What I did last Friday

[JAB]

I took last Friday off from work and decided to finish up a walking cane idea I have had for some time. A couple of years back, I designed a derby style handle and carved one from cherry, even going so far as to sand it smooth, etc. Saturday, I turned an oak shaft for it from a piece of a big, old board my grandfather in law had. The project took about ten or twelve hours, not counting the time I had previously spent making the handle.

My right knee bothers me sometimes, often without warning. If I use a cane or walking stick during such times it will stave off the pain or weakness getting worse. I'm not exactly light so I like to make canes that I know will be sturdy enough to support my weight. Also, even though I have my HCP, I can't legally carry where I work (state law) so I am limited to other methods of SD should the need arise. I'd feel a lot better with my P3AT in my pocket but I figure that a can of Sabre defense spray and a heavy cane are better than nothing. I have a cane I have been carrying that is made of a twisted piece of dogwood with a hame for the handle but I think the new one looks a little less conspicuous for times when the horse hame one might raise eyebrows or even be restricted. Anyhow, pics - although the colors of both woods are a little darker, and the cherry handle a little more reddish, than they appear in these pics:

This is it leaning against my desk at work:

A close-up of the cherry handle:

A little detail of some of the 'work' the worms had done to the wood - there are worm trails scattered all down one side of the cane where worms munched on the old board a little. They aren't deep enough to weaken the wood and I think they add character:

And a pic of it leaning against the door at home - this one shows what the cane looked like before I rubbed it with linseed oil:

And a picture I took some time back of my horse-hame cane leaning against the desk at work. Originally, the whole piece was pretty much as thick and heavy as the middle, twisted section. I put it on the lathe and turned both ends down to lighten it and allow me to use it as a cane. Other than sanding the bark down, I pretty much left the middle section alone. The shaft of this one has the clear spray on it:

I have also been meaning to make a cane for my mom. I cut out a couple of blanks for the same derby style handle as mine from purple heart back when I carved mine from cherry. Saturday, I finally got around to doing something with one of those. I'll post more details about that along with some pics later.

Edited July 26, 2010 by JAB

[oldogy]

Very nice. Thanks for sharing.

oldogy, who has several rough walking sticks

[gregintenn]

Those look great. I always enjoy someone's homemde crafts. Thanks for sharing.

[kb4ns]

Nice work!!!

[vontar]

very nice. Wish I had some handy skill. I can barely mow my lawn to get my neighbors to not complain.

[hipower]

Very nice work. A good cane has many uses.

[Cherokee Slim]

That looks very elegant. iT must have taken a long time to get it to look so good. I have tried carving, and have progressed to where I can get a fairly sharp point on the end of a stick. I hope to do better as I get older.

Cherokee Slim

[JAB]

Thanks for the comments, folks!