Shopsmith Forums

Completed making two canes I started a few weeks ago. I will finish them spar urethane. The first is Zebrawood handle and a Padua staff the second is a Mahogany handle on a Canarywood. I textured the collar area with a 1/8th burr and painted. The Mahogany is off a hundred year old sailing ship that was rebuilt here in Mobile. The cane is going to a retired Coast Guard rescue pilot. It will have a Coast Guard medallion on the front when it is finished.

Nice looking piece of a tree they are setting on!

Very nice work. I have been asked to make canes for a few friends. What type of wood should I use to make them? My other question is how do you attach the handle to the staff? Love the mention of the Coast Guard medallion. I am a retired Coast Guard Chief.

Zebrawood + Padua is a nice combo !

b

Those are two very nice canes! I've made a couple canes myself, and I know the effort involved.
What worries me is the shape of the handles relative to the wood grain.
I also have to use a cane sometimes, and invariably, it accidentally falls to the ground.
The handles hit hard and sometimes break on sensitive features along the grain.
Have you explored what you might do to make these beauties a bit more durable, less sensitive to breakage?
Every time my cane falls, it is always unintended. But it still happens. In normal use, they get beat up.