Walking cane lesson

[Ron Altier]

 

 

 

 Several years ago I made a couple of walking canes for my wife and myself. I used 1" dia pine stock from HD and some spalted Apple (maybe Maple) plus an exotic wood for the handle. I shaped the shaft with the sander and stained it. I stained the shaft and finished it all with a nice clear shiny finish. It was very cold at the time and I set them aside. Many things have occured and they stayed stored in a corner for a long time. A couple of days ago we went for a hike and I took  the canes with us. I wanted to see what adjustments needed to be made in length and comfort. I knew they were too long. I discovered much more needed adjusted for me. My handle was made all wrong form my hands. It was to thick and the shape pushed my fingers together. Another big thing was the finish, it was too slick. I removed the handle and put it back on the lathe. Then put ridges and valleys in for my fingers. I shaped it to accommodate the variances in my hands by turning valleys and then grasping it with my hand for comfort. I kept doing this until it felt good for my hand size and irregularities. After reassembly and cut to length, I applied a non slippery clear finish. We are happy with them and did discover that they are really nice to walk with. They help with balance and catch us if we trip. At our age, that is a big plus.

[lew]

Those are fantastic. Great advice with the changes in the handle. 

[Gerald]

Nice. Down here we call that a walking stick. Canes are shorter. Love that ball on top it look like you stole it from the ornament material. 

[Cal]

That's great Ron, really like that spalted ball top.