Most devil sticks have soft ends for safety and are decorated colorfully. A devil stick is kept in the air by two handsticks, about 1cm wide and 30cm long. The handsticks are covered with a material to provide good grip in contact with the devil stick, like silicone.
In the basic pattern, the devil stick is hit alternately with the left and right handsticks about halfway between the center and its upper end and swings about 45° out of the vertical to either side while remaining in a plane parallel to the shoulders.
A set of devil sticks consists of one baton (approx. 26" length) tapered in the center and two control sticks (usually silicone covered dowels) which are used to manipulate the baton. Some variations on the devil stick are Flower Sticks or Quick Stix and other various names.