Stiffness and flexibility are inherently related to each other.
Stiffness in more technical terms is called Modulus of Elasticity, which essentially determines the solid feel of your lax shaft.
Lower stiffness creates higher flexibility, and vice versa.
A high stiffness creates more powerful checks while high flexibility creates more impact absorption to keep the ball in your stick when checked and is correlated with added whip on shots and long passes.
Poisonwood is a mid-flex option within the Tomahawk line that compares to a Hickory with much better whip for faster shots and passes and much higher dent resistance for a dent-free shaft.
Overall, Tomahawk lax shafts are significantly stronger than most other woods, so each wood's exceptional flexibility and checking strength are what creates slightly different "feels" when you wind up for a stick check, take a fast shot, and throw a long pass.
Below are the same woods in terms of stiffness/flexibility.
For information on flexibility, see the Compare Shafts page or the Flex Testing page for more details.
Modulus of Elasticity (psi) --- Flexibility vs. Stiffness
Every stick I supply is made with wood superior to most/all other wood sticks in the marketplace in regards to hardness, durability, and whip, which are key to success on the playing field.
Because of this, part of the decision process in choosing one of my sticks over the others may have to do more with its appearance than slight differences in functionality.
Let's face it, every player on the field wants to let out his inner lax bro a bit. What's cooler and more intimidating than walking on the field with the exotic grain structure of a Belizean hardwood shaft?
Poisonwood is often referred to as “Caribbean Rosewood” due to its regal color tone and grain.
It's unique color ranges from an amber dark chocolate to a pale or tanned yellow, often with dark and light-brown streaks as well as thin red streaks throughout.
The wood has great natural luster as does Tigerwood and Granadillo, so it will shine on the field on a sunny day.
This is a VERY popular wood for fine furniture, but also has the strength and flexibility for physical use.
Poisonwood got it's name because the tree and raw lumber contain toxic sap, which turns black and causes severe skin reactions that burn through flesh.
Don't worry though, once cut and kiln dried the wood is perfectly safe to use on the field and work with.
Due to the dangers that loggers and wood suppliers must go through to sell poisonwood, it is a VERY RARE wood, so therefore it is sold at "top tier" prices and is very hard to find.
The most important aspect of the shaft is the type of wood it's made with.
Poisonwood is one of the hardest and strongest woods out there.
It has a Janka hardness of 2400 lbf, which to most people doesn't mean much.
The Janka scale measures the wood's resistance to indentation and overall "hardness".
This isn’t a measure of durability in terms of snapped shafts, it’s a resistance to dents, but there is correlation.
In comparison, here are other woods you may have heard of:
Janka Hardness (lbs) --- Dent Resistance
All Tomahawk Lacrosse woods are harder than the competing wood shaft options, which is important in the game when you want to lay a hard check into your opponents and maintain a dent-free shaft.
Wood varies a lot in weight from tree to tree, so no shaft is the exact same in weight.
In fact, each shaft is unique in several ways, making your shaft different from all others.
These attack shafts average around 12.5 ounces, which is relatively light for an attack shaft.
While some lax players are drawn to lighter titanium or scandium alloy shafts, they are much more expensive and considerably weaker for a difference in only a few ounces! The wood's extra ounces of partially rotational weight are utterly unnoticeable even to the smallest 85 lb member of the lacrosse team and will not pose a problem on the field.
However, that extra weight will allow you to create SIGNIFICANTLY harder checks to your opponents, making you the most feared member of your team.
Although maybe not its most important feature, a wood lax shaft won't get cold as fast as a metal shaft would.
This means that when you're playing a game on a cold day, you hands will stay warmer than everyone else on your team.
Because each brand of lax heads is different, I do not drill a hole at the top of the shaft.
If you buy a shaft, you will have to drill a pilot hole that is slightly smaller than your screw, so that the screw will go in easily when you put on your head.
If I were to pre-drill a hole, it could be in the wrong place, which will make the shaft useless to you.
Drilling a hole is very easy, and will ensure that you don't compromise the shaft's structural integrity.
Also be sure to add a butt end to the bottom of the shaft.
