Does a screw-joint weaken a stick?
In simple terms, yes! By cutting the stick and fitting a joint it obviously causes it to behave differently. Downward pressure – as in normal use for walking – appears to make little difference. Sideways pressure, such as hitting something, swiping down nettles, or leaning on the stick at an angle, puts ‘unnatural’ strains on the joint which can result in the joint itself breaking or the stick around the joint splitting. Putting the stick in the car and piling luggage on it is also very bad – but then you should have unscrewed the parts to make the stick easier to put in the car anyway! Basically you have to weigh up the options – do you want a stick that is long and difficult to take on a journey but is slightly stronger than a jointed stick – or would the joint make the stick far more ‘user friendly’ and so outweigh the slight weakness?
