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 | C038 - Collector's item: A very sturdy cane or bamboo knobstick with hardwood
topApprox. dimensions: Overall length 37" / 94cm Diameter of shaft 1-1/8" / 30mm Medium to heavy weight. |  |
 | There are a great many different species of giant grasses (such as bamboo) and
palm trees (such as rattans) which provide "cane" walking stick shafts. I'm not
at all sure which type was used here. At a glance it looks rather like bamboo,
but it's not the type we commonly see used for garden canes, fishing rods and
walking sticks. Whatever it may be, it's extremely strong and rigid, and would
provide adequate support for the heaviest user. This stick was obviously quite old and was in a very dirty condition when I
acquired it. The dirt was deeply ingrained and eventually I had to resort to
scraping off the original finish and refinishing with linseed oil and Tru-Oil
gunstock finish. |  |
  | The knob appears to have been roughly turned from some sort of light-coloured
hardwood, then stained a deep red-brown colour. When I acquired the stick, the
knob was loose. It had originally been glued and pinned through the shaft, but
the pin had obviously been missing for some time. There is a slight split where
the pin had been driven in. There are one or two nicks here and there, but to
me these look more like the odd slip with a machete when originally trimming
the cane stem rather than any mishaps in the hands of a subsequent owner. I filled the hollow top end of the shaft with epoxy resin before refitting the
knob and inserting a new brass pin. There's no chance of anything coming loose
now, and the split won't be going anywhere either! |  |
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| There was no ferrule or other protective tip fitted, so I added a new
steel-tipped brass ferrule using hot-melt glue. Fortunately, the largest
available size of ferrule was just big enough for the job! This may not be the most elegant stick on the planet, but it has a certain
rugged character to it. Definitely a stick that demands to be used, not just
admired. I can see it becoming someone's trusty old friend and constant
companion. |
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