly in the Northeast, used hickory for their bows. Tree height ranges from 60 to 120 feet. Andrew Jackson, seventh president of the U.S., was nicknamed “Old Hickory” because of his toughness during disputes. Hickory is the hardest and strongest American wood. The sapwood of hickory is white, tinged with inconspicuous fine brown lines while the heartwood is pale to reddish brown. Both are coarse-textured and the grain is fine, usually straight but can be wavy or irregular. The wood is well-known for its very good strength and shock resistance. Extremely tough and resilient, even texture, quite hard and only moderately heavy. Photo: left - hickory shaft before sanding; right - hickory shaft with Clear Shield finish.

This lacrosse handle is extremely solid and very sturdy with a strength-to-weight ratio of 25000* and a hardness of 1320. A 30" attack shaft weighs approximately 255 grams or 9.0 ounces**.

Norse mythology refers to ash as "the mighty tree that supports the heavens" and "below earth its roots went down to hell." Legend has it that Leonidas and his 300 Spartan Hoplites used long spears made out of Ash. Ash belongs to the olive family, although its only fruit is a dart-like winged seed. Admiral Richard Byrd wore snowshoes made from ash during his polar expeditions and early windmills were made from this species. White Ash grows throughout the Eastern U.S. Ash trees range in height from 80 to 120 feet with diameter from 2 to 5 feet. Before man-made materials took over the market, ash was the preferred wood for making tennis racquets. The sapwood is light-colored to nearly white and the heartwood varies from grayish or light brown, to pale yellow streaked with brown. The wood is generally straight-grained with a coarse uniform texture. Ash has very good overall strength properties relative to its weight and has excellent shock resistance.

Purpleheart Amaranth Laminate

This is our top-of-the-line wood lax shaft. We laminate a purpleheart core between two ash sidewalls. This shaft is very strong with outstanding shock resistance, excellent balance, and a strength-to-weight ratio of 28657* and a hardness of 1860. A 30" attack shaft weighs approximately 300 grams or 10.7 ounces**.

 Purpleheart is a very tall, handsome canopy tree, averaging 120 to 150 feet in height in the natural rainforest, with diameters of 2 to 4 feet. Purpleheart has been used for years because of its high strength and durability as well as its unusual color and beauty. One of the most distinctive woods in the world, purpleheart is prized for its very unusual deep purple color. When freshly cut, this dense hardwood is light brown. Within minutes the surface turns an astonishing bright purple. Upon prolonged exposure to sunlight, the color gradually changes to a chocolate-purple color. This beautiful wood is straight to wavy grained, fine and uniform textured and fairly smooth with a medium to high luster. Purpleheart reaches the world market only in small quantities. It is highly prized for inlay work, fine furniture and cabinetry, parquet flooring, and many specialty items such as handles and billiard cues. Photo: left - purpleheart core laminate with ash sidewalls, no finish; right - with polyurethane finish.

Our red oak shafts are for those that appreciate a lighter weight woodie with a beautiful wood grain. Strength-to-weight ratio for red oak is 18475* and a hardness of 1060. A 30" attack shaft weighs approximately 280 grams or 8.8 ounces**.

The Latin name for oak, Quercus, means "a fine tree." The oaks have been key in America's industrial transformation: railroad ties, wheels, plows, looms, barrels, and of course, furniture and floors. The oak is the state tree of New Jersey. It is widespread throughout Eastern U.S. The oaks are by far the most abundant species group growing in the Eastern hardwood forests. Average tree height is 60 to 80 feet. The bark from oak trees is rich in tannin. The sapwood of red oak is white to light brown and the heartwood is a pinkish reddish brown. The wood is similar in general appearance to white oak, but with a slightly less pronounced figure due to the smaller rays. The wood is mostly straight-grained, with a coarse texture. The wood is hard with medium bending strength, stiffness, high crushing strength and great wear-resistance.

*HIKSTIK.COM, LLC defines strength-to-weight ratio as the modulus of rupture (lbf/in²) divided by average specific gravity of the wood sample. Hardness (lbf) is the resistance to indentation. ** The weights of our shafts can vary up to ±28 grams or ±1.0 ounce due to the moisture content of the wood at the time of manufacture. For flexibility values and impact strength take a look at our comparative test results.

Source: http://www.hardwoodinfo.com/species_guide/display_species.asp