Russa Nodrey's Staff

[The Skarzs]

Has anyone thought about what Russa's staff was made of? What made it so hard and durable? Also, why didn't it rot or pit while it was floating out on the sea?

I would like to put forth some answers to these, and I hope others might be able to share their knowledge as well.
For what it was made of, I would say hickory or ash, a lot of the "hardwoods" being too hard and short-grained, making them susceptible to breaking. Second-growth hickory is renowned for making good, time-tested handles, and ash is also pretty good, though not as widely used.
As to how hard and durable it was, not only is hickory rather dense by itself, the wood can be made even stronger with soaking and drying, a process that is possible for driftwood to experience. Eventually the wood will contract into itself, pushing out water and filling in its own gaps, making it harder and tougher. This drying and soaking constantly is a way of stabilizing the wood, so that is why it did not become water-logged and rot while out on the waters.

[Hickory]

I would have to go with the hickory; having a family relative who is a carpenter gives me some experience.

[Wylder Treejumper]

I would say ebony, except it's dense enough that it sinks in water...

[Rivertheotter]

Well, there are many fictional elements in redwall, talking middle ages rodents aside.
for example,the wearat; rats and weasels can't reproduce. so maybe it's not a real type of wood.

[The Skarzs]

Perhaps, but I rather enjoy thinking of ways that our worlds aren't too different in some aspects. (As apparent by my speculations on what Martin's sword blade is made of.)

[Wylder Treejumper]

If ebony floated it would fulfill all the requirements.

[The Skarzs]

Yeah, and I don't recall it being described as being black like ebony is.

[Captain Tammo]

I think Russa had one of the greatest weapons in the series. A simple staff that wouldn't break, there are just a million different uses for that!

As for what it's made of, I couldn't say with any certainty. Carpentry is not something that I really have any experience in. But from what Skarzs has said so far, hickory sounds like a pretty good match! Thanks for making this topic, I've always wondered just what her staff was made of...

[The Skarzs]

It's not necessarily carpentry; heck, I learned more about hardening wood through knife making.

But yeah, I hadn't thought too much about it before, but I decided to take some time to contemplate what it really would be made of, and I decided to relay that information.

[Stonestripe]

I always thought it might be petrafied redwood like what is found in the huge redwood forest. It's not wood at all it's actually stone. Just a thought.

[The Skarzs]

Stone would break too easily for something that thin.